I am honored to be serving as your President for the next two years. I fervently believe that the American Association of Corporate and Public Practice Veterinarians is vitally important to those of us working outside the traditional clinical practice role. We are a small minority of the veterinarians in the US, so it’s crucial for us to work together to ensure that our voice is heard by the profession. As an organization we are well-represented on AVMA councils and committees, with over a dozen members serving in various capacities. Given the size of our group, that’s an impressive number.
It is also beneficial for each of us to get to know our colleagues in industry. With all the mergers and other organizational changes affecting our companies, expanding your circle of contacts can open up new possibilities for employment. The AACPPV’s networking breakfasts offer members the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new ones, and hear interesting and relevant speakers.
The AACPPV is constantly searching for new ways to provide value to our members. Of course, we have conducted a salary survey for industry-employed veterinarians for many years. Last year we moved from a biannual to an annual survey to better track the compensation trends. We are also soliciting participation from non-AACPPV members to better reflect the diversity of our group and boost the response rate, making the results even more relevant for your HR departments.
In 2009 we also began offering online webinars with topics of interest to our membership. It can be challenging to find educational opportunities covering non-clinical topics; we hope that our webinars can begin to fill this void. In addition, this year we will begin offering webinars with RACE-approved CE credit.
Earlier this year, we conducted a needs assessment survey to find out what you, our members, like most about our organization, and what other areas you’d like for us to explore. The results provided some ideas we’ll be exploring further in the coming year. We’d also love to hear from you at any time. The Board is here to help guide the association so it better meets the needs of the membership, and the best way to know how to do that is for you to tell us. Please contact any of us to share your thoughts – email addresses for board members are on our association website.
Our Board of Directors works extremely hard to make the AACPPV a vital organization. However, an organization is only as good as its members. I encourage all of you to become active in the association. The more volunteers we have, the more we are able to accomplish! There are a variety of areas where a few hours a month of your time would greatly enhance what we are able to do for our membership. We plan to have information on volunteer opportunities within the AACPPV posted on our newly redesigned website at www.aacppv.org to make it easier for you to find areas where you feel you can make a difference.
Additionally, I encourage you to spread the word about our group to your colleagues. More members build a stronger association, which benefits all of us.
My thanks to the outgoing board and officers for their leadership and efforts on behalf of the AACPPV. You have helped steer our group through some highly turbulent times in our profession. And welcome to the newest officers and board members: Silene Young, Carol Barton, Janet Donlin, and Mike Wallace. I look forward to all of us working together with our membership to enhance the value of our organization in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Lynn Fondon, 2010-2012 AACPPV President
AACPPV 2010-2011 Board of Directors
President Lynn Fondon Brakke Consulting E-mail: Lynn Fondon
President-Elect James R. Freeman Merial, Ltd. E-mail: James Freeman
Immediate Past President B. Joe Dedrickson Merial, Ltd. E-mail: Joe Dedrickson
Secretary Silene Young Veterinary Pet Insuranceth E-mail: Silene Young
Treasurer Norman D. Stewart Intervet/Schering Plough Animal Health E-mail: Norman Stewart
AVMA Delegate Brian Huseman CEVA BIOMUNE E-mail: Brian Huseman
Alternate AVMA Delegate David Hustead Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. E-mail: David Hustead
Board Members (dates after name indicate when current board term expires)
Lynn Allen (2011) Novartis Animal Health E-mail: Lynn Allen
Carol Barton (2013) Pfizer Animal Health E-mail: Carol Barton
Janet Donlin (2013) Hills Pet Nutrition, Inc. E-mail: Janet Donlin
