WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • JUNE 2016 5 U.S. Aquaculture Society It makes no difference how long you have been rolling around with this planet, you can always learn new things. A long career allows for meeting all kinds of people, from those who dig in the mud for shellfish to those who run international corporations. The benefit is that if one wants to maintain a career, they need to participate in the process. That opens the doors to many fascinating things. This year it becomes my turn, thanks to those of you who elected me, to carry the torch for the U.S. Chapter of the World Aquaculture Society. The U.S. Aquaculture Society, whether you realize it or not, has a real mission. It is “to provide a national forum for the exchange of timely information among aquaculture researchers, students and industry members in the United States. To accomplish this mission, the USAS will sponsor and convene workshops and meetings, foster educational opportunities and publish aquaculture-related materials important to U.S. aquaculture development.” This mission seems lofty but it is quite attainable and actually one of the most basic human processes that we have: to share knowledge. From the time the first guy in a cave showed someone else how to make a fire to today, we are all on a similar path to share what we have learned to help those who are with us. We should realize that we are all one and what we have gained in knowledge is what we should share for the betterment of others. That knowledge hopefully will allow growers to raise fish and shellfish in an economically viable way while keeping the process environmentally responsible. This is not a lofty aspiration but simply being a good human being. We are so important in the progress of aquaculture. Over the past few years, I have been privileged to participate in the USAS as a Director and then moving into this leadership role. This has not be done alone; the people who have gone before me, most recently Past-Presidents Kathleen Hartman and Mike Denson, have provided steady direction and dedication to show the path forward. We all share a belief that those who come after us will be those who will carry this Society and this area of research and production into the future. Much of what we discuss at the Board level relates to how we can have student members participate and be ready for whatever the future may bring for them and aquaculture. This year’s Officers and Board is made up of great folks. Many of them I have known for years, all whom I trust implicitly to carry the torch of leadership forward. There are some tasks that USAS will focus on in the coming year. When I was a Director about six years ago, I started a process to get more outside funding for students to participate in annual meetings by linking with outside companies to sponsor competitions for travel and scholarships. This has grown extremely well and we hope that these partnerships will continue. Student members should always seek out these travel funds because that will allow them to be part of the mission of USAS. Dave Cline, one of my extension colleagues from Auburn University and our President-Elect, has worked diligently over the past few years as Vice-President with these outside funders to coordinate opportunities for student scholarship awards. That will now be handled by Angela Caporelli from Kentucky Department of Agriculture, our new VP, and her most capable hands. Dave will continue to work with Angela guiding the Awards Committee. Our treasury is exceptionally stable and has been watched over by Gulnihal (Rose) Ozbay from Delaware State and her committee. That financial strength will allow us to use these funds for the betterment of our members and the aquaculture industry itself. The officers and board have been working with Carol Mendoza from the WAS Home Office to reconfigure how USAS funds are invested so that we can use more of them to support our members in the future. Under the most competent direction of Kwamena Quagrainie from Purdue University, our members will be called upon to keep the membership of USAS strong. I may sound like a renegade when I say this, but I feel that membership should not just be something to put on a resume. It should be something that really means that you BELONG to an organization….a great organization, consisting of like-minded professionals. There will be some great gifts given out to our members at next year’s annual meeting coordinated by Kwamena and his committee. He is leading the way to get a display created for a USAS booth that we will take to various meetings to promote the organization and build membership for those who want to BELONG! As part of this process, USAS will be a major sponsor of the 11th International Conference on Recirculating Aquaculture at Virginia Tech in August 2016. This will be the first time for a student-run booth for the Society. We will be seeking out other regional conferences to support each year. If you are planning a good-size or even a state aquaculture meeting, please reach out to see if USAS can possibly support some of it. The planning for Aquaculture America 2017 has begun under the most capable hands of two of our last Presidents, mentioned above, and Dave Strauss, a Board member from USDA-ARS. If you would like to participate, seek them out and either run a session or see if you can fit into an already scheduled session. Those student members who are reading this should know that the Student Liaison, Evan Durland of Oregon State, and the Student Apprentice, Carter Ullman of Auburn, are spearheading the Student Activities and supporting the Student Subunit Committees. Bauer Duke is chairing that Student Subunit Committee and trying to get participation from students around the country. Participating in what these committees do is the way for students to groom themselves for leadership roles in the Society and their professional careers. As Woody Allen said, “Showing up is 80 percent of life. Sometimes it’s easier to hide home in bed. I’ve done both.” But it usually works out better when you show up. There are two more Directors already moving into helping out USAS: Eric Peatman at the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences at Auburn, and Allen Pattillo, an extension specialist at Iowa State. Eric is chairing the Publications Committee CHAPTER REPORTS (CONTINUED ON PAGE 6)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjExNDY=