IMSI: A Forum for Learning and Sharing

The annual meeting of the International Maple Syrup Institute (IMSI) was held in October in North Conway, New Hampshire in conjunction with the annual meeting of the North American Maple Syrup Council (NAMSC). At this year's meeting, we were able to conclude some major "housekeeping" tasks that have been on the back burner for several years. Last year the organization reformulated its statement of purpose: to protect and promote pure maple syrup.

This year we were able to complete work on by-laws changes that give the IMSI a solid blueprint of operational procedures to help us reach our goals. These are largely un-exciting tasks, but necessary to ensure thee smooth, on-going operation of a volunteer organization such as this, with members spread throughout the maple production region. We also worked hard to actually implement our by-laws consistently. In recent years, the existing by-laws had been largely ignored. Now they reflect organization as we want it to be and we're following them. We formally elected a Board of Directors for the first time in nearly 10 years. As a dues-paying member of the IMSI, the MMSA received a seat on the Board of Directors. I was elected to fill that position for the year 2003.

As of January 2, 2003, I will have completed two terms as President of the IMSI. For the next two years, I will continue to assist the executive committee, as needed,  in the role of Past President. I want to give my sincere thanks to the MMSA Board and membership for your support over the past four years. Your generous financial assistance has been very helpful in defraying some of my travel expenses to these meetings. It has been a very rich experience for me; I have gained experience, knowledge, a little adventure and an even greater appreciation for our industry and the people that make it up. More importantly, I believe my participation has been good for Michigan. Whenever Michigan is represented at any maple roundtable, it is good for all of us. We are more informed, others are more informed about Michigan, and we become en ever increasingly important player in the industry. I am pleased and proud to have been given this opportunity to represent the MMSA.

Other business that took place at the annual meeting includes further work on the IMSI web-site. It should be operational by the first of the year. I have high hopes that this will eventually turn into an excellent source of information and sharing for the industry as a whole and our consumers. As an example, the IMSI this year formed a committee to study maple grading laws and how they vary among various states and provinces. The preliminary work was presented at the October meeting. It is a very useful compilation of grading laws that will be accessible on the IMSI site. This year, a new committee was formed to compile information about organic certification and how it varies over our regions. This initial sharing of information is the first step towards long-term goals of working together better as an industry.

Finally, we received the complete report on guidelines recently adopted by Les Manufacturiers d’Équipments Acéricoles (LEMA), a manufacturers group (from both sides of the border) that has voluntarily agreed to high standards of manufacture for all maple equipment. This group originally grew from concerns over lead in older maple equipment and has spent several years on comprehensive study of the best and safest materials and procedures for manufacture. That report will also be available soon on the IMSI web site, along with the current status of our on-going testing for adulterated maple syrup.

These are exciting endeavors that continue to move our industry forward. Thank you again for keeping the MMSA involved in this important work

Mary Fogle Douglass