March 15, 2016

President's Column March 2016

In the final trimester of my presidency, the Board dedicated a significant amount of time to crafting the new Strategic Plan for WAS. At our midyear meeting in Fortaleza, an ad hoc committee discussed the collective priorities of WAS and how to best address our mission through committees tasked with achieving different outputs under primary and secondary goals. Most of our existing committees mapped nicely to the realigned goals. However, it became clear that some new components need to be developed to address management strategies, human resource issues, and activities associated with conferences and workshops that are not currently addressed by our Conference Committee. An Events Committee will be added to the new plan to ensure that consistent, high-quality activities are implemented across all WAS events. This committee is complementary to the Conference Committee. An ad hoc Human Resources Committee will also be implemented to develop processes for annual evaluations of WAS employees. The first evaluation of our Executive Director was performed in Las Vegas by the President in concert with the EXCOM. Not surprisingly, the results indicated that John Cooksey is doing an outstanding job for WAS! The procedures for conducting annual evaluations will be refined and then passed on from president to president. Between Fortaleza and Las Vegas the committees were charged with fleshing out details of activities, outcomes and indicators for their areas in the Strategic Plan. The plan was also posted on the WAS website for general input from the membership. Currently we have a nearly completed draft that new Board members and other WAS members can help finalize before our midyear meeting in Miami. Cross-cutting themes include transparency, better communication, and continuous improvement across all WAS activities.

In Las Vegas it became clear that our organization is ripe for change and we would benefit from an outside review to help us assess our current situation relative to future goals and strategies. As a Society, we need to address key factors such as membership — should we focus on increasing numbers? If so, should we focus on regions where we currently have few members or work to increase overall membership? Increasing the value of membership should benefit WAS — however, defining “value” for an academic versus an industry member, a government versus an NGO member, or simply members in one geographic region versus another is not a simple task. We also need to determine the best approach to keep our increasingly diverse membership informed of relevant WAS issues in a timely manner. Continuity of WAS activities across time with frequently changing Board members was another concern. The current Board suggested that we appoint one or two long-term members of each committee to improve continuity of activities. Some Past-Presidents suggested that we consider going to 2-year terms for President (resulting in a 6-year investment of time including 2-year terms for President-Elect and Immediate Past President). This would be especially helpful when the term is actually less than a year (as mine was), because our terms run from annual meeting to annual meeting, and the meeting dates vary. Other structural re-organizations such as the appointment of a full-time CEO could also be considered to improve the efficiency of WAS operations by following a more traditional business model.

Regardless of the direction that our Society pursues, there has never been a more important time for all WAS members to be proactive and responsive to inquiries for information, and to volunteer your time and energy to serve the organization. I look forward to participating in the evolution of WAS with current and new members, and have tremendous faith that the Society will prevail in the face of its current and future challenges. I thank WAS for the opportunity to serve as President, and for the invaluable support I received from fellow Board and committee members, from Carol and Judy in the Home Office, and the entire Cooksey family.

Rebecca Lochmann, President

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About Rebecca Lochmann

WAS President 2015 - 2016 -- Dr. Lochmann has served as professor of aquaculture/fisheries at UAPB since 1996. Her research focus is fish nutrition with an emphasis on small cyprinids (baitfish), channel catfish and largemouth bass. Her most recent research focuses on alternative protein and lipid sources in fish diets and improving the product quality of foodfish for consumers.