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President's October 2006 Message
Dear Fellow FDA Members,
I cannot believe that it is almost November and
I am one month into my term as your President.
There is a lot going on in our profession and
in our association. I know that you all get far
more e-mails than you need or want. Hopefully,
these updates are useful to you. Here are some
highlights that may be of interest:
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Many
of our members were able to travel to Hawaii
for this year's FNCE. If you were one of the
lucky ones, I hope that your trip was wonderful
and you were able to bring back lots of good
information and memories.
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The
FDA Board of Directors met in Orlando earlier
this month and, among other things, approved
the new budget. Thanks to our Treasurer, Holly
Adams for many hours of diligent work. Thanks
to Holly and our hard working Headquarters staff,
we have had another profitable year and ran
with a balanced budget.
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The
Administrative Council also met this month and
began work on a new five year Strategic Plan.
Work will continue throughout the year and we
expect to have a new plan ready for distribution
at the annual meeting in July. You can get information
about this endeavor from your district leadership,
and you can follow the progress on our website.
Your comments and input are encouraged.
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Our
new Legislative Committee under the direction
of President-Elect Lucille Beseler has hit the
ground running. Our lobbyist Sandy Woodruff
is extremely active in Tallahassee and has been
receiving incredible support from this group
and other FDA members. Remember, "If Dietetics
is your Profession, then Politics is your Business"
– this becomes more evident every year.
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A
multi-year contract has been signed with the
University of North Florida to serve as our
Diet Manual Review Board. The team is hard at
work and you will be hearing about an updated
hard copy shortly. The online versions are updated
quarterly.
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Student
Issues Chair, Meghan Montgomery is gearing up
for a busy year. If you are a student member
and are interested in joining this committee
or would be interested in forming a student
forum contact Meghan at meghanannemoran@gmail.com.
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The
Board of Directors just approved the creation
of New Member Dues Stipends to support graduating
students in the first year of active membership.
Watch later in the year for more information
from the Scholarship Committee.
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The
Awards Committee under the leadership of John
Wills has latched on to this year's theme of
"The Essential Piece" and is sponsoring
a district challenge to encourage award nominations.
Your District President has the details of this
challenge.
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Member
at Large, Mary Herrstrom is finalizing this
year's member survey. Watch your e-mail for
information on this. We had an outstanding response
to the survey last year and were able to implement
several of your ideas. It is short and easy
to complete. Please give us your thoughts when
it arrives.
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Focus
Editor, Joan Williams tells me that you will
be receiving your print version of the Focus
Newsletter shortly. Once you get it, go to the
website for a larger, more in depth Focus.
Judy Cooper and Penny Levy are still accepting
healthy recipes for their cookbook "What
the Experts Eat." If you haven’t already
done so you can e-mail your recipe to them at
pennylevy@hotmail.com.
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Congratulations
to Gayle Dietz who was recently appointedby
the Governor to the Florida State Employee Wellness
Council. Jo Ann Donnelly will represent FDA
on a state task force doing strategic planning
on Women's Health Issues and Marty Katz has
agreed to serve as our representative to the
Florida Health Care Association.
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Check
out the Florida Diet Manual.
There is lots of new stuff available and more
to come. Multi-cultural CPE courses are now
available free to members. There is a charge
for non-members.
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If
you are interested in either an internet or
intranet version of the Diet Manual, you can
view a test version on our website.
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Executive
Director Christine Stapell is hard at work planning
our next annual meeting in Marco Island. Mark
your calendars for July 8-11, 2007. It promises
to be an outstanding program. There is room
for 129 vendor booths at this meeting. If you
know of potential vendors, please send the contact
information to Chris at cstapell@eatrightflorida.org.
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Chris
also wants you to know that she has FDA logo
merchandise. There are still some briefcases
and memo cubes available. These make great raffle
prizes and also great holiday gifts. Contact
Chris for information.
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In
October, Wendy's announced a new consumer education
program developed in collaboration with ADA.
The program connects moms with Registered Dietitians
through a new web site www.mom-rd.com . This
program promotes RD's as the nation's food an
nutrition experts to millions of consumers nationwide.
The website is written by three ADA member RDs
who are also moms. Check it out.
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As
we enter the holiday season please join me in
sending condolences to Nancy Spaulding-Albright
on the recent passing of her husband Mike. Nancy
has been a long time supporter of FDA and all
of our hearts and prayers are with her and her
family.
On behalf of the entire Board of Directors I
would like to wish each of you a safe, prosperous
and Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for all that
you do for your profession.
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