Gee New IARW Chairman; Biggar Heads WFLO.

Outside the afternoon temperatures neared a sweltering 100 [degrees] F mark (38 [degrees] C), but inside the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix cool heads were very much prevailing during the 109th annual convention of the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) held April 29 -- May 3. More than 700 delegates from 15 countries -- a record turnout -- attended.

Elected to head the association as chairman for 2000-01 was William T. Gee of SCS Refrigerated Services LLC, Algona, Washington. He succeeded Fabio Fonseca of Friozem Armazens Frigorificos Ltda., Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Assisting Gee as vice chairman is Tim Bridgman, the London, England-based president and chief executive officer of United States Cold Storage. Larry Rauch of Los Angeles Cold Storage, Los Angeles, Calif., was elected treasurer.

Named as directors at large were: Cyriel Godderie of CS Integrated LLC, Liberty Corner, New Jersey, USA; Dan McNamara of Americold Logistics, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and Hans Van Leeuwen of Frigolanda, Dresden, Germany.

Elected to three-year terms to represent North America sectors were: Thomas Poe (Missouri Valley Board), Emilio Sanchez (Southwestern Board), and Larry Rauch (South Pacific Board).

Tim Bridgman, who had served as 1999-2000 treasurer, reported that the IARW is in good shape financially. Income last year was $2,628,743 against expenses of $2,518,185, making for a surplus of $110,558. Total equity of $2,525,116 amounted to 102% of total annual expenditures.

The WFLO held its 57th annual meeting in Phoenix in co,unction with the IARW gathering. Outgoing Chairman Jeff Spence, noting that the organization was on "sound financial footings," reported that its $611,175 in equity was 103% of total annual expenses.

WFLO Names Officer Slate

Elected to serve as the organization's chairman for 2000-01 was Raymond Biggar of Associated Freezers Corp., Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. Merle R. Lemmen of Atlas Cold Storage, Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, was named vice chairman. Watching the purse strings as treasurer for the next year will be Michael E. Henningsen Jr. of Henningsen Cold Storage Co., Hillsboro, Ore., USA.

Elected to the WFLO's board of governors for three-year terms were: Angelo Antoci of US Growers Cold Storage, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., USA; Brian J. Fox of Total Logistic Control, LLC, Zeeland, Michigan, USA; and Svend Pedersen of Agri-Norcold A/S, Hobro, Denmark.

Dr. Daryl B. Lund and Gordon Guyer were reelected as public members of the board. Lund also serves as chairman of WFLO's Scientific Advisory Council.

The IARW, a non-profit trade association headquartered in the suburbs of Washington, DC (www.iarw.org) with additional offices in Europe and Asia, represents integral links of the global refrigerated services industry including warehousing, distribution, transportation and logistics. Members of the IARW, who play a central role in food storage and distribution in nearly 50 countries, also support and benefit from the services the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), a non-profit research and educational foundation.