Spring 2016 Global Connect eNews

REMINDERS:

May 30 WUSATA office closed for Memorial Day

June 6-8 Executive Board Meeting – Vancouver, WA

July 4 WUSATA office closed for Independence Day

July 18-19 Summer Meeting – Lake Tahoe, NV

Aug 8-12 Compliance Review

FAS COMPLIANCE:

Our annual compliance review is scheduled for August 8-12, 2016. The Federal auditors will be reviewing our 2015 claims. As in previous years we will be requesting your assistance and ask that you be available to our staff should the auditors have questions regarding one of your claims. If you are out of the country or out of office, please have someone within your office appointed to assist us on your behalf during this time. We will send out a reminder e-mail as time draws closer. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Trip Reports RENAMED to Event Reports

Going forward, WUSATA staff wants to inform you that the previously named “Trip Report” will now be named Event Report. The original name is a slight misnomer, as this report is a required document for each event where MAP funds are utilized and not only when a trip, or travel occurs. In order to satisfy the true nature of the document (and to make it more clear for all the new project managers we have this year), which is reporting the results of an event, we believe the new name is a better title.

WUSATA would like to remind everyone that your complete claim, including the event reports, are due no later than 45 days after each event has concluded. Please help us comply with this requirement by submitting your event reports by that deadline. We are looking for all aspects of the report to be completed, including buyer and supplier participant lists within the body of the report, and relevant photos submitted as a separate attachment. We appreciate your diligence!

Event Report Format:

WUSATA is required to submit Event Reports for each event. In order to allow WUSATA staff to enter each Event Report into the FAS online database efficiently, please be sure to include all pertinent information within the report – trip dates, destinations, agenda, buyer/supplier participant lists, etc. Also, please note if a participant has cancelled or was a no-show. An Event Report template is available in your MyWUSATA account under Important Forms.

Lodging Statements:

We would like to remind everyone to collect hotel statements and/or individual folios upon departure at all upcoming inbound and outbound missions, and submit them with your claim forms.

FAS requires our claims to show a guest name for every room WUSATA purchases. The names also must match the event’s participant listor buyer list. We would rather have the situation organized upfront, rather than trying to collect the documents after the fact, as the accounting staff at hotels often send us closed, generic statements with no guest names. This will save everyone’s time in the long run and make for cleaner compliance reviews.

Hotel statements are a crucial step to our claims processes and we truly appreciate your assistance with this step.

Web Info Updates

We are excited to announce new features to your MyWUSATA account!

ALL EVENTS – As promised, we are happy to announce that your My Events box now contains a tab for All Events. This tab shows all current, active WUSATA events. You can click on each event to see the participants attending, and each list allows you to export it to Excel. Please try it out and let us know what you think.

STATE CONTRIBUTIONS – Totals are now submitted through your MyWUSATA account located in the Surveys box. Make sure to click on Save as Complete before you exit.

As you are submitting your State’s contribution figures, remember to also reflect your preparation time. Traveling to and from activities, scheduling/preparation for missions (including conference calls), recruitment time, and any other time spent conducting WUSATA business can be included. Keep in mind that only 8 hours per day can be claimed for contribution. Whenever you send in an event report, feel free to let us know that your contribution form is already completed.

Code of Conduct

WUSATA has built a strong reputation worldwide for honesty and integrity by consistently operating with high standards.

Preserving the trust of our stakeholders is the responsibility of every individual associated with our organization. This Code of Conduct outlines the common values and commitment needed to promote the highest possible standards of professional business acumen. WUSATA administers its business through core values of integrity, trust, diversity, partnership, and performance.

WUSATA Staff, Members, Contractors, Government Affiliated Organizations and Participants will make every effort to act in a manner that upholds the following principles of this Code:

• Comply with all applicable state, federal, foreign or international laws and regulations.
• Use only legal and ethical business practices that maintain the highest standards of business conduct.
• Adhere to WUSATA’s zero tolerance for fraud and do not undertake dishonest or fraudulent actions involving money, property or services including misuse and stealing.
• Avoid participating, directly or indirectly, in any scheme that results in a false expectation or obligation. This includes paying bribes, kickbacks or other corrupt payment, and presenting gifts or entertainment in any form for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business or any other favorable action.
• Abide by WUSATA’s Non-Discrimination Policy.
• Treat all partnerships and colleagues in a professional and respectful manner.
• Cooperate reasonably with other related organizations and work with them to advance the food and agricultural exporting industry.
• Present your company honestly in public representations including advertising.
• Avoid unfair or deceptive practices, including falsifying any application or reimbursement claim to WUSATA.
• Conduct any relationship that forms from contact with or through WUSATA with honesty, fairness and objectivity.
• Ensure that working environments are safe.
• Do not share information contained in confidential and private correspondence and documentation. Handle such correspondence and documentation with appropriate care to ensure it remains confidential and private.
• Present WUSATA products, programs, or services in an honest and forthright manner.
• Respect the intellectual property rights of patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, or any other proprietary business information. Promptly address and rectify any unintentional breach.
• Acknowledge that lawful, reasonable competition for business among participants is customary.
• Comply with contractual obligations in good faith.

WUSATA’s legal and ethical obligations go far beyond the conditions outlined in this code of conduct.

Acceptance of, and adherence to this Code is a condition of participation with or employment by WUSATA. We reserve the right to deny participation to any company, for which it is our sole opinion, that business conduct and ethical behavior may cast a negative or controversial light on our programs and/or services.

If questions arise about any matter of compliance or ethics, whether covered by this code or not, please contact WUSATA’s Executive Director, Andy Anderson via emailor by phone at (360) 693-3373.

Outreach Corner

Thanks to our member states, outreach activities keep getting bigger and better every year and we want this year to be no exception. You will soon be receiving a State Tool Kit to help plan trainings, seminars, “road show” trips, and other types of presentations. Please be sure to fill out and return the State Request form as soon as possible so we can schedule activities for the remainder of the year.

As you know, our company success stories have an impact on our funding and we are always looking for new stories. We find many through the activities and end-of-year surveys the companies fill out, but you often hear of successes that may not be readily apparent on a survey because they don’t involve high-dollar sales or lots of distributors. Please send us any success story leads you come across during your daily work with companies in your state. We are working hard to develop a bank of stories that includes examples from every state and your assistance will help us reach that goal.

WUSATA is also doing a lot of outreach calls to new companies, found primarily through trade show exhibitor lists. While this is a great source for companies, we also appreciate it when you refer a company to us who want to learn more about WUSATA and our services, who needs an individualized consultation, or who might need help navigating their account. Many of you already do email introductions between the company and WUSATA staff, which is a great warm hand-off. You can also email the company’s contact information to kelly@wusata.org and we will take it from there.

Program Notes:

Annual SMO Summer Meeting: Registration information for the Summer Meeting will be sent out soon. Hosted by the Nevada State Department of Agriculture, the meeting will take place in Lake Tahoe at the Hard Rock Hotel on July 18 ^– 19, 2016. The SMO meeting is Monday, July 18from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm and the joint SMO/Board Meeting is Tuesday, July 19from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. This schedule allows for late arrival on Monday and early departure on Tuesday.

Recruiting: As many of you have discovered, there is no time like the present for early recruiting. Our companies really appreciate the ability to plan ahead for activities, and our first quarter 2016 activities were such a huge success that we hope to continue the same great attendance throughout the year. Please feel free to let us know if there is anything we can do to help in this effort.

Contracting: Now is a great time to start requesting 2016 contractor’s proposals. It’s never too early to request a proposal, as most of you have already set concrete event dates. Your contractor will really appreciate the opportunity for early planning, and be able to provide WUSATA companies with those premium buyers who require advanced planning.

Participation Increased: Western States company participation in 2015 increased to 479 total companies served, a 9% increase over 2014. We look forward to sharing the final evaluation results with you after the summer meeting. Congratulations on a successful marketing year!

WELCOME!

We'd like to formally introduce the recent additions to the WUSATA community, many of whom you may already be familiar with.

State Project Managers:

WUSATA Staff Members: