Fall is always a very busy time for SFA. Not only are the U.S. Congress and state legislatures back in session, but the federal agency staffs are back at their desks and many laws affecting our industry are again at the forefront of our attention. Autumn also is a busy time of year for SFA members and staff due to the various educational programs we host and participate in.

The Total Quality Management short course, previously taught by the late Dr. Wilbur Gould of Ohio State University (OSU) until the late 1990s, has been relaunched. We have partnered with the Center for Innovative Food Technology in Columbus, Ohio, and OSU to relaunch this important course, which will be held Sept. 12-15 at the university.  We’re pleased that we have nearly 30 attendees registered and five countries represented at the course. It will be four intensive days of lecture and lab work specifically designed for quality assurance personnel in the snack food industry, and I want to acknowledge those key members from Wyandot, Inc., Shearer’s Foods, Inc., and Utz Quality Foods, Inc., who helped develop this new program.

Of course our annual Top Management Seminar will be held at the beautiful Four Seasons resort in Jackson Hole, Wyo., from Sept. 25-27. This annual meeting for senior executives provides excellent speakers, important networking opportunities and a chance to catch up with colleagues and friends.

Following Top Management, SFA’s Management Workshop will be held Oct. 23-25 in Indianapolis, Ind. This program is designed for senior management in either the sales/marketing area or operations area, and includes special educational tracks for both sales and marketing personnel and manufacturing and operations personnel. We also will be hosting a fantastic, state-of-the-art plant tour in the Indianapolis area.

Another meeting that SFA has participated in over the last few years is Canacintra’s Encuentro Nacional de Fabricantes de Botanas in Mexico City. The meeting, which will be held Nov. 3 and 4, will provide opportunity for suppliers to exhibit to snack manufacturers in Mexico and throughout Latin America. SFA’s Vice President of Membership & Administration, Chris Clark, and Latin American Advisor, Ileana Lima, will be there. As you may know, SFA and Canacintra Botanos entered into an agreement a couple years ago to share information and jointly promote our annual meetings.

As you can see, we have a number of programs this fall, and I look forward to seeing you and representatives from your company at each of these unique industry events. Please visit our Web site at www.sfa.org for more information about any of these SFA programs.