Jimmy L. Avery | Sunday, September 15, 2019
The WAS Election process is now complete.
Dr. Antonio Garza de Yta, Rector at Universidad
Tecnológica del Mar de Tamaulipas Bicentenario,
Mexico is the new President-elect and will serve a
one-year term before rising to President. Dr. Reginald
Blaylock, Assistant Director, Thad Cochran Marine
Aquaculture Center, University of Southern Mississippi,
was elected Treasurer and will serve a two-year term.
Professor Marco Saroglia, University of Insurbia in
Varese, Italy is a new Director and will serve a threeyear
term. Also elected to a Director position with
a three-year term was Dr. Guillaume Drillet, Regional Business
Development Manager, SGS in Singapore. On behalf of the Society,
I want to thank Dr. Wendy Sealy (past Treasurer) and Dr. Darryl Jory
(past Director) for their years of service. I look forward to working
with our newly elected officers and directors.
At this writing, elections for the African and Latin American
and Caribbean Chapters are nearing completion. I urge Society
members to actively support the election process of the chapters
and the parent society. Only 15-18 percent of WAS members vote in
elections and we would like to see a much higher participation rate.
The Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2019 meeting held in Chennai,
India was a success, with 3,507 participants from 67 countries. A
special thanks to Steering Committee Co-Chairs Dr. S. Felix and
Dr. Farshad Shishehchian and the 18 committee members for their
hard work. The Program Committee chairs organized 74 sessions
and 333 poster presentations. The trade show had 222 booths. WAS
Executive Director John Cooksey and his management team, along
with support from WAS Home Office staff Carol Mendoza and Judy
Andrasko are to be congratulated as well. I urge you to visit the WAS
website to see video highlights of APA 19.
The Society is eagerly awaiting the next two chapter conferences.
LACQUA19 will be the 2019 annual meeting of the Latin American
and Caribbean Chapter and will be held November
19-22, 2019 in San José, Costa Rica. San José will
be the site for the WAS Board of Directors midyear
meeting and I look forward to seeing the WAS
Board, the LACC Board, and members in beautiful
Costa Rica! Aquaculture America 2020 will be held
February 9-12, 2020 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Abstract
deadlines for the Hawaii meeting are almost here!
A colleague recently mentioned that it was
his opinion that a president of another professional
organization had “floated” through their term. When
asked to explain, he stated that the organization was in about the
same condition as when the president took office. It is difficult to
make changes to an organization like ours within one presidential
term. The president doesn’t make motions and can’t vote unless
there is a tie. Yes, he or she can appoint certain committee chairs and
urge them to focus on certain tasks already specified in the bylaws,
but eventually the officers and directors must approve any changes.
Major changes would require a vote by membership and typically
there is only one chance per year to get that done.
Any organization that is 50 years old could probably benefit
from a few upgrades. The World Aquaculture Society is in great
shape and continues to excel in almost every aspect of its mission.
Soon, you will get a chance to see the World Aquaculture Society
2020-2025 Strategic Plan. I encourage you to read it and think about
what you want out of your organization.
I promise you that I will attempt to not “float” through my term.
However, I challenge you to not float through your membership year.
Do something positive to improve the Society – vote, run for office,
nominate someone for an award, encourage a student or a fellow
farmer to join, provide input to the Board, submit an article to the
journal or magazine. Let’s compare notes in mid-2020 and see how
we did.
— Jimmy L. Avery, President