January 1, 2005, New York, NY — Dr. Sebahattin Gazanfer was elected Chairman of the International Forum for Cotton Promotion (IFCP) at the December 2004 Annual Meeting of the membership in Mumbai, India. Dr. Gazanfer, General Manager of Taris, the Turkish agriculture commodities giant represents ITKIB and has been active in the development of the IFCP since its founding in 2000. The IFCP encourages domestically focused and domestically funded cotton promotion activity, and has 17 member organizations in 13 countries. Dr. Gazanfer was also recently elected Chairman to the Founding Board of the National Cotton Council of Turkey.
He succeeds Cotton Council International's Allen Terhaar, who completed two terms as IFCP Chairman and has accepted the new position of Immediate Past Chairman. In Mumbai, Terhaar said "It is healthy to have a rotation in officers, and past chairmen have a history of maintaining steady participation. I look forward to continuing my work with the IFCP. With a huge crop and technology increasing the likelihood of large crops down the road, the demand side of the equation keeps getting more and more important".
Zbigniew Roskwitalski, Executive Vice President of the Gdynia Cotton Association, was elected Treasurer. Roskwitalski, also a Founding Member of the IFCP, said "I am pleased to accept this honor and look forward to fulfilling the responsibilities of this post".
Mark Messura from Cotton Incorporated, the previous Treasurer, was elected Vice Chairman. Messura continues helping develop new organizational and promotion strategies, including the new sponsorship program beginning in 2005.
"The International Forum for Cotton Promotion (IFCP) represents a new approach to demand enhancement work based on national programs", mentioned Terry Townsend Executive Director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) in his address to the ICAC delegates. "Demand enhancement is crucial to the long-term strategic success of the cotton industry." The IFCP was founded at the ICAC Plenary Meeting in Cairns, Australia in 2000, and the two organizations maintain close ties.
Jeffrey Silberman, Executive Director of the IFCP and Assistant Chair to the Textile Development and Marketing Department at FIT in New York, mentioned how positive he felt about the IFCP's direction. "I've worked with Sebahattin Gazanfer for quite some time, and in several different capacities. It is always a pleasure, and it is always effective. Being an Officer in the IFCP is an extremely 'hands-on' position. The Officers work shoulder-to-shoulder with the Staff by contributing to the website www.cottonpromotion.org, and by developing, hosting, and participating in our workshops. This is an especially important time going into our fifth year of existence".
The terms of office begin immediately.
For additional information, contact Jeffrey P. Silberman at jeff@icac.org.