The Western Association of Food and Drug Officials is organized for the purpose of improving communication and cooperation with the respective local, state, and federal programs, and for promoting the development and enforcement of uniform food, drug, and consumer protection laws. WAFDO member affiliates are listed on the Links page. Job vacancies are listed under News on the Announcements page. Also visit us on Facebook where you can participate in discussions on issues related to food safety, drugs and medical devices.
2014 Scholarship Recipient Thanks WAFDO
WAFDO 2013 Orlen J. Wiemann Award Winner
Welcome New Members
Recently Retired and Deceased Members (see WAFDO News)
Mark Roh, FDA Pacific Regional Food and Drug Director, retirement (see Announcements)
WAFDO 2015 Annual Educational Conference
Northern Mariana Islands - WAFDO Members
Purchase a WAFDO Polo Shirt
2015 Southwest Region Workshop and Annual Seminar
Message from the President - December 2014
Fiscal Year 2015 holds many mysteries. What will Congress do? How will we meet our fiscal needs and still allow our workforce to grow and stay educated in current and upcoming technological advancements? How do we keep the millennials interested in the job itself and the knowledge therein, not just the money they could make at another agency? (After you training them, by the way!)
Creativity is an understatement. Its new definition should be a plethora of words from the Thesaurus to include (but not be limited to), sharing, collaborating, leveraging, partnering, affiliate, associate, combine, interface. Yes, these are kitschy words that we have heard repeatedly throughout our careers, while playing in many sandboxes (to be cliché), but they all mean one thing - bring us together.
WAFDO is one venue, but is limited in its outreach. I would like to call on all of our members and affiliates to, as Ma Bell used to say, “Reach out and touch someone.” If your organization has paid for training and you have slots available, call a local agency and offer the remaining slots to them. Let’s say if someone identifies a training course that costs $2,000, and it might be of interest to 10 other agencies in your area, call them, discuss the possibility of splitting the cost of the course so your employees and those of the other agencies can gain the important knowledge, while minimizing the cost to $200 each. Just think if all Public Health Agencies across the country changed their way of thinking from “Us” to “We”. Oh what a wonderful world it would be!
We have begun this effort with Federal Agencies in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, California. I would like to challenge all of you to do the same. It CAN be done!
Onward toward the potential in the future. Excitement awaits us. There are good things to come!
Richelle S. Richter, WAFDO President
Special Assistant to the Branch Director
FDA/PRL-SW
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2014 Scholarship Recipient Thanks WAFDO
Joshua R. Smith received the 2015 WAFDO J. Jos Campioni Scholarship. He lives in Colorado. In his thank you letter he said:
I would like to thank the Western Association of Food and Drug Officials for the generous 2015 J. Jos Campioni $2000 Scholarship. It is much appreciated and will help me with my studies toward dual Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering degrees.
This scholarship will help me, as well as my family, allowing me to focus on my studies and maintain the class load I need to complete my five year program in four years, while still gaining experience through interships. |
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WAFDO 2015 Orlen J. Wiemann Award Winner
Kimberly Stryker, the new President of WAFDO, received the 2015 Orlen J. Wiemann award. She is the Program Manager of the Alask Department of Environmental Conservation in Ankorage, Alaska. Kim is shown on the left with Richelle Richter (Outgoing WAFDO President) and on the right with Ellen Buchanan (FDA).
Pictured below are previous WAFDO Orlen J. Wiemann Award Winners that were present at the 2015 Awards Banquet for Kimberly.
From left to right - Susan Parachini (Colorado), Patrick Kennelly (California), Kimberly Stryker (Alaska), Janet McDonald (FDA), Benson Yee (California), and Ellen Buchanan (FDA).
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Welcome New Members 2014
See the Membership page listing our new WAFDO members.
WAFDO 2015 Annual Educational Conference
The WAFDO 2015 Annual Educational Conference was held the week of September 20, 2015 at the Great Northern Hotel in Helena, Montana. See the Events page for additional information including PowerPoint presentations..
Northern Mariana Islands - WAFDO Members
The Northern Mariana Islands are a commonwealth in political union with the United States. These islands are located in the North Pacific Ocean about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines. The territory is about 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC and has a population of 86,616 people. The self-governed commonwealth has an elected governor with the capital located in Saipan.
The photo above shows the Public Health Division office located in Saipan. John Togabuel is the Directory of Environmental Health and is a WAFDO member.
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WAFDO Polo Shirts
Order your WAFDO polo shirt today. They are $25 including shipping. Complete the order form and mail it with your check to the address on the form. If you have questions, contact Susan Parachini at 303-692-3646 or susan.parachini@state.co.us.
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2015 Southwest Region Workshop and Annual Seminar
Registration forms and a PayPal payment option is available on the Events page.
WAFDO Contact Information
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Kimberly Stryker
Program Manager
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
555 Cordova Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 269-7583
FAX (907) 269-7510
kimberly.stryker@alaska.gov
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Telephone: |
(907) 269-7583 |
FAX: |
(907) 269-7510 |
Postal address: |
555 Cordova Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
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Electronic mail: |
kimberly.stryker@alaska.gov |
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