Food Protection Trends - February 2010 - 68

from your president “vickie's view” G reetings to all! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I had the opportunity to spend an entire week away from work. I spent the time with my family, with my boys, Max and Jack. Each day we did something different; a movie one day, roller skating another, we took the train to downtown Chicago another day and went to the Shedd Aquarium. And one day we went to Chuck E. Cheese’s (CEC). For those of you not familiar with CEC, it is pizzeria/ arcade with a huge mouse (Chuck E. Cheese) welcoming and entertaining everyone. In true arcade fashion there are hundreds of games and even more children running around (it’s very loud!). I think it is safe to say that most, if not all, children in the United States have been to CEC as either the host or a guest at a party there, or will be before their 6th birthday! The venue motto is, “Where a kid can be a kid!” The children eat pizza for about 60 seconds and then spend the rest of the time playing loud arcade games. Quite a few of the games reward the player with tickets; the higher your score, the more tickets the game pays you back. These tickets can then be traded in for “valuable” prizes. Subsequently, even as young children, we are taught that if we do well at something, there is a chance that we will be rewarded. I found this to be quite coincidental as I was considering what the topic of this month’s column would be. I had decided months ago that the February column would be about awards, rewards, and incentives. There is a quote by Former U. S. President, Ronald Reagan that I typically try to keep in mind as I go about my daily work; “There’s no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.” This philosophy promotes the concept of team and of By VICKIE LEWANDOWSKI PRESIDENT “Do you have a colleague in mind that is worthy of an award?” coming together for a common cause and consensus. In my experience, it is this notion that makes industry, academia, and governments successful. Equally vital to success are awards and incentives. Acknowledgment of one’s performance is essential to an individual’s sense of worth and value. There are numerous versions of employee satisfaction or employee engagement surveys that companies and institutions use to gage or measure success. The number one result of most of these surveys is that many employees feel their accomplishments are not recognized and rewarded appropriately. This has been the top survey response for numerous years past and continues to be so. It seems to be one of those things that we simply accept. Maybe we think it is bigger than us and that we can’t change it. But really, how hard is it to say thank you to someone? How hard is it to send a note acknowledging a colleague’s hard work, especially when they have gone above and beyond the call of duty? Do you have a colleague in mind that is worthy of an award? If yes, you are in luck! IAFP has 13 association awards available that recognize the effort and energy put forth by your coworkers, colleagues, company, student or professor. Of the 13 awards available, one is specifically an industry award for an outstanding company (the Black Pearl), 3 are for an individual, group or organization (Food Safety Innovation Award, GMA Food Safety Award, and the Frozen Food Foundation Freezing Research Award), and 9 are specifically for individuals (Fellow Award, Honorary Life Membership Award, Harry Haverland Citation Award, International Leadership Award, Maurice Weber Laboratorian Award, Larr y Beuchat Young Researcher Award, Sanitarian Award, Harold Barnum Industry Award, and the Elmer Marth Educator Award). And, you don’t have to choose between one or more deserving person, you may make multiple nominations. The general guidelines for nominating are clear and simple: • Persons nominated for individual awards must be current IAFP Members (if they are not, encourage them to become a member; $50 base membership). • Black Pearl Award nominees must be companies employing current IAFP members. • GMA Food Safety Award and Frozen Food Foundation 68 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS | FEBRUARY 2010

Food Protection Trends - February 2010

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