The international seafood community has lost a giant. Lee Weddig, who ran the National Fisheries Institute as executive vice president for three decades, retiring in 1997, died on August 2. Incorporated in 1945, NFI is the largest seafood trade association in the United States.
The trade press referred to him as the “Godfather of NFI,” and his long tenure was marked by a steadfast focus on the future. During a fiftieth anniversary celebration, Weddig did not rest on the association’s accomplishments but rather insisted it was “imperative that the NFI build on its technological and political capabilities because the questions [were] getting more complicated and more difficult with the passing years.”
His steady hand and comfortable demeanor, coupled with insight and intuition made him an ideal leader for an industry that faced policy headwinds and regulatory rough seas as a matter of standard course.
In a remarkable continuation of his legacy, his daughter, Lisa, ultimately took the reins of the very technological initiatives he had long anticipated for the association. Lisa Weddig retired from the Reston, Virginia-headquartered NFI after 20 years of service.
“Lee Weddig will be missed, we thank him for his service and his family for their commitment to the seafood community,” said Lisa Wallenda Picard, the organization’s current president chief executive officer.
