Over four thousand dollars ($4,155) was recently donated to the UNICEF Zinc Saves Kids program as a result of the generosity of attendees at the annual conference.  Four hundred dollars was donated by a generous member who purchased a complete set of books donated by keynote speaker Bryan Dodge.  The books are to be kept in the AGA library and loaned to any member.  Another generous member contributed $1600 at the auction of a second complete set of books.  The auction, with master auctioneer Joe Langemeier expertly soliciting bids, was held at the beginning of the Excellence Awards dinner ceremonies.  Finally, $2155 was collected as a result of a raffle with the grand prize being 3 nights at next year’s annual conference hotel, donated by the Marriott Grand Cayman. 

Just five dollars ($5) is enough to buy zinc supplement pills to supplement the diet of one child for a full year.  So, AGA member generosity may have saved the lives of 831 children!

This message of zinc’s essentiality should be a part of your daily lexicon with employees, customers, and vendors.  It makes them all feel better about the business in which we are involved and the more zinc is associated with health the easier it is to diffuse arguments zinc is toxic to organisms and a pollutant.  Literature is available from both the AGA and the International Zinc Association (IZA).