How it all
Started

In 1983, Richard (Dick) Merkal, unequivocally the paratuberculosis "guru" of the time, sent out a little newsletter he called the "Paratuberculosis Newsletter". Shortly thereafter, Dick organized the First International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis held at the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa in June 1984. This was a small meeting, by invitation only, comprising a total attendance of only 26 participants. Despite the small group, the meeting was a great success and the general consensus was "we should do this again". Marie Thorel, prompted by Dick, agreed to organize and hold the second Colloquium in Alfort, France in September 1988. This meeting was also a great success but the prospects of future Colloquia and continuing the tradition looked rather dim.

Then, one night in Alfort towards the end of the Second International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis, it all came together. Dick Merkal, Rod Chiodini, Geart Benedictus, and Akle Benedictus were in the hotel bar drinking until closing time and were reluctantly forced out of the bar. Having had enough to drink, but still wanting more, we went from hotel room to hotel room proceeding to empty each room's mini-bar. It is unclear, probably alcohol related, who's room was the last, but it was in this room that Dick Merkal raised the subject: "We need to organize an Association for Paratuberculosis". This had been Dick Merkal's dream for years and the subject shifted from how to accomplish this and who would do it. Undoubtedly under the influence of alcohol, I accepted the task and agreed to start an Association. Unfortunately, one of my character flaws is that no matter how drunk I get, I always remembers! Another character flaw is that I usually do what I say I will.

So, upon returning to the United States, I started working on forming an Association, consulting with lawyers and other Associations, and trying to figure out how to start an International Association. In January 1989, only a few months after the Colloquium in Alfort, the first official Paratuberculosis Newsletter was published announcing the organization of the International Association for Paratuberculosis and other Intestinal Mycobacterioses. This First "official" Newsletter used the original black & white image of a Holstein cow and calf developed by Merkal on the cover of the Newsletter and this image became the Association's logo. This Newsletter was sent to over 1000 scientists that had published on paratuberculosis and contained an announcement of the Association, proposed Laws & By-Laws of the Association, and a call for membership and articles.

Lawyers wanted approximately $10,000 US to incorporate the Association and obtain 501(c)(3) status from the U. S. Internal Revenue Service. Neither Merkal nor I had that type of money to spend, and so, I was again left with the new task of trying to learn the law and how to incorporate and register a non-profit organization. This was accomplished and, in March 1989, the Association was formally registered and incorporated within the State of Rhode Island as The International Association for Paratuberculosis, Inc. complete with Laws & By-Laws in compliance with U.S. law.

At that time, the Association had 3 members. I was self-appointed as President and Treasurer, Merkal as Vice-President and Editor-in-Chief of the Newsletter, and Claus Buergelt as a Member of the Board of Directors. There was a reason for the number of original members and who was selected. For incorporation as a non-profit corporation, a business must have a minimum of 3 officers. The selection of both Chiodini and Merkal is obvious, but why Buergelt? Well, Claus had no idea why either, but would find out in the future as, unbeknownst to Claus, I had bigger plans for him.

Unfortunately, the response from the scientific community to the announcement of the Association was not very promising and it looked like the Association was not going to become a reality. Despite my best efforts, the Association had been successful in recruiting only 12 members, which included the original 3. Experience has shown that unless an immediate response is received, things will be put on the back burner and forgotten. The prospect of forming an Association looked dismal.

In an act of desperation, another 1,000 letters were sent out to all individuals involved in any way with paratuberculosis explaining that, without members, the Association would fold and never become a reality. This caught everyone's attention and the response was overwhelming - within weeks the Association had over 100 members representing 20 different counties. We had an Association! By the end of 1989, the Association had 139 members and a fiscal balance of $1,638.07 - we were off to a good start! The formation of the International Association for Paratuberculosis was a success and represented a worldwide interest in paratuberculosis and a diverse membership large enough to make a difference.

With the Association now firmly established, it was now time to tell Claus why he was really recruited: to organize and put together the first meeting of the Association. Claus lived up to the challenge and in the January 1990 Paratuberculosis Newsletter, the first official meeting of the Association, called the Third International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis, to be held in Orlando, Florida in September 1991 under the organizational skills of Claus Buergelt was announced. In keeping with other Colloquia, although the first meeting of the Association, the meeting was called the Third International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis.

During 1990 & 1991, a variety of official businesses actions took place as the Association grew including numerous modifications and amendments to the Laws & By-Laws, formation of the Governing Board, and meeting preparations. Except for a single noteworthy objection to the Laws & By-Laws, the Association Laws & By-Laws were unanimously adopted by the Association. Also in 1991, the first Board of Directors of the Association were nominated and elected: John Stanford for the United Kingdom, Ramon Juste for Spain, Jan Haagsma for the Netherlands, Andrea Contini for Italy, Marie Thorel for France, S. Chomyc for Canada, Claus Buergelt and Mike Collins for the United States, and M. Barton for Australia. Officers were also elected by nomination and election by the membership and included Rod Chiodini as President, Bob Whitlock as Vice-President and Marie Thorel as Secretary. The offices of Editor-in-Chief and Treasurer were left vacant and I absorbed those duties as well.

Having never organized a meeting before, let alone an International Meeting, Claus and I had our hands full trying to sort it all out ourselves. Records show over 2,071 letters and documents related to the organizing committee and 228 pages associated with the program committee, and that does not include the phone calls, emails, facsimiles, etc. After all that work, Claus did manage to pull it all together and the first meeting of the Association, the Third International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis, brought together 95 participants from 18 countries to hear 56 oral presentations, 2 debates, and 19 posters. Unfortunately, Dick Merkal did not have the opportunity to see his dream come to life as he had passed away before the meeting ever took place. The Proceedings from that meeting were dedicated to him and prompted the R. S. Merkal Memorial Fellowship to provide young investigators the opportunity to attend future Colloquia.

The second meeting of the Association, the Fourth International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis was organized by John Hermon-Taylor and took place at St. John's College in Cambridge, England on July 17-21, 1994 and comprised a total of 76 oral presentations and posters. This meeting caused a great deal of controversy regarding the direction of the Association, probably because the meeting was organized by a physician and held at a medical school. The Paratuberculosis Newsletter, and many letters to the President, were filled with concerns expressed by the membership that the Association was being overtaken by Crohn's disease and losing its focus on John's disease. The Association was assured by the President that the Laws & By-Laws of the Association defines the primary purpose and mission of the Association as "animal health" and that was not going to change.

The Fourth International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis was the first meeting of the Association where the Richard S. Merkal Memorial Fellowship was awarded. As defined in the Laws & By-Laws, "The Richard S. Merkal Memorial Fellowship is a travel award to provide a student the opportunity to attend an International Colloquium sponsored by the International Association for Paratuberculosis. The awardee will be provided air fare, hotel accommodations, and daily per diem during the Colloquium." This award was given to Ivo Pavlik of the Czech Republic.

Bringing the Association back to its animal health roots, the Association's next meeting, the Fifth International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis, was organized by Mike Collins and was held in Madison, Wisconsin on September 29-October 4, 1996. By the time of the Wisconsin meeting, the Association had become financially sound and had attained 160 members. For both personal and professional reasons, I felt it was time to let go and resign as President of the Association.

Over the years, the Association had its upsets, turmoil's, and controversies, both internal and external, but was able to overcome these obstacles and not only survive, but to grow and prosper. As a founding father, it was my honor and privilege to guide the Association during its first baby steps and watch it grow into a vibrant and thriving organization. But, like any father, there comes a time to let go and cast the baby from its nest.

In 1996, it was my honor to pass the torch off to Mike Collins to become the next President of the Association. I knew the Association was in good hands. Mike Collins served as President of the Association from 1996 to 2007.