January 2000
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My first task in this report is to sincerely
thank the members of the 1999/2000 Canadian Society of Animal Science
executive for their cooperation, dedication and hard work over the past
year. A special thank-you to outgoing executive members Chantal Farmer,
Erasmus Okine and Xin Zhao and a warm welcome to Shannon Scott, Mike Dugan
and Janice Bailey who will be joining the 2000/2001 executive. The commitment
of our executive members is outstanding and contributes greatly to our
success!
As I leave the position of president of the Canadian Society of Animal
Science, I am confident that we are on the right path to becoming a truly
world-class scientific society. We have plans in place for future annual
meetings in Guelph and Quebec City that will build on the successes we
have had in Regina, Lethbridge, Ottawa, Charlottetown and Winnipeg. In
particular, we look forward to 2002 when we will host the American Societies
of Animal and Dairy Science in Quebec City. Furthermore, our executive
is looking past 2002 to develop innovative plans for future annual meetings
that will address the interests and needs of our members. Our membership
base at 473 members is strong, thanks in large part to the efforts over
the last 4 years of Karen Beauchemin and Chantal Farmer. Finally, we can
all be proud of our journal, which not only reflects the diversity of
Canadian animal science, but also is gaining international recognition
as the journal in which to publish innovative work.
Our challenge as a society is to build upon these strengths to continue
to address the needs of our members and to attract new members. In these
efforts we need to be creative, yet financially responsible. Creation
of the CSAS website is a case in point. Scheduled to come on line in the
fall of 2000, the website will allow us to communicate with members easier,
at more opportune times and at reduced cost. For example, elimination
of printing of the newsletter will save the society approximately $4000
per year. Tim McAllister, our website editor, deserves a great deal of
credit for taking on the task of web page development. As mentioned previously,
holding of creative annual meetings will continue to be a priority for
the society. Last but not least, the society needs to get a firm grip
on its finances. For the last 3 to 4 years we have been incurring losses
that have been eating into the society's equity. This cannot continue
and it is time to evaluate our major revenue source, that being membership
fees. Currently a regular member pays $45 for membership and $26 for a
copy of the journal. Compared with fees for similar societies such as
the American Society of Animal Science, our fee structure is a steal!
I hope that all members recognize the value of the society to their professional
development and support the executive in restructuring our fees to ensure
financial viability.
I am happy and confident to turn over the leadership of CSAS to our new
president Karen Beauchemin. Karen has consistently demonstrated that she
has the experience and commitment to be a true leader of our society.
Finally, I will close by saying it has been an honour and a privilege
to be president of CSAS.
John McKinnon