Chair’s Corner – September 2020
By: Natalie Roesler
Hello fellow Alamo IFT Members! I am excited to help lead the Alamo IFT chapter this year. I am relatively new to Texas having moved here about two years ago. I’m a Nebraska native and received my bachelor’s in Food Science from the University of Nebraska. I have moved around the country for different career opportunities and have been a resident of Wisconsin and Georgia along the way. I’ve been in R&D my entire career and really enjoy working with cross-functional teams to bring innovation to the marketplace.
I’ve been involved with Alamo IFT for over a year now and served as the Chair Elect last year. We have a wonderful group of leaders who are passionate about our chapter and continuing to provide excellent opportunities for fellow food industry members to connect. This goal is not changing this year. We also plan to continue our student scholarship awards. In order to be successful at both objectives, we need you! Please keep an eye out for our upcoming events and our fundraiser which has typically been a golf outing. During these times of the pandemic, we need your participation and ideas more than ever. If you’d like to get involved or can offer us ideas for activities this year, please send us an email to info@alamoift.org.
Thank you for your membership and I look forward to seeing you soon!
~Natalie
2019-2020 Section of Excellence Award
Congratulations to our Alamo IFT chapter and members in receiving the 2019 – 2020 Section of Excellence Award! This recognition symbolizes the section’s commitment to IFT, section members, and the food science and technology profession. To receive these designations, the section must meet or exceed several criteria, including holding a variety of events throughout the year and demonstrating exemplary volunteer service. Results are announced each year in June.
Scholarship Update
Welcome to our NEW Scholarship Chair, Katie McClain! Thank you for accepting the responsibility for our chapter-awarded scholarships. Fun fact: Katie was an Alamo IFT scholarship recipient a “few” years ago!
We also want to express our thanks to Emily Jurica who has served as our Scholarship Chair for many years. Thank you Emily!
Scholarship Applications have been emailed mailed out for this year and will be received electronically rather than in print due to COVID. Scholarships will be awarded up to $2500 to students currently enrolled in a university offering Food Science and Technology or a Culinary Arts program through the Culinary Institute of America or St. Philips. Applications are due by October 16th, 2020. Feel free to reach out to Katie if you are in need of an application at katie.mcclain@fsns.com.
Mark Your Calendars – Upcoming Events:
September 24, 2020 – All-Natural Preservatives Webinar
We are excited to announce our first event of the new year which is a reschedule from last spring due to COVID-19. We will hold a lunch & learn webinar on September 24th from 12:00 – 1:00pm CST. Jenifer Prophett from Galactic will be our presenter on formulation and use of all-natural preservatives. Please keep your eyes out for an invitation about two weeks out with the sign up and webinar details. It would be great to see all our members attend virtually!
April 8th, 2021 – Alamo IFT Golf Tournament
Thank you to everyone who participated in our golf tournament survey. Based on the results of the survey, we have moved our golf tournament from November to April. The new date is Thursday, April 8th so please place a hold on your calendars for some fun in the Spring!
Call for Job Postings
We know that COVID-19 has had a big impact on jobs in our industry. In order to help job seekers and hiring companies to connect, if you have a current job opening for members in our fields, please send it to info@alamoift.org and we will help to share it through LinkedIn and our website.
2020-2021 Alamo IFT Officer Roster
| Genevie Alejandro | galejandro@ifpc.com | Past President |
| Natalie Roesler | nroesler@surleanfoods.com | President |
| John Dorsey | jdorsey@flavorchem.com | President Elect |
| Deana Phillips | dphillips@idf.com | Secretary |
| Eric Caballero | EricCaballero@afco.net | Treasurer |
| Cindy Toscano | ctoscano@coleygcs.com | Marketing Chair |
| Scott McCormick | smccormick@chg.com | Golf Tournament Chair |
| Karla Siska | ksiska@goodheart.com | Membership Chair |
| Katie McClain | Katie.mcclain@fsns.com | Scholarship Chair |
| Anthony Wilke | awilke@ecolab.com | Director at Large |
| Daniel Jackson | qualitycontrol@fiestaspices.com | Director at Large |
| Bert Casey | bcasey@caseying.com | Director at Large |
| Mary Karpati | mary.karpati@beneo.com | Social Chair |
| Fred Reimers | creativefoodsafesolutions@yahoo.com | Executive Committee |
