The 2020 NZPPS Annual General Meeting was held on 2 September at Lincoln University and simultaneously via Zoom. Fourteen members attended in person and a further 17 members participated online. This was the first time that the Society has held an AGM in such a format and it worked well. Online attendees typed their comments online and these were read out by the President. The President, Treasurer, Editor and Web-Editor each presented a report.
All these reports are available online at: https://nzpps.org/events/annual-general-meeting-2020/ The meeting lasted 1 hour and was followed by afternoon tea for attendees at Lincoln.
The following members stood for election as Officers of the Society and all were returned unopposed:
President: Mike Cripps
Vice President: Hayley Ridgway
Treasurer: Jason Smith
Editor: Ruth Falshaw
Secretary: Jenny Taylor
Committee: Rebecca Fisher; Joy Tyson; Dale Neill; Claire Mills; Vanessa Cotterill; and Soonie Chng
Eirian Jones is the Immediate Past President.
Gareth Hill has been co-opted onto the Committee as the Web Editor and the Treasurer recommended that the current auditors Owen McLeod & Co. be used again in 2021.
The Executive Committee extends a warm welcome to new members Rebecca Fisher and Soonie Chng and is pleased to retain the expertise of existing members.
Rebecca has been a member of the NZPPS since 2006 and has been an active member of the Society – contributing to forums and presenting at conference. Rebecca is the Crop Protection Manager at Market Access Solutionz, based in Wellington. Her expertise lies in the area of crop protection regulation. Rebecca works with grower groups on crop protection strategy development, registration of new products and EPA reassessments. Rebecca is also the Executive Manager for NZ Citrus Growers and serves as a Director on the board of AGCARM Inc. (Agricultural Compounds and Animal Remedy Manufacturers). Her strengths lie in engagement of a wide range of stakeholders across plant protection industries – from growers to government regulators and would bring a fresh and dynamic perspective to the committee. Rebecca has sound governance experience and an obvious passion for plant protection.
Soonie is a plant pathologist at the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited. Soonie’s research expertise is in arable and vegetable pathology, with a primary focus on the management of both airborne and soil-borne diseases, such as cereal rusts and root rots. She works closely with the New Zealand arable and vegetable cropping industries and collaborates with international peers on management of major crop diseases. Soonie was a committee member for New Zealand Women in Science in 2018, hence she understand the responsibilities and the dynamic energy required as a NZPPS committee member and she is keen to contribute towards a society so relevant to her field of interest.