When joining an industry group, what goals do you hope to fulfill? Are you looking for a way to make effective industry changes, camaraderie amongst peers to work through challenges and celebrate wins, expert experience and help in a time of crises, or connections to professional development opportunities? You and your company may seek one of those things, all of those things or you may have individual needs. With that in mind, the American Feed Industry Association’s commitment to its members — the “4 Promises” — strives to serve each of our 600 member companies to the fullest potential of meeting the needs of the total feed industry.
As you may have noticed, AFIA has made a few changes in the last year — a new website, new staff additions and the redesign of our “4 Promises” — a value-oriented commitment made to membership to best serve their interests and priorities. Our team updated promises one through three — Voice, Representation and Expertise — and restructured the fourth promise — changing it to Engagement — to better represent services provided to members in 2015 and beyond.
AFIA’s “4 Promises” were originally launched in 2006 by the association’s board of directors to simply connect members with AFIA’s mission while providing a clear, concise message about the value of membership within the organization. We see the change of pace and progress made in the industry every day. In order to best serve our members, updating our commitment to them — the “4 Promises” — was an important goal of ours in 2015.
Each of the updated promises provides elements of support to help member companies continue to prosper.
Voice:
- AFIA provides members a united voice representing every segment of the feed industry;
- Is actively involved in member-driven policy to keep members up-to-date on legislative and regulatory matters; and
- Executes communication strategies for its members that convey consistent, positive messages to the media whether in times of prosperity or crisis.
Representation:
- AFIA staff proactively and creatively represents members on critical state, national and global legislative and regulatory issues that could impact business operations;
- Provides an opportunity to participate on committees, task forces and Member Interest Groups in member-driven position development; and
- Maintains a members-only platform that provides critical information on legislative and regulatory issues via AFIA.org.
Expertise:
- For more than 100 years, AFIA has solidified its reputation as the trusted, confidential resource for the total feed industry. Helping members interpret regulatory issues and succeed in an ever-changing industry is a hallmark to our association
- AFIA offers certification programs that go beyond federal regulations to ensure the highest quality animal feed and pet food production; and
- Provides counsel and clarification on trade issues.
- For more information on certification programs, visit the Safe Feed/Safe Food website at www.safefeedsafefood.org/main/home.cfm.
Engagement:
- AFIA plans opportunities for specialized training, professional education and networking for our members’ growth; and
- Offers access to the AFIA Career Center at www.AFIA.org/careercenter.
During our “4 Promises” redesign — which features modern graphics and text — came the idea to transform AFIA’s tagline, which is now: Our industry Our passion. Our voice. The word “our” is all encompassing of the animal food industry.
While change is inevitable and many times imperative as we move into the future, we cannot lose sight of the organization’s initial goals. The one thing that has remained a constant since 1909 is AFIA’s focus on legislative and regulatory efforts at the state, national and global level. It is truly the core of this association.
We encourage both our members and nonmembers alike to become acquainted with the “4 Promises” and what AFIA can do for you. There is nothing more true than “What you put into it, you get out of it”; and we assure our membership gets the most value through their active participation in Voice, Representation, Expertise and Engagement, enabling them to make continuous improvements to the animal feed industry worldwide.
