The fifth annual meeting of the Northeast Chapter of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists was held on November 11, 2015 in conjunction with the Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop in Grantville, PA. There were 65 ARPAS members and guests in attendance, with 73 registered for the meeting. President Tom Nauman presided over a short business meeting to nominate candidates to fill vacancies for the upcoming year. Nominations were as follows: President Elect - Tom Hickley and Bill Sutliff; Director - Frank Janicki, Alden Bowman and Ryan Ordway; and NE Representative at National ARPAS Meeting: Mark Wagner. Ryan Ordway and Mark Wagner were both nominated from the floor. A closed ballot election was held during the meeting.
Dane Schoenbaum gave the treasurer’s report. The NE Chapter holds an active membership of 108 dues paying members and account balance of $2377.54. This account balance includes income from membership fees ($5/member) and sponsorship contributions during the last year.
Dr. Ken Cummings, Executive VP, ARPAS, presented the change to Elsevier as new publisher of The Professional Animal Scientist. The change should allow ARPAS to gain more exposure for the journal, especially from the international community. Dr. Cummings highlighted a $250,000 balance in our national account and the opportunity for ARPAS scholarships. He encouraged chapter members to visit land grant universities in the Northeast to promote and educate students about ARPAS. Ken will proctor two ARPAS certification exams during the Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop. He reminded that any current ARPAS member can proctor a certification exam.
A mini-symposium was held after the business meeting. Dr. Mary Beth Hall, USDA-ARS, presented, ‘Connecting the Dots: From Forage Analysis to Rumen Performance.’. She also delivered an ARPAS sponsored workshop during the conference titled: ‘Painting by the Numbers: Getting a More Complete Picture of Rumen Performance.’. Diamond V sponsored Dr. Hall’s visit to the Penn State Dairy Nutrition Workshop. We much appreciate their support of the NE ARPAS Chapter.
Election results were as follows: President Elect – Tom Hickley, Director – Frank Janicki, and Representative to National ARPAS meeting – Mark Wagner. President Elect will assume Presidency in November, 2016. Director and National representative terms were effective immediately.
Dane Schoenbaum
Secretary/Treasurer ARPAS Northeast Chapter