World Aquaculture 5 At the opening ceremony of the 1995 WAS conference in Bangkok, a thousand delegates patiently awaited the arrival of the Royal Princess of Thailand. George was ready to give her a polished fossilized nautilus on a small stand with an engraved plaque expressing the Society’s appreciation. “Her motorcade pulled up to the VIP entrance, and I was whisked down the hallway to greet and escort her to the stage with a large entourage of Thai government officials. However, the person holding the fossil had set it down on a chair, where it tipped over and fell to the floor. The plaque bounced off, and the nautilus rolled away! As the royal procession got to the stage and I was introduced to present the gift, I was amazed to find the nautilus and engraved plaque re-assembled like new by Susan, who happened to have superglue in her purse.” At the World Aquaculture ’97 conference in Seattle, a group of 56 stakeholders from 12 countries unanimously agreed that an international aquaculture trade association was needed to counter attacks from environmental groups and help guide commercial aquaculture toward a sustainable future. This led to the formation of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, an international non-profit trade association that began its journey with donations and passionate volunteerism. George served as the unpaid president, while Susan managed administration, finance, and communications with members. Operating out of their living room, she published a 16-page black-and-white newsletter, soon expanding it to a 90-page color, bi-monthly magazine, the Global Aquaculture Advocate. She took responsibility for layout, advertising, printing and distribution. As the GAA grew, she oversaw the move to a professional office in 2000, and assisted with hiring, training, and supervision of additional staff. In 2001, Susan began organizing annual GAA conferences that were held in Singapore, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, Chicago USA, Vietnam, Miami USA and Spain. She established and administered the startup of a separate non-profit trade association to administer GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification program. George and Susan Chamberlain in Bangkok for the 1995 World Aqujaculture Society conference. The GAA is now a well-established, internationally-respected organization with strong and growing support, but it traces its roots to Susan’s dedicated work behind the scenes. Never seeking recognition, Susan exemplifies the lesson that each of us can make a difference, even when it seems that our work is not important or visible. ______________ Susan K. Bell was born in Berkeley, California. She spent her early years in Utah, Texas and the country of Iran, where her father worked for the Chevron Oil Company. After graduating from Texas A&M and marrying George, she worked for the Forest Oil Corporation in Corpus Christi, Texas, during which time their four children were born. Once the family left Texas and became established in St. Louis, Missouri, they remained in that city on the Missouri River except for two years in Mexico. Susan is survived by her husband George; children Brian and wife Erin, Jordan, Sarah and Kassie Chamberlain; mother Patty Ball; a brother and a number of nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, along with many hundreds of us who had the opportunity to know and love her. Susan was 55 years old when she passed away. She made many valuable contributions during her relatively short life – only a few of which are provided here. — Robert R. Stickney, Ph.D. Susan Chamberlain at the Global Aquaculture Alliance booth during the recent WAS meeting in Natal, Brazil.
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