An Exciting and Daunting Time - 25 Magazine: Issue 7

In my last welcome as SCA President, I would like to thank all our members and community at large for the support and encouragement offered to SCA over the last two years.

I step off the board on December 31 this year along with Frank Neuhausen and Chahan Yeretzian of SCAE heritage and Mary Tellie, Chad Trewick, and Andrew Linnemann of SCAA heritage. I thank them on the community’s behalf for their countless hours committed as volunteers and board members. It has been an honor to serve with them.

It is an exciting and daunting time for specialty coffee. Record levels of global consumption were cruelly mirrored with a New York C price below US$1.00 per pound in October, the lowest in a decade. The SCA, its members, and industry actors have an important role to shine a light on this inequity and to act to protect farm sustainability. We include a piece in this edition by the Farmer Profitability and Prosperity working group, along with a piece exploring SCA’s role in sustainability initiatives.

In January SCA’s incoming board will welcome six new faces. I am proud to have led the SCA on a journey which will result in our first gender-balanced board, one that reflects the global nature of our industry. I wish incoming President Heather Perry and Vice President Christina Meinl every success in leading specialty coffee through 2019 and into the future with you, our members and our community.

PAUL STACK
President, Specialty Coffee Association