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Our annual meeting in the pleasant warmth of Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, was a great success. We had 263 attendees, representing 17 countries. The entire meeting was world class, thanks to Karen DeVries and the Program Committee as well as the St. Paul staff. We have changed the meeting format over the last several years to include seminars and workshops. I think everyone in attendance will agree that this has been a very positive move in enhancing information exchange and allowing us to keep up-to-date on the latest issues. This format has also increased networking opportunities, which continue to be voiced as one of the biggest benefits of our annual meetings. The premeeting short course, “Origins and Troubleshooting Flavor Defects in Beer,” was a huge success. Greg Casey’s fishbone diagrams are sure to be one of his legacies. Thanks Greg!

At the Recognition Luncheon, honorary life memberships were presented to three past-presidents: Dave Diffor, Nona Mundy, and Dick Pyler; as well as longtime ASBC contributor John Grigsby. The Eric Kneen Award winners, Paul Sadosky, Paul Schwarz, and Richard Horsley were also honored. The ASBC Foundation awarded four scholarships this year, thanks to the generosity of Ecolab, Anheuser-Busch, Coors, and Sierra Nevada. The recipients of these scholarships were Suzanne Clark, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Derek Abbott, University of Saskatchewan; Mark Malowicki, Oregon State University; and Paul Sadosky, North Dakota State University. Congratulations to all!

Dirk Bendiak unveiled our new logo at the Recognition Luncheon. I am so excited about the new logo! I think it accurately represents our society and how we want to be perceived. It achieves the goal of offering a simple, sleek, more-contemporary mark that quickly communicates who ASBC is. The logo represents the function, service, and products of ASBC but is timeless in that it allows room for us to expand into other areas beyond brewing.

Several members leave the Board but will continue to volunteer their time to the Society. Rob Maruyama leaves as an esteemed past-president but will continue to lead the ASBC efforts on the planning committee for the WBC 2004 along with Kathy Kinton from the MBAA. Karen DeVries will hand over the Program Committee to John Engel and will take over John’s role as chair of the Coordination of New and Alternate Methods Subcommittee. Scott Heisel will pass on his financial savvy to our new treasurer, Rebecca Newman, but will remain active on the Emerging Issues Committee and the Internet Committee. Thanks Rob, Scott, and Karen for your contributions on the Board. We also welcome Greg Casey back to the Board as vice-president.

I would like to thank and congratulate Cindy-Lou Dull on completing her first year as Technical Committee chair. Cindy-Lou and the Technical Committee should be very proud of their accomplishments this year. To start, 13 collaborative studies were conducted, which is an amazing number, with three methods being recommended for inclusion in Methods of Analysis. They plan another busy year, with 10 collaborative studies continuing and three new ones being added. I would like to thank all of our members who have led subcommittees, as well as those who have participated on them. I would also like to thank their respective companies for supporting such efforts. Without each and every one of you, the Technical Committee would not be successful.

International Director Katherine Smart, Secretary Mary-Jane Maurice, and Publications Chair Mike Joyce also completed their first year on the Board. Katherine has done an outstanding job of keeping us connected to all the international happenings. Mary Jane should be commended for the quick turnaround of all meeting and conference call minutes and for making sure we are all on track with action items. Mike and his committee, along with Cindy-Lou Dull and the Technical Committee, have devoted considerable time toward putting Methods of Analysis on CD. The CD will include several new methods that have been approved since the last supplement in 1999, as well as the new section on packaging methods. We are very excited about releasing this in the spring of 2004. Peter Gales has been keeping very busy, after retiring last year, as the editor of a new ASBC publication entitled Brewing Chemistry and Technology in the Americas. This publication will be a reflection of current best practices in brewing chemistry. Many ASBC members who are experts in their field have been contributing to this book, and I would like to thank them for their contributions. The ASBC Journal, Newsletter, and ASBCnet have been top notch, due to the diligence of the respective editors, Charlie Bamforth, Joan Raumschuh, and Allen Budde.

As I indicated in my acceptance speech in New Mexico, the current Board needs to continue to be focused on the future in order to meet the changing needs of our members and industry. We will continue to set and accomplish goals related to expanding to other beverage sciences, having a more flexible governance, providing information in a multitude of formats, and being a more interactive educator. ASBC is currently set up to react to industry needs and trends. With our Emerging Issues Committee, we are moving toward being proactive in determining these industry needs and trends. We will actively seek input and involvement from new and younger members to ensure that their needs are met and to solidify the future of our Society.

I am very proud to be part of one of the greatest brewing organizations and hope that you will all stay involved and contribute toward making this society even stronger. I am looking forward to a great year and hope we can celebrate all of our successes over some outstanding beverages at the WBC 2004 in San Diego.

Suzanne Y. Thompson
President

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