Welcome to the Rhode Island Dietetic Association! I am looking forward to an exciting year with the association. This will be my 5th year of serving on the RIDA board of directors and it is sure to be a good one! I would first like to thank Tanya Arruda, our past President for all of her tireless work and commitment to RIDA. Thanks to Tanya, we now have the RIDA Education Stipend to provide small honorariums to RDs who provide volunteer nutrition education in the state of Rhode Island. To find out more about this wonderful opportunity to support and provide nutrition education community check out the member section of our website. Tanya did an outstanding job serving the RIDA membership as President and it is an honor to follow in her footsteps.
The Rhode Island Dietetic Association is an affiliate of the American Dietetic Association (soon to be called the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics starting January 2012), the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. RIDA is a leading source for reliable and objective food and nutrition information in Rhode Island. Our members provide nutrition services in a variety of settings including acute care, private practice, school systems, public health, long term care, education, and business & industry. We are the leaders in providing optimal nutrition, health and well being for the State of Rhode Island. We have been successful in meeting our mission “to lead the future of dietetics within the State of Rhode Island”. The RIDA continues to partnership with students and interns from Johnson & Wales and the University of Rhode Island to empower the leaders of the future.
I would like to thank Katie Mulligan for her dedication and hard work organizing and running our Annual Spring Meeting in Warwick this year. We had a terrific turnout and overwhelming positive feedback from our members. We could not have done it without her! Sue Manchester must also be acknowledged for all of her work to make our 8th “Annual Nutrition Fuels Fitness 5k” a great success once again this year! She and her committee are already hard at work preparing for our next 5k this April.
Please join us for our upcoming board meetings at Kent Hospital in Warwick. Our board of directors meetings dates and times are posted on our website. All our welcome to join! We have several new members of the board this year and we always welcome more to get involved! I am honored to be working with a very talented and dedicated board of directors and I look forward to a great year.
Regards,
Jane Q. Vergnani, RD, LDN
President, Rhode Island Dietetic Association
