IFT NEWS

Latest issue of online education journal published
The latest issue (Vol. 3, Issue 1) of Journal of Food Science Education has been published. Articles include “Hands-on Demonstration and Videotape Laboratories for Non-Science Majors in a Food Science Course: Achievement, Attitude, and Efficiency” and “An Undergraduate Research Opportunity: Collaboration Between Undergraduate and Graduate Students.” This online-only journal and IFT’s other online-only journal, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, are available free of charge. To access the journals, visit www.ift.org and click on Publications—Online Journals.

IFT buyer’s guides available online
Food Technology’s 2004 Nutraceutical & Functional Food Buyer’s Guide is now online. The guide includes product and contact information for more than 100 companies supplying nutraceutical ingredients. The guide is available at http://209.242.196.12/nutra/.

IFT also provides online users with the Food Expo Highlights & Buyer’s Guide, which includes company and product descriptions and contact information for the 900 companies that exhibited at the 2003 IFT Food Expo. Online users can search the guide by company, category, or key word. The guide also contains searchable editorial material that appeared in Food Technology. The guide is available at http://209.242.196.12/.

IFTers cited as innovators
An article entitled “Hail to the Innovators” in the September 2003 issue of Food Engineering cited “innovators,” living and dead, who, “through scientific research, engineering, entrepreneurial energy and bold endeavors,” have left their mark on the food industry.

Among the 26 are the following 16 members or former members of the Institute of Food Technologists: C. Olin Ball, Clarence Birdseye, André Bolaffi, Adolph S. (Al) Clausi, Daniel Farkas, Felix Germino, Richard L. Hall, Theodore P. Labuza, Daryl Lund, Arthur Morgan, Ray Moshy, William E. Pursley, Herbert N. Riley, Henry Schwartzberg, Paul Singh, and Charles E. Sizer.

The other innovators named were Don Tyson, Joe Clayton, John Dorrance, Bernie Hansen, Henry John Heinz, G. Howard Kraft, J.L. Kraft, Jeno F. Paulucci, C.W. Post, and Robert E. Rich Sr.

Pierson retires as Director of Field Services
Pamela Pierson retired as IFT’s Director of Field Services in January 2004 after almost 28 years of service.

She joined the staff in April 1976 as Executive Assistant to then-Executive Director Calvert Willey, supervising the general office staff and serving as registration manager for the IFT Annual Meeting. When Willey retired in 1987, she moved to the Field Services Dept. as assistant to George Foster, and when he retired in 1989, she took over as Director of Field Services, a position she kept until her retirement.

She was instrumental in establishing the annual Leadership Conference for the IFT Regional Section and Division chairs. The conference, first held in 1996, has reinvigorated several IFT Sections and helped identify current and future IFT leaders. “My proudest moments,” Pierson said, “are when Regional Section leaders tell me how the conference has revitalized their Sections through the enthusiasm it has given them.” The IFT Divisions, she added, “have grown from small groups of members with like interests that occasionally met at the Annual Meeting to centers for technical excellence within IFT upon which our scientific credibility is built.”

She served as staff liaison to the IFT 50th Anniversary Committee, the members of which volunteered their time and energy over a four-year period to raise money for and plan the successful 50th Anniversary celebration held in 1989.

She has been IFT’s resident expert on the IFT Constitution and By-Laws, and in the mid-1990s worked with committee members to convert the By-Laws to a Policy & Procedures Manual. “Converting to a Policy & Procedures Manual was a monumental task,” she said, “but has aided IFT to make efficient changes when needed.”

Pierson also took great interest in the Student Association, whose programs give the students many opportunities to grow as individuals and gain exceptional experience. “Working with the students has always been a joy,” she said, “and seeing many of them continue in IFT after graduation, eventually becoming Section and Division officers and IFT Committee chairs, has given me a great sense of pride.”

She expressed thanks “to the Executive Directors (now Executive Vice Presidents) I have worked with, who have given me support and direction in my career and allowed me to take on challenges that have made my work always interesting and exciting; to the IFT Presidents, many of whom have become personal friends, who have also been mentors who have helped to shape my life; to my staff, most of whom have been with me for 20 years and without whose support my job would have been a lot more difficult; and to my daughter Karen, who has been a part of IFT from her visits as a toddler to her help at Annual Meeting Registrations, with office clerical work as a teenager, and her current work on portions of IFT Web Pages.”

“I thank each and every IFT member I have ever come in contact with,” she said. “They have all woven a rich and beautiful tapestry for my life over the past 28 years. The wonderful memories are way too many to enumerate, because every time I have interacted with an IFT member it has been a rewarding experience.”

An Emeritus Member of IFT, Pierson intends to stay active as a volunteer in IFT and the IFT Regional Section in Arizona, where she is retiring.

Other staff changes
Tekla A. Syers has been promoted to Vice President of Membership Experiences. She will also continue to serve as Director of Foundation Development. Areas under her leadership include membership marketing and development, customer service, leadership development, IFT Student Association, IFT Employment Bureau, and information services. Prior to joining IFT in 2001, Syers was Chief Development Officer for Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Center and Manager of Development and Communications for the Girl Scouts. She earned her B.A. degree in sociology from the University of Illinois and has received training from the Illinois CPA Foundation, University of Chicago, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Indiana University School of Philanthropy, and a number of other professional organizations.

Karen Banasiak has been hired as Assistant Editor of Food Technology. Her responsibilities include editing the News & Analysis and IFT News sections. She earned her B.A. degree from the University of Illinois, M.A. degree in journalism from Michigan State University, and M.S. degree in food science from the University of Illinois. Prior to joining IFT in 2003, she worked in technical applications at Cargill, Inc. and research and development at Heller Seasonings and Ingredients. She has also been on the staff of an academic/trade magazine and has written articles for a food industry trade publication. She is a Member of IFT.

Bato Prostran has been promoted to Exhibit Sales Associate. His primary responsibility will be selling exhibit booth space for the IFT Expo®. He earned his B.A. degree in psychology and M.A. degree in speech from Northeastern Illinois University. Prior to his promotion at IFT, he worked in customer service.

by KAREN BANASIAK
Assistant Editor
[email protected]