me into the weekly web meeting with our Executive Director, Don Onwiler. These meetings gave me great insight into what this year will hold. To further this concept, I formed a Chairman’s Council of past chairman from each region along with the chairman elect, and I plan to have quarterly meetings with them. This is an effort to help me and the BOD guide the NCWM. Since the chairman’s position is just a year, this will help keep the NCWM on a similar path. As I stated earlier, I was a cotton gin manager for 10 years. When I first started there if something went wrong, I had to call a service company to repair the gin to get it back up and running. Over the years, I learned a lot and was able to, in most cases, repair the gin by the time a service company would have come. This is a personal example of why continuity of the chairman is so important. Building on the experiences of past chairmen will help accomplish what is needed in the year’s term to continue projects to make them successful. For example, the NTEP Lab was started during Mahesh’s term and will most likely begin operation when Marc is Chairman. The contract has been signed to start the building process of the NTEP Lab, and we look forward to seeing the development over the coming months. Don has done his due diligence and is staying on top of this project. We should have an update at the NCWM Interim Meeting in New Orleans. Succession planning and budget issues were also discussed at the annual meeting. Here in Mississippi, we are experiencing budget hurdles that make it hard to implement our own succession plan for others to follow at the regional and national level. While we understand how important this is to the success of the conference, it is not within our realm to change it. I’m glad to see other state and local jurisdictions continue to send and support new members as well as tenured members to the conferences. This is vital to both regional and the NCWM for the new members to have the opportunity to learn the process from the tenured members.
We are in the early stages of the National Price Verification Survey. Marc and the focus group should have the framework together within the next month or two. This is a way the NCWM can collectively join with states, local jurisdictions and the NIST to provide information to consumers once the survey is complete. We look forward to getting regulators to sign on, train and start the survey. This will be a heavy lift, but it’s well worth the effort. The theme I would like to implement for this year is staying relevant. As I stated in Norfolk, the marketplace is changing fast and only accelerating. The conference must make the proper adjustments to keep pace. Staying open to new ideas is a necessity to accomplish this. I look forward to working with the BOD on how we can stay relevant in this ever- changing time. Lastly, a goal of mine during my term is for the NCWM membership to have more access to the BOD. We are planning to set aside time at each BOD meeting to have members video conference in to hear updates, ask questions, offers suggestions, and projects they would like to see the BOD/NCWM pursue. This is another way the BOD can provide a benefit to the members. We are still working on the logistics, but an email will be sent to the directors in early October. Thank you again for allowing me to serve you, and please feel free to contact me with any questions, ideas or suggestions. I look forward to seeing everyone at your regional meeting or the NCWM Interim Meeting in January in New Orleans. Sincerely, Gene
Comparing Price & Quantity Weights and Measures Inspectors test packages to verify net quantity based on the labeled contents. This allows consumers to compare price and quantity with confidence, knowing that they are getting what they pay for at the supermarket. Contact your local Weights and Measures Authority with questions or concerns.
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2023 Issue 3
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