World Aquaculture December 2018

32 DECEMBER 2018 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S.ORG Juliette Massey as Home Office Manager, probably the smartest thing we did during my term. Part of that reorganization was to make publications a separate profit center. 4) Changing our accounting practices to be better in line with GAP, instituting a regular audit and diversifying our investment strategies for Society reserve funds. 5) Working closely with the European Aquaculture Society, particularly Guido Persoone and Patrick Sorgeloos, in establishing a formal relationship with WAS that became the model for future collaborations. It was an exciting and heady time for WAS. We had recently changed our name fromWMS, started or were working toward chapters in Europe, South America, North America and Japan, began publishing in earnest, and really started the evolution of WAS from basically a US organization to a truly international society. William Hershberger, 1990-1991 This period of time in the organization was a time of transition and change with the goal of becoming a recognized and respected international society with a scientific base and a close relationship with commercial aquaculturists. During the year I served as president major emphases were deciding the steps the Society should take in the future with respect to international membership, how the annual meetings should be handled and overseen, and how we should utilize the space provided by LSU for our Home Office. At that time WAS was affiliated with European Aquaculture Society (EAS) and the Caribbean Aquaculture Association. The annual meeting venue was largely decided by invitations we received, with arrangements made by the current president, and were organized by a volunteer committee. We had just been introduced to John Cooksey’s organization and had a loose working relationship with them at the time. Also, the Society was governed via annual Board meetings and planned periodic meetings of the executive committee at the Home Office with the office staff. The most vivid memory of my presidency was of one of these executive meetings. Along with this planned meeting, the Desert Storm war was initiated in Iraq and my son, a marine pilot, was a part of the operation. Although it was a little hard to concentrate on the business at hand, a TV was brought into our meeting room in deference to my concerns and we kept our eye on the progress of the battle as we completed the business we had come to the Home Office to conduct. As illustrated by this occurrence, the people involved with this evolving organization had a strong commitment to get business accomplished on behalf of the membership but not without consideration of the individuals who volunteered to develop the steps for WAS to be successful. Robert R. Stickney, 1991-1992 During my terms as President-elect, President, and Past- president of WAS, the Society was experiencing financial difficulties - perhaps even a crisis. At the time, Bill Hershberger preceded me as President and Lou D’Abramo followed. The three of us wondered who would be the one to turn out the lights on the Society. At our mid-year meetings, that issue often dominated out discussions. Much of the problem was that annual meeting costs exceeded income. That changed when John Cooksey came on board. I believe that WAS has matured into a well-recognized source of information for commercial aquaculturists, equipment and feed companies, scientists, and most importantly students. Louis R. D’Abramo, 1992-1993 One of the highlights was the first combined meeting of the WAS and EAS in 1993 in Torremolinos, Spain. This meeting was organized in an effort to begin to authenticate the global nature of the Society. I had studied the Spanish language for many years and, given the location of the meeting, I decided to give the opening address in Spanish to convey the message that WAS was truly evolving from a North American to an international entity. During the opening moments of my presentation, a special moment in the history of WAS transpired. Looking out at faces of the people in the audience and the translators, I saw consternation and perplexity rapidly change into comfortable engagement. A part of the content of the presentation was to ameliorate some friction that had been engendered between the WAS and EAS due to the elimination of the affiliate (voting) membership of EAS by the WAS Board of Directors in 1991. This action was precipitated by the acknowledgement that the occurrence of an increasing number of affiliates could ultimately outvote the actual elected members of the Board of Directors. During my term, a non-voting Associate category was established as a replacement of the Affiliate membership category with the Asian Fisheries Society receiving the first Associate status. During my term as President, the ability of WAS to meet its financial obligations reached a highly tense level that evoked thoughts of possible bankruptcy. Fortunately, some adjustments in revenue and expense items averted such a misfortune. The trade shows, the principal source of revenue at that time, were not generating sufficient revenue to meet operational costs. There was agreement that the lack of competency of conference management was threatening the financial viability of WAS. At the mid-year and annual meetings of the Board of Directors, solutions that would result in a pathway to effective replacement of the company that served as the conference manager were seriously discussed. This discussion was complemented by realization of the need to meet the mission of WAS through international engagement that would stimulate increased membership. The critical need for a meeting in Asia, where most aquaculture occurred, was recognized. Preliminary investigations described points of action that ultimately led to the first WAS meeting in Asia (Bangkok 1996) combined with the hiring of John Cooksey as Conference Manager. WAS was truly becoming a “world society” and the path to a formal relationship with John Cooksey was in the making, a relationship that has and continues to reap tremendous benefits through his current service as Executive Director. SusanWaddy, 1993-1994 The most notable event during my time as president was the 25th anniversary conference (World Aquaculture 94) that celebrated 25 years of the Society’s involvement with the aquaculture industry, and the science and technology that helped the industry grow and prosper. It was a milestone event for WAS and the industry because it combined scientific programs with Fish Expo VII, the largest aquaculture trade show and industry conference in North America. The conference was held in the wonderful city of New Orleans.