Through the first six months of 2019 our National ARPAS organization remains in a solid but declining financial position. Year over year, through June, our current net asset financial position is nearly identical to June of 2018. Unfortunately, our total asset situation continues its gradual erosion as journal and administrative expenses outweigh membership and corporate giving income. Fortunately, due to moderate growth of our investment portfolio and some midyear corporate sponsorships, we are slowing the decline.

On a bright note, administrative and governance and annual meeting expenses are running behind budget, while revenue generation is slightly ahead of budget. Fortunately, the name change in our ARPAS journal to Applied Animal Science seems to have stimulated greater interest in publication. Through increased exposure, generated by our Editorial Board, we have seen growth in manuscript submissions and page fees that were at 62% of budget by the end of June. However, with increased emphasis on the AAS journal, our journal expenses have increased as have our expenses for administration and governance. We will also incur increased publication charges as agreed upon in our current contract with Elsevier.

The Governing Council is finalizing a new journal publication contract that will hopefully alleviate some of the AAS publication costs. We are also considering an increase in ARPAS membership dues because administration costs have continued to increase yet membership dues have not changed in over 10 years. Our goal is to help control costs, to ensure our National ARPAS organization continues to meet the needs of our members and remains financially sound.

In summary, we need to focus our efforts on membership growth and gaining greater corporate sponsorships while remaining fiscally conscious.

Respectfully submitted,
Dana J. Tomlinson, PAS, Dipl. ACAN
Global Species Leader—Specialty
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