Todd Jones at the 2010 In Vitro Biology meeting presents the Distinguished Service Award to Dwight Tomes, Guy Smagghe, Peggy Ozias-Akins and Paul Price.
One of the benefits of being the Society’s President is the privilege of honoring those who have served the Society with a SIVB Distinguished Service Award. This year, 6 honorees were presented with the Distinguished Service Award at the 2010 In Vitro Biology meeting in St. Louis.
Three of the recipients were outgoing members of the SIVB Board of Directors and I wished to recognize their contributions to the Society. Dwight Tomes is the out-going Vice President while Dan Brown and Guy Smagghe have each served terms as Members-at-Large for the Plant Biotechnology and IVACS sections, respectively. I sincerely appreciate all their hard work, commitment and service on the SIVB Board of Directors. Through their efforts, the Society has remained on a path that is fiscally sound, Societally responsible and scientifically excellent.
The Distinguished Service Award was also presented to Dennis Laska and Peggy Ozias-Akins, the outgoing chairs of the IVACS and Plant Biotechnology sections. Both served their sections well and I particularly appreciated their efforts in coordinating activities between the sections. The two sections are now harmonized as well or better than ever and this is due, largely, to the efforts of the 2 section chairs and their leadership of cooperation and inclusion. I also sincerely appreciated their help in planning the 2009 and 2010 meetings. Thank you, Dennis and Peggy.
Lastly, I would like to emphasize one final recipient of the 2010 SIVB Distinguished Service Award: Paul Price. Paul also exited the Board of Directors this year, but after a 6 year stint, beginning with 2 years as President-Elect, 2 years as SIVB President and 2 years as Past President of the Society. During those 6 years, Paul has helped guide the Society through historically lean fiscal times to the point that we are in the best financial footing in years, securely in the black and poised for a promising future. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Paul and sincerely thank him for his leadership and for all he has done for the Society. After 6 years, he deserves an award, and some time off.
Submitted by Todd Jones
