The election process for the parent society and the five chapters is ongoing. Newly elected officers and directors assume their positions at their respective annual meetings throughout the year. Nominations, committee review, and membership voting take several months and require a lot of Board and Election Committee work. I want to personally thank those who accepted nominations and those who served on Election Committees. Please honor this work by voting in WAS and chapter elections.

The African Chapter and Latin American and Caribbean Chapter completed their elections in September. The United States Chapter Elections Committee has finalized their ballot for the election of President-elect, Vice President, and two directors for the upcoming year. The voting deadline is January 9, 2020. To increase voter participation, the USAS Board has decided to enter everyone that votes into a drawing for a free registration to a future Aquaculture America meeting. Students who vote will be entered into a separate drawing for a free student registration.

The Asian Pacific Chapter has called for nominations for President-elect and two directors to stand for election and begin their Board term at the World Aquaculture 2020 Annual meeting in Singapore. Nominees must be members in good standing and reside in the Asian Pacific region. Nominations should be sent to Dr. Felix Sugantham, Past-president, and Ms. Natchavee Ang, Secretariat Executive Officer, by February 10, 2020.

The WAS Elections Committee had their slate of candidates for the WAS 2020 election approved at the Mid-Year Board Meeting. There were 21 total nominations to fill the positions of President-elect, Secretary, two directors, and a Student director. Dr. Maria Célia Portella, Immediate Past-President of WAS and Chair of the Elections Committee, and I would like to thank each nominee for their willingness to contribute to the management of the WAS by agreeing to be nominated to run for a Board position. The Student Director is a new position on the Board and it is hoped that the successful candidate will provide a perspective that will help us recruit and maintain student members. The tentative deadline for voting is mid-February 2020.

In addition to the slate of candidates, there will be two proposed Bylaw changes on the WAS 2020 ballot. One proposed change is to more accurately define the Board of Directors as elected officers, directors, and Chapter Presidents. The other proposed Bylaw change is the creation of a Communications Committee. The addition of this Committee has been discussed for the last two years and was a suggested action item in the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. The WAS Board of Directors hopes you will support these two changes.

The WAS Mid-Year Board Meeting was held in conjunction with LACQUA 2019 in San Jose, Costa Rica. A lot of important work was accomplished. The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan was approved. Dr. Mike Denson and the Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee spent almost two years developing the plan with review by WAS Fellows and Past-Presidents. I agreed to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to develop protocols and goals for our use of social media. New contracts were approved for JWAS Executive Editor and Section Editors. Dr. Carole Engle, after four years of leading the successful JWAS reinvigoration effort as Executive Editor, will assume a new role as Section Editor. Dr. Matt Slater will become Executive Editor while Dr. Lou D’Abramo and Dr. Chenhong Li will continue as Section Editors. A special thanks to Carole and her team for their hard work on behalf of our Journal.
— Jimmy L. Avery, President