Greetings from your President

Here it is Mid-July already. Seems like the clock turns faster every year. I can remember when we were young and we would wish for Christmas or our birthday to hurry up and come. Dad would say "Don't wish your life away". At the time, I did not understand, but I sure do now.

The reports of this year’s crop around the state are quite varied. A good to average crop was reported in much of the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. A less than average yield was reported from those further north. The one common comment was that quality was excellent with light syrup and good flavor. The New England states and Canada did not do so well. Junes report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service is that the overall crop was down nearly 25 percent.

Plans for the Fall Tour are progressing well. We did have to change the date to September 22. We will be touring in the South West corner of the state. The details of the tour and registration forms are in this newsletter.

We are planning another bus trip to the NAMSC and IMSI Meeting in October. The meeting is in Minnesota, and we are scheduling another bus trip to this event. Debbi Thomas is making all the plans this year; you can find her report along with registration information later in this newsletter. We will be leaving on October 19 and returning October 26. We all had a great time last year and we would love to have a full bus this year.

The Annual Winter Meeting is set for January 19, 2002. It will again be at the Doherty Hotel in Clare. The Hotel expansion is moving along. There will be additional guest rooms and meetings rooms for this year's event. In 2003, they will have the convention center completed and we should be able to have a much larger room for your general membership meeting as well as more space for the exhibitors.

Mark your calendars with all of these important dates. See you on the Fall Tour.

Larry Haigh
President
Michigan Maple Syrup Association