Winter 2012

American Fats and Oils AssociationPO Box 11035Columbia, SC 29211803-252-7128

Hurricane Sandy Reminds Members of Importance of AFOA Arbitration Process

American Fats and Oils Association

The recent hurricane that hit the United States’ Northeast, Hurricane Sandy, produced a number of phone calls to AFOA Headquarters regarding the association’s arbitration process. While it is unfortunate that these circumstances happened and caused terrible destruction and devastation, the storm and its aftereffects also caused a disruption in business for many that may result in disputes and the need for arbitration.

The following information may be of use to you now or in the future:

The AFOA selected the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the world’s leading provider of conflict management and dispute resolution services, as its official administrator for its arbitration program. Sandra Partridge, vice president, AAA, said, “AAA is extremely pleased to provide the AFOA with comprehensive dispute resolution services. In today’s global economy the efficient sale and transportation of goods across the world is critical, and organizations such as the AFOA must have in place established protocols to resolve disputes that may arise.”

Contact information: Sandra K. Partridge, Esq., Vice President, 1633 Broadway 10th Floor, New York, NY 10019, Tel: 212 484 4084, Fax: 212 307 4387, e-mail: Partridges@adr.org, www.adr.org

Seen at the Annual Meeting

January 15th Board Meeting by Conference Call

March 9th Board Meeting Scottsdale, AZ March 10th - 12th NIOP Convention

June 11th Board Meeting Chicago, IL

October 10th - 11th Annual Meeting Grand Hyatt New York, NY

2013 AFOA Calendar

AFOA’s Rulebook is located on-line for members. A new user password is required to ac-cess the members’ section. The new password will be provided as memberships are renewed for 2013.

AFOA thanks its members for paying dues to access and receive this resource. We request that you not share this resource with non-dues paying individuals in the industry by sharing your password.

Please verify your membership and contact information are current by checking out the website today, and let AFOA staff know if any of your contact information needs to be updated.

Rulebook On-Line

Welcome New Members!• John Skrina, Chemoil Corporation, San Francisco, CA• Tyler Groeneveld, Dow AgroSciences, Calgary, Alberta• Peter De Kok, Freeline Organic Food USA LLC, Westport, CT• Eric Koehne, Global Seaport Services, Inc., Houston, TX• Todd Calfee, Green Plains Trade Group LLC, Omaha, NE• Jose Alfredo Hernandez Escamilla, Hesca Ingenieria Ambiental, S.A. De C.V., Guanajuato, Mexico• Scott Lohman, LSW Enterprises, LLC, Anaheim, CA• Rick Fase, Northern Alliance Commodities, Tecumseh, Ontario• John Prince, OH Little, Frierson, LA• Dan Bruxvoort, PS International, Ltd., Chapel Hill, NC• Tushar Adya, Riverina Natural Oils LLC, New York, NY• Stan Runyon, Runyon Industries, Inc., Memphis, TN• Todd Scherbing, Smithfield Packing, Smithfield, VA• Anke Wiciok, VITAL Fetterecycling GmbH, Borken, Germany• Mark O’Donnell, Westway Terminal Co., New Orleans, LA• Alexander Wilbur, Wimar Gavilon, LLC, Stockton, CA

2013 Membership Renewals to be delivered by E-mailed in JanuaryMembership renewal invoices will be e-mailed to the primary member of each company in January. The dues amount remains the same and includes up to three representatives. Each additional representative is an extra $50. Each additional location is $100 and includes up to another three representatives from your company.

From the President . . . Greetings from Montreal, where we are all enjoying the holidays.

As this is my first newsletter since taking over from Scott Bunz, I would like to acknowledge what a terrific job Scott did during his term and the many contributions he has made to the organization. The AFOA is moving in the right direction due to Scott’s leadership the past two years and the support of a strong board.

The AFOA’s greatest strength is providing a forum for networking both at our annual meeting and throughout the year. Our membership is extremely diverse across many industries with expertise in all areas of business and trade. I encourage all of you to think about how the AFOA can help you throughout the year and share those ideas with the board. I also encourage you to promote the organization to new potential members. I am proud that AFOA has added membership over the last several years. There are not many trade organizations that can make that statement given the recent economic environment.

We are already working on the agenda for the annual meeting in October. The annual meeting is another area that we ask for membership input. If you have ideas for the meeting, or presenters that you think we should consider please contact myself or one of the board members.

Thank you for your continued support of the AFOA, and I look forward to seeing all of you in 2013.

Robert “Bob” DesnoyersAFOA President

Committee Chairmen

Much of the association’s work is done by its committees. These committees are chaired by volunteers from the industry and membership. If you have a question, concern or suggestion about the industry, we encourage you to call the committee chair who works with that specific issue or topic. We are in the process of selecting new committee members. We will let you know once it has been announced.

Membership Committee Tallow Committee Nominating Committee Transportation CommitteeArbitration CommitteeVegetable Oil CommitteeAnimal & Poultry Proteins CommitteeBiofuels CommitteeProgram Committee Join us in welcoming the 2013 officers:

President Robert Desnoyers1st Vice President Eric Jackson2nd Vice President Rob JonesTreasurer Ralph JoelSecretary David HaselschwerdtAssistant Treasurer Liam RogersAssistant Secretary Steve Borstad

Scenes from the most recent AFOA Annual Meeting

Rulebook On-Line