World Grain - December 2007 - 48

FEATURE: NEW IAOM LEADER LOOKS TO EXPAND MEMBERSHIP

the money be used to benefit the milling
community?
Farris: I am proud to say that through
the generous donations of IAOM members and companies in the industry,
today the International Milling Education Foundation has over $132,000 in
its endowment. The IMEF trustees have
set an ambitious goal of $3 million for
the endowment, and I am confident that
with the continued support of our members, and increased industry support, the
goal is attainable.
The Foundation's top priority is to
fund research and educational programs that will benefit both the individual miller and the profession. Contributions allow the milling community
to support its own future - with the
funding used to support the development of IAOM programming ideas
and educational tools for the industry.
As an example, IMEF trustees plan to
use some of the funds to make a donation to the Kansas State Grain Science
and Industry Department in the name
of those professors who are working on
correspondence course revisions.
WG: The IAOM annual conference
has always been held in either the U.S.
or Canada. Has there been any discussion of holding the conference in Latin
America or other regions of the world on
occasion? What would be the pros and
cons of taking the annual conference
outside of the U.S./Canadian borders?
Farris: IAOM's board of directors has
been discussing the possibility of holding the IAOM annual conference outside
the United States or Canada, and our new
director of meetings and exhibits, Sherri
Ford, has been in communication with
various convention and visitors bureaus
in Latin America to discuss the opportunities available. These options will be
presented to the board of directors for
consideration as future conference sites
are reviewed.
A conference held outside the traditional venue of the United States or
Canada might enable IAOM to expand
its network into different regions of the
50

world. People who have been unable
to attend the IAOM conference in the
United States or Canada might be able
to attend a conference in a non-U.S. or
non-Canadian location. This would be
a boon to exhibitors, as they would be
able to reach out to potentially new customers and expand their market within
the familiar setting of an IAOM event.
I also believe that members would
benefit from new acquaintances and the
exchange of ideas and experience with
their colleagues in a different part of the
world. We also anticipate having new
exhibitors who would typically not par-

IAOM Executive Vice-President Melinda Farris
with Haji Ghulam Muhaiddin, Kundz Flour Mills,
at the Eurasia District Meeting in November.

ticipate in the United States or Canada
- this could offset the number of traditional exhibitors who might opt out of
an IAOM Expo in another region of the
world.
Some of the obvious challenges relate
to the logistics issues our exhibitors will
face in sending their equipment and materials to a different country. Attendees
would also need to acquire passports if
they don't already have them, and the
airfare could be higher than for a U.S. or
Canadian destination.
WG: The IAOM is unveiling a new
program format at its 2008 conference
in Orlando, Florida. Can you explain
some of the changes and how they will
benefit those planning to attend the annual conference?

Farris: Members of the IAOM board
of directors and program committee
have closely reviewed conference evaluation forms and feedback from previous
years. The format being unveiled in Orlando is in response to those comments.
One of the most significant changes is
that the educational programming has
been divided into four different tracks:
quality control, employee management,
facility management and technical operations. By increasing the variety and
choice of presentations available, more
topic-specific information will be presented. We feel that this will encourage
increased attendance, as several employees from a single company would
benefit from the greater variety of presentations that are specifically targeted
at different jobs carried out in milling
facilities.
Another major change is that the conference has been shortened and moved
off the weekend. The conference will
open on Tuesday and conclude Thursday
evening, with the optional golf tournament on Friday. The midweek format
is more accommodating for those who
would like to spend the weekend before
or after the conference in the host city.
The "What's New" session is being replaced by a 75-minute "Product
Showcase" on Wednesday. The selection committee will focus on recruiting
presenters who have a new product or
service, or who are adapting a product/
service from another industry to use in
the milling industry. In addition, we are
introducing a featured speaker hour on
the second day of the conference. Larry
Johnson, a renowned author, corporate
culture expert and professional speaker,
will be the first featured speaker in this
new format.
Although there will be a lot of newness to the Orlando conference, we'll
still have some of our favorite events
from previous years: a Sosland reception on the Expo floor on Wednesday;
great raffle prizes; the Buhler Reception on Tuesday night to open the conference; a Kice breakfast; the Latin
America District reception on WednesDecember 2007 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - December 2007

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