Message from the President
January is named for the Roman god Janus, who was usually depicted as a figure with 2 faces. One face looks back and the other face looks forward. It does seem fitting as we remember what had happened in 2022 and what may happen in 2023.
2022 was a very interesting year. We ramped up activity as the pandemic eased. We had our first in-person Annual Meeting in a couple years. Regions were able to meet face to face. We also noted that there had been a decline with membership for a variety of reasons. We noted that it had been more difficult to fill key leadership positions. We know that 2022 set a challenging stage for what is to come.
Looking forward to 2023, we are planning to have our Annual Meeting again November 6-7 in Ames (pencil those dates in, we hope to see you there!) We hope to reach out to non-members and former members for information about their perceptions of the value of membership. We hope to build relationships and coalitions with like-minded groups to address big issues like food access, diversity, reimbursements and licensure. We hope to link up with like-minded sponsors to help us leverage action to help us fulfill our mission to empower our members to be Iowa's food and nutrition advocates. We are planning to be a sustainable and intentional organization. We hope that 2023 will see us become better connected and better able to serve our public as the nutrition experts…and we will need your help to make it happen.
Here are some more tidbits for your consideration:
Have you ever used the Simplified Diet Manual? - We have plenty of copies of the 13th edition available for sale as a reliable reference. The most current edition of the Manual is required to be available onsite to be used in long-term care facilities and critical access hospitals. I used it when I helped run our Meals on Wheels program in Polk County and I used it successfully to convince a cardiology group that well- intentioned but ill-informed extreme sodium restrictions may actually provoke malnutrition with older persons. Sales of this manual benefits all of our members. Order your copy today! Tell someone about it!
Know someone great? Nominate! - The lifeblood of organizations such as ours depends on members who can give back time and talent as leaders. It is one of the bedrock principles of professional behavior. Positions on the Board & Council are open now and more will open up in May & June. Please contact the Nominations Committee.
Know your numbers - On January 9, the Iowa Legislature will convene for the 90th general assembly. Please take time to research whom your senator and representative is and drop them a line as a citizen advocate. My representative noted to me that there is no way that he could keep up on all of the issues, unless his constituents step forward to let him know what is important. To that end, take an hour to hear from our lobbyist on January 20 from 12:30-1:30 and earn a CEU in the meantime.
