NCIFT February Board Meeting Minutes
Date: February 22, 2022
Time: 4- 5 pm
Location: Zoom
Attendees:
Parastoo Yaghmaee – President
Ellice Ogle- President Elect
Gabriela Swamy – Secretary
Terri Amerio-Bell-Treasurer
John Frelka- Dir. At Large
Christopher Ham- Dir. At Large
Ashwini Wagh – Education Chair
Jamie Lawrence- HornBlower Editor
Craig Rothe-Past President
Bruce Ferree-Symposium Chair
Martin Potnick – Sierra Region
Erin Evers-Membership & New Prof.
Katie Uhl – UC Davis
Amber Yung-I Sun – UG rep, UC Davis
Maria Giovani – UC, Chico
4:05 PM Called to Order, Meeting called to end 5:01 PM (PST)
Food Processing Expo and Luncheon recap
Parastoo provided feedback that the participant response to the luncheon was greatly positive.
The speaker highlighted the process of Filtration in the session and approximately 30 people
attended the luncheon.
Erin updated on the expo and extended her appreciation for the CLFP team. She also thanked
Bruce, Mathew, Parastoo, John for volunteering at the booth. She also updated that there was
interest from vendors for the golf tournament. Registration forms were handed out.
NCIFT Website modification comments
Parastoo informed the team about the NCIFT website update process. A login is set up for
members and meeting minutes and Hornblower will be available only for members. Other
general information is available for everyone. The team is still working on the developing the
other aspects of the website.
Scholarship Committee update
Parastoo updated the team as Charlwit was not present. The committee was able to rank the
applicants and select winners. Eleven scholarships were given to SJSU and UC Davis students.
She also encouraged UC Chico members to increase student participation.
Nomination Committee update
John updated the team that all positions have been filled except for the Chair elect. He will be
reaching out to more people and will be updating in the next meeting. The nomination list
needs to be finalized by Spring 2022.
Terri updated that she will be stepping down as Treasurer after the fiscal year. Since the
Treasurer position is not an elected one, the President will appoint the Treasurer after the
tenure is completed.
Finance Committee – Roles and responsibilities
Parastoo updated the team about the first meeting of the Finance committee that was held last
week. In the first session, the committee listed the responsibilities as follows:
1. Provide advice and guidance to NCIFT Board when is needed.
2. Create, approve, and update (as necessary) policies that help ensure the assets
of the organization are protected.
3. Ensure policies and procedures for financial transactions are documented and is
reviewed annually and updated as necessary within NCIFT bylaw.
4. Ensure approved financial policies and procedures are being followed.
5. Ensure the financial records of the organization are accurate and complete.
6. Assist the treasurer in managing and monitoring the organization finances.
7. Work with event chairs in developing the budget and monitoring expenses.
8. Annual review of best financial practices
Bruce and Martin suggested that financial advice should be included in the responsibilities.
Zoom host and moderator (need more volunteers, for Supplier’s Night and webinars)
Ellice updated on the virtual events conducted so far and participant responses have been very
positive. She requested for more volunteers for future events. Gabriela agreed to volunteer for
virtual events.
Hornblower comments
Jamie updated that the next deadline to submit articles is Fri Mar 18. She also requested an
assistant editor. Gabriela has promised to reach out to the NUFS Club students to volunteer
Upcoming confirmed events
Bruce highlighted that the IFT and NCIFT logo needs to be fixed before printing the
certificate.
Bruce is working on the expo location. Same buildings as in the past, agreement almost
final, agreeing on lay-out for the buildings
COVID protocols will be followed, and Bruce has arranged for a sanitizer sponsor –
RBChemical and Co. The team is looking for a mask sponsor
Victor and Parastoo are working on adding the Student Poster competition and
presentation – lay-out within the floor
Bruce is starting outreach to UCD and SJSU for student volunteers.
Upcoming in progress events:
Click here to see past NCIFT Past Chairs of the Section.
PRESIDENT
Dr. Parastoo Yaghmaee
Ziel
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Ms. Ellice Ogle
Tandem Foods
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Mr. Jaspreet Walia
Certified Laboratories of Northern California
SECRETARY
Dr. Gabriella John Swammy
SJSU
TREASURER
Ms. Terri Amerio-Bell, EA, CFP
Emeritus
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
Ms. Erin Evers
SPI Group
DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE
Mr. Matthew Poon
Dr. Xi (Alex) Feng
Dept. of Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging
San Jose State University
Mr. Jeff Sheasley
Elite Spice
Mr. Christopher Ham
Mr. John Frelka
Ms. WanChin Lim
Dr. Victor Hong
NOMINATING & ELECTIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Mr. John Frelka
FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR
Ms. Terri Amerio-Bell, EA, CFP
Emeritus
SUPPLIERS’ NIGHT EXPO CHAIR
Mr. Bruce Ferree
Insight Food Safety Consulting
GRANTS COMMITTEE CHAIR
Charlwit Kulchaiyawat
Foster Farms
NEW PROFESSIONALS GROUP CHAIR
Ms. Erin Evers
SPI Group
VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE CHAIR
Ms. Reshmi Raman
Brioche PASQUIER
SCIENCE FAIR AWARDS CHAIR
Ms. Rachael Hung
SOCIAL MEDIA CHAIR
Dr. Apurva Bhave
EDUCATIONAL CHAIR
Dr. Ashwini Wagh
Clorox
GOLF CLASSIC & AWARDS DINNER
CO-CHAIRS & TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS:
Mr. Martin Potnick
Nevada Industry Excellence
Mr. Dave Sholty
Emeritus
Mr. Craig Rothe
Elite Spice
Mr. Jaspreet Walia (Jas)
Certified Laboratories of Northern California
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES
UC Davis:
Ms. Angela Weber
Undergrad Student
Ms. Katherine Rose Uhl
Graduate Student
Ms. Stephanie Myers
Campus Contact
CSU San Jose:
Dr. Xi (Alex) Feng
Campus Contact
CSU Chico:
Ms. Maria Giovanni
Campus Contact
OTHER IMPORTANT CONTACTS
INCOMING HORNBLOWER EDITOR
Ms. Jaime Lawrence
JOB LISTINGS:
Ms. Imelda Vasquez
NCIFT Office at Marketing Designs
SUPPLIERS’ NIGHT EXPO COORDINATOR & MEMBERSHIP RECORDS
Ms. Imelda Vasquez
NCIFT Office at Marketing Designs