IN SHORT
Comment period open for revised Model Veterinary Practice Act
The AVMA’s Model Veterinary Practice Act (MVPA) serves as a set of guiding principles for public officials preparing or revising a state veterinary practice act under the statutes or codes of a particular state.
After more than a year of reviewing the MVPA, the AVMA Council on Veterinary Service and its Expanded Working Group are now inviting AVMA members to comment on their proposed changes.
Members are asked to review the draft MVPA, available at jav.ma/MVPA, then complete a short form identifying specific changes they would like to see and their rationale for those revisions. Comments must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Central on February 14.
Comments about any part of the draft MVPA are welcome. Following are examples of notable changes:
Updates to Board of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) nominations and appointments
Addition to powers of the BVM, allowing it to create rules for the practice of veterinary technology and to register veterinary technician specialists
Revised active practice requirements for licensing by endorsement
New section on telehealth and updates to the section on temporary permits
After the close of the comment period, the CoVS and its EWG will reconcile comments received, make any additional updates to the draft document based on those comments, and forward the updated MVPA to the AVMA Board of Directors for its consideration, prior to the Board sharing it with the AVMA House of Delegates for final approval.
Education council schedules site visits
The AVMA Council on Education has scheduled site visits to 15 schools and colleges of veterinary medicine for 2025.
Comprehensive site visits are planned for Lincoln Memorial University-Orange Park College of Veterinary Medicine, January 26-30; Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, March 23-27; National Autonomous University of Mexico Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, March 30-April 4; Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine, March 30-April 4; St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine, April 27-May 1; Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine, April 27-May 1; the University of Queensland School of Veterinary Science, September 7-12; Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, October 12-16; the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, October 19-23; the University Ana G. Mendez School of Veterinary Medicine, October 26-30; Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, November 9-13; Seoul National University College of Veterinary Medicine, November 16-20; and the University of London Royal Veterinary College, November 30-December 4.
A focused site visit is planned for Long Island University College of Veterinary Medicine, February 9-13.
A consultative site visit is planned for Midwestern University-Downers Grove College of Veterinary Medicine, May 11-15.
The council welcomes written comments on these plans or the programs to be evaluated. Comments should be addressed to Dr. Karen Martens Brandt, Director, Education and Research Division, AVMA, 1931 N. Meacham Road, Suite 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173. Comments must be signed by the person submitting them to be considered.
Donate books, journals, and supplies
Veterinarians and students in foreign countries can make use of the unused textbooks, journals, instruments, equipment, and other supplies cluttering many veterinary clinics in the United States.
The AVMA maintains a list of individuals and organizations that collect contributions for various countries. The list is available at jav.ma/Donate-books. Potential donors should call or email contacts on the list directly.
Individuals or organizations that collect contributions may inquire about being added to the list or updating their listing by calling 800-248-2862, ext. 6754, or emailing asuresh@avma.org.
Filling the rural veterinarian gap
Advocacy efforts, loan repayment programs, and specialized workshops seek to drive support for rural and food animal veterinarians
By Coco Lederhouse and Malinda Larkin
While the number of companion animal veterinarians steadily increased by 22% over the last decade, the number of mixed animal and food animal veterinarians decreased by 15%. Compared with a robust 68,400 veterinarians in companion animal medicine, there were just slightly more than 8,100 veterinarians working in a food animal or mixed animal practice in 2023, according to AVMA data.
Multipronged efforts to increase the number of rural and food animal veterinarians include state and federal loan repayment programs, veterinary colleges developing programs to attract students, and specialized workshops. This patchwork of programs has generally been successful at what they’ve been designed to do. However, none of them were intended or designed to fix the lack of veterinarians in rural areas in a comprehensive manner. That’s difficult to do, because while finances are an important component, that is not all of what is challenging about attracting and retaining veterinarians to rural areas.
Dr. K. Fred Gingrich II, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP), says, “It is up to every individual practice owner in a rural community to understand what the next generation wants versus trying to force what we want to be done onto the next generation, which is unsuccessful.”
“With the recognition that we need to have sustainable rural practice models, I’m hopeful that many practices will be able to meet that challenge so we can continue to improve retention,” said Dr. K. Fred Gingrich II, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. (Photo courtesy of AABP)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 263, 1; 10.2460/javma.263.1.17
The salary impact
Around 175 to 200 veterinary graduates join the AABP each year and enter bovine practice, according to Dr. Gingrich.
The association offers externship and education grants, scholarships, and partnerships with the National Milk Producers Federation and the Wisconsin Rural Opportunities Foundation to help recruit veterinary students interested in rural medicine. He says that’s not the issue.
“We have plenty of new graduates who enter cattle practice. The problem is that half of them leave,” Dr. Gingrich said.
Based on AABP data, the cost of education and repaying educational debt is one of the most significant challenges identified for being successful as a food animal veterinarian.
The lowest mean salary in 2024 among all private practice types was for mixed animal and equine associate veterinarian, coming in around $100,000, according to AVMA data. Alternatively, the mean salary for a companion animal exclusive associate veterinarian was $133,000.
AABP exit surveys show that most veterinarians who leave cattle practice transition to companion animal medicine.
The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) faces similar issues. After surveying members, the organization found that approximately half of those who enter equine practice after veterinary school leave within the first five years of their career.
The AAEP Compensation Subcommittee conducted a salary survey, released in October 2022. Results from the 2022 Equine Medicine Salary & Lifestyle Survey showed that the mean salary for a recent graduate in equine practice, not including internship positions, was $89,000 a year.
Federal level assistance
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated nearly every U.S. state as having one or more rural or livestock production areas with an unmet need for veterinary services.
The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) launched the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) in 2010. It offers educational loan repayment to veterinarians in exchange for working in one of these shortage areas for up to three years.
The VMLRP statutory authority does not allow NIFA to track VMLRP awardees after their award closes out, said Dr. Robert Smith, national program leader for animal health at NIFA. However, the program put together a summary that looked at data from 2010-22.
The largest numbers of shortage areas were nominated in the Midwest and West as well as Georgia, and beef cattle has consistently been the species identified as having the greatest need.
From 2010-22, the VMLRP received 2,061 applications and entered into agreements with 795 awardees. The states with the largest number of applicants have been in the West and Midwest, and the largest number of awards have been made to veterinarians in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska.
Slightly more than half of the awards have been made to veterinarians who are six to 10 years postgraduation (49.9%) followed by those one to five years postgraduation (43.8%).
The VMLRP is a “very helpful and useful program to help alleviate some of the salary discrepancies between rural and urban practice,” Dr. Gingrich said. “It certainly has a tremendous impact on the people who receive those awards. Although it’s very appreciated, the level of funding is far less than what’s needed to have a wide impact.”
Though federal appropriations for the VMLRP program have increased from less than $5 million in 2011 to $10 million in 2023, the award amount has remained the same since the program’s inception: $25,000 per year for a three-year service agreement. Awardees may apply for a renewal award at the end of their three-year period if they have remaining educational debt. At the same time, the average amount of debt in 2011 was $109,000, rising to $147,000 in 2022, an increase of 35%.
State programs
Twenty-five states have created their own debt repayment programs and scholarships that seek to ensure recipients stay in a rural area to work specifically in mixed or food animal practice, according to the AVMA.
Colorado’s Veterinary Education Loan Repayment Program (VELRP) provides educational loan repayment for veterinarians willing to practice food animal medicine in underserved areas of the state. Thanks to the revised Colorado Senate Bill 23-044 this spring, the VELRP will now pay up to $90,000 over four years to help licensed veterinarians in the state pay off their student debt.
Both veterinarians who have completed the four-year program remain in their practices.
This year, the program is launching its second cohort of participants, and the state has accommodated six more veterinarians.
“I believe this program should be expanded to every state,” said Dr. Kayla Henderson, Colorado VMA president-elect and vice chair for the VELRP Committee. “The federal VMLRP is an amazing program—I was awarded it in 2013, and it completely changed my life—but one of its shortcomings is that it doesn’t allow for nuances.”
For example, the VMLRP mandates specific hours that are closely audited, which can sometimes be difficult for a rural mixed animal practitioner to fill depending on the season, Dr. Henderson said.
“Our VELRP does not have specified hours, but we do ask for annual reports illustrating the amount of food animal work they do as well as how much it has increased from year to year,” she said.
Neighboring Kansas has its Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas (VTPRK), which provides for up to seven veterinary students to receive a $25,000 loan annually for four years to help cover tuition and other school-related expenses.
After graduation, for each year that the new veterinarian works full-time in a veterinary practice in a Kansas county with fewer than 40,000 residents, or in a full-time veterinary practice if food animal patients make up at least 50% of the practice, a year of loan is forgiven.
In addition to loan forgiveness, the VTPRK provides industry tours, business management and development training, and fosters relationships with practicing veterinarians so participants are prepared for future success. After four years of the program, 94% of recipients are still practicing in a qualifying county and 77% remain in their initial practice.
Species group efforts
Food animal and equine species groups such as the AABP and AAEP have also stepped in to help. They have been greatly assisted by the Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP). Like the VMLRP, it is overseen by NIFA and targets rural areas that lack adequate veterinary services for food animal care and public health. The VSGP specifically addresses veterinary workforce gaps through grants to private practices, nonprofits, and veterinary schools. It also grants money to veterinarians for equipment, such as a truck or ultrasound machine.
AABP’s Veterinary Practice Sustainability Committee received a total of four of VSGP grants to fund Building Excellence in Rural Veterinary Practices workshops. They are for practicing veterinarians with at least 10% of revenue from food animal species. Priority points are assigned to veterinarians who are owners, have access to practice financial data, and work in USDA-designated shortage areas.
The program includes two, two-and-a-half-day workshops one year apart with three, follow-up teleconferences between the two workshops. The workshops focus on strategic planning, understanding and improving practice finances, moving into or being a part of ownership, and refining human resources competencies.
The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) has its Participant-led Early Career Development Program funded by the VSGP.
Currently, 18 of the 25 participants in the program serve in federally designated shortage areas. The goal of the program is to provide participants with resources needed to encourage and ensure successful, lifelong careers as swine veterinarians and to cultivate new leaders in swine veterinary medicine.
The AASV also offers two debt-relief grants to early career veterinarians, though a partnership with MentorVet. The MentorVet Leap program is a six-month, virtual mentorship and professional development program that aims to promote wellbeing and decrease burnout in the transition into veterinary practice.
Participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program assists veterinarians in providing essential private and public health services to their communities and state, which impacts animal agriculture at a national level. This year, NIFA designated 240 veterinary services shortage areas across 47 states.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 263, 1; 10.2460/javma.263.1.17
The AAEP’s Commission Equine Veterinary Sustainability and its subcommittees are focused on topics such as compensation, emergency coverage, internships, students, and practice culture.
Providing emergency services and long hours on call are other reasons large animal and rural medicine can be challenging. Surveyed equine practitioners reported working an average of 104 on-call weeknights and 22 on-call weekends in 2021.
The AAEP’s Emergency Coverage Subcommittee created a comprehensive toolkit, “Emergency Coverage 2.0: Innovative Strategies to Revolutionize After-Hours Care” that describes various successful models of emergency coverage.
Meanwhile, the AAEP Practice Culture Subcommittee identified seven pillars that contribute to a positive workplace culture, which has been shown to reduce employee turnover, enhance the workplace environment, and improve profitability.
For each pillar, the subcommittee developed a variety of resources for practices and staff members, including a practice owner handbook, and a culture transformation toolkit, “Building a Thriving Equine Veterinary Practice: A Culture Transformation Toolkit.”
Other considerations
While changes are being made to remedy low salaries and stressful emergency care demands, other, more intangible factors also play a role in veterinarians choosing to stay in food animal or rural medicine.
White, male veterinarians still make up a large portion of bovine practitioners, especially when compared with the overall number of U.S veterinarians by race and gender. Rural veterinarians, particularly if they are nonwhite and female, may face discrimination from their clients.
In bovine practice, instances of gender bias often occur, particularly in recently graduated woman veterinarians, according to a 2021 study published in The Bovine Practitioner.
Dr. Jenna Funk, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, recalls working in environments as a new graduate where she was made to feel unwelcome by the community because of her gender. She suggests that instead of asking why there aren’t more white men working as veterinarians, communities need to figure out how to accept and better utilize the workforce they are provided.
“As a producer, you’re going to have to come to the realization that your options are often female and your options are often minority,” Dr. Funk said.
For veterinary practices in these rural communities, the more students they bring through, the more their clients will understand this is what the profession is turning into, she said.
Then there are considerations for family members. Some veterinarians have concerns about finding sufficient child care options or high-quality public schools in a rural community.
She continued, “Either you’re in animal agriculture or you’re not, and then you have to think about, what’s your spouse going to do? Can both people in that marriage find sufficient work and satisfaction in their careers in a small community like that?”
Veterinary students and new graduates have different expectations for the field than past generations, Dr. Gingrich said, and it’s important to value their ideas.
“It’s our fault as older veterinarians that we’ve created a practice model that’s not attractive to our customer base,” he explained. “Every generation wants something different, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. What we need to do is find out how to adapt our practice models so this isn’t even a consideration anymore. So those people are clamoring to be working at rural practices.”
AVMA rural veterinary workforce advocacy
The AVMA is a leading supporter of federal legislation and policies that help veterinarians serve rural and underserved communities.
To this end, the AVMA has championed the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act (H.R. 4355/S. 2829), a proposed piece of legislation that would end the federal taxation on Veterinary Medical Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) awards. Currently, the awards are included in the recipient’s gross income, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is required by statute to pay the tax on the award on behalf of the recipient out of congressionally appropriated funds for the program. Eliminating the tax would allow the appropriated funds to go further and enable more veterinarians to participate in a program. This would make the tax treatment of the awards the same as for the analogous program for physicians, in which awards are excluded from the recipient’s gross income.
In addition, the latest versions of the House and Senate Farm Bill would require the USDA to engage stakeholders, review the VMLRP, and report to Congress on ways to improve the program. Also, in the House version, the language requires the USDA to develop methods for predicting the emergence of new shortage areas, allow VMLRP applicants to simultaneously participate in other loan repayment programs, amend how Veterinary Services Grant Program funds can be used, and require a streamlined application process for both programs.
Midlevel practitioner proposal secures enough votes in Colorado
Colorado voters have approved a new veterinary midlevel practitioner (MLP) position known as a veterinary professional associate (VPA). The unprecedented method for introducing such a change to the veterinary—let alone any health care profession—came via a ballot measure called Proposition 129. It received 52.8% “yes” votes, with 78% of the vote tallied as of November 27, 2024.
All Pets Deserve Vet Care—supported by the Dumb Friends League (DFL), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Animal Welfare Association of Colorado, the Humane Society of the United States, and others—was behind the initiative. The group had gathered enough citizen signatures to put the measure on Colorado’s November 5, 2024, general election ballot.
The AVMA and Colorado VMA (CVMA) came out staunchly against the proposition, saying the new practitioner would have inadequate training for doing complex tasks, such as surgery, that should only be done by veterinarians who undergo years of rigorous education and training. The VPA would be a master’s level-trained individual who would be allowed to practice veterinary medicine—including diagnosing, creating treatment plans, and performing surgery.
Additional information provided with Proposition 129 indicated that the Colorado State Board of Veterinary Medicine would oversee examination and qualification processes for this midlevel position, as well as issue and renew registrations and set fees. This would all take effect by January 15, 2027.
More than 200 national and local veterinary, humane, and breeders’ organizations; veterinary clinics; veterinarians; veterinary technicians; and pet owners opposed the measure.
“We are disappointed with the outcome of Proposition 129 on the ballot in Colorado; however, rest assured that now, more than ever, we will continue our work to ensure that the health and safety of Colorado’s animals are protected,” said Dr. Sandra Faeh, AVMA president. “This includes pursuing all options to ensure that pets and other animals receive high-quality care led and delivered by comprehensively educated, proficient, and licensed veterinarians. We look forward to working collaboratively with stakeholders in pursuit of a regulatory framework that will protect Colorado’s animals, their owners, our food supply, and public health.”
Gap shrinks between new graduate, overall veterinary salaries
Debt-to-income ratio hits 1.4:1 but could be on its way up
By Malinda Larkin
From 2023-24, while the actual dollar amount of the national average for veterinary salaries climbed, once accounting for inflation, it was a slower rate of growth, especially between 2020 and 2023.
But not all veterianrians have been impacted similarly. New veterinary graduates have been able to secure higher starting wages while salary increases haven’t kept a similar pace for the rest of the profession.
At the same time, educational debt levels have remained stable thanks to lower interest rates and a temporary loan deferment from the government during the pandemic. However, those conditions have changed, which may indicate increases in the debt-to-income ratio for new graduates going forward.
Dr. Chris Doherty, AVMA’s assistant director for strategic business research and outreach, discussed these topics during his presentation “The People of Veterinary Medicine: Who Are They, and How Are They Working?” at the 2024 AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum, held virtually October 8-9. The presentation previewed the results of the 2024 AVMA Senior Survey and 2024 Census of Veterinarians, which will be published in the 2025 State of the Profession Report.
New veterinary graduates
The mean starting compensation in 2024 was around $130,000 for graduates of U.S. and Caribbean veterinary colleges entering full-time employment.
Among new graduates, 60.4% entered into full-time employment, 27.9% into advanced education (internship, residencies, advanced degree), and 6.1% had no offers. This doesn’t include those who received an offer but hadn’t accepted or accepted part time employment.
Full-time employment slightly declined from 2022 and 2023 while advanced education and those with no offers increased slightly.
“Sixty percent (of graduates entering employment) is still a robust number of graduates at this time. Six percent (of graduates not receiving an offer) is not as high as it has been in the past. In early 2010, the excess capacity era, it was a lot higher,” Dr. Doherty said.
Dr. Chris Doherty, AVMA’s assistant director of strategic business research and outreach, highlights during the 2024 Veterinary Business and Economic Forum the gap between the inflation-adjusted incomes of new veterinary graduates and established veterinarians, emphasizing how the salary premium once commanded by established veterinarians has narrowed over time.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 263, 1; 10.2460/javma.263.1.17
Many veterinary graduates are also receiving additional forms of compensation. These additional benefits included signing bonuses (61% of respondents), moving allowances (40%), student loan repayments (18%), and housing allowances (3%).
To better gauge the species focus of new graduate veterinarians, the AVMA Economics team combined results from those going into full-time employment and those as an intern in the same species category. In 2024, 72.9% of veterinary graduates were going into companion animal practice, 9.6% into mixed animal practice, 5.9% into equine practice, and 3.3% into food animal practice.
Overall compensation
Meanwhile, among established veterinarians, the mean income was about $150,000.
Nominal income—or the actual dollar amount—for the overall population of veterinarians has been climbing in past few years, but real—or inflation adjusted—income has been trending downwards in that time.
“From 2023-24, while nominal income climbed, once accounting for inflation, it was a slower rate of growth, especially between 2020 and 2023,” Dr. Doherty said. “We’re back to the point of inflation adjusted incomes lining up with where they were in early 2000s.”
This has led to a compression of income gap.
In 2001, there was a 93% difference in the national average for new graduate real income and real income compensation among all veterinarians. But with new graduates commanding higher inflation-adjusted incomes while the overall veterinary population’s incomes have stayed relatively stagnant, there’s now only a 19% difference between the two. These figures represent national averages, so actual income differences may vary significantly by geographic area and individual circumstances.
Educational debt
The mean debt-to-income ratio (DIR) for new veterinarians entering into full-time employment is 1.4:1, indicating a debt that is 1.4 times the amount of the graduating veterinarian’s income.
The mean DIR had been decreasing since 2021, reflecting the previously historic low interest rates and loan deferment from the past few years. However, in the past year, education debt has started to tick back up as interest rates have increased and borrowers are once again having to pay off their balances.
“I don’t want to paint an overly rosy picture. It’s great to see the average debt to income ratio at 1.4:1 compared to the 2:1 or above, on average, that it was previously. But it’s still important to consider that we do have a number of graduates that have debt to income ratios that are at the higher end of that distribution,” he said. “It remains to be seen how this moves over coming years, but previous trend of coming down starting to change a little bit.”
The mean educational debt was just shy of $169,000 for all 33 U.S and two Caribbean veterinary graduates in 2024. Among only veterinary graduates with debt in 2024, that figure was $202,647. These figures account for debt incurred during veterinary college only.
Thirty-nine percent of graduating veterinarians reported having debt between $200,000 and $400,000 in 2024, Dr. Doherty said, adding that just under 16.6% have no debt at all. However, the same percentage (16.6%) of this year’s veterinary graduates have educational debt of $300,000 or higher.
Demographics
The majority of 2024 veterinary graduates are in the 25-27 age range (33%) while the largest group in the profession overall is between 31-35, representing 15%. That is followed by 12% of veterinarians who are 30 or younger and almost 8% are 66 or older, according to data from the AVMA Senior Survey and the Census of Veterinarians.
Regarding gender, 81% of 2024 veterinary graduates are female while 17% are male and the remainder are nonbinary, a gender not listed, or they preferred not to answer. Comparatively, 74% of the profession’s population are female and 24% are male with the rest found in the other categories.
Dr. Doherty reports on the veterinary debt-to-income ratio of the Class of 2024, specifically among those entering full-time employment. While the average debt-to-income ratio stands at 1.4:1, 12.3% of new veterinary graduates are entering the profession with a ratio exceeding 2.5:1.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 263, 1; 10.2460/javma.263.1.17
Looking at race and ethnicity, among new veterinary graduates, 81% are white, while 11% said they are Hispanic or Latino, 8% Asian, 4% Black, 2% multiracial, 0% native Hawaiian/pacific islander. Those surveyed could respond to multiple answers, thus, the answers add up to more than 100%.
Census results for the profession showed that 89% of respondents are white, 4% Hispanic or Latino, 2% Asian, 2% multiracial, 1% Black, and 1% self-described.
A slight majority of census respondents are associate veterinarians (57.4%), and practice-owner veterinarians comprised 23.8% and then we can see that smaller groups are hospital or medical directors (7.1%) and relief or contract veterinarians (9.1%).
Less foot traffic at veterinary practices spells declining revenue
Price increases may not be sustainable with decreased consumer spending power
By Malinda Larkin and R. Scott Nolen
The percentage of U.S. household that own dogs and cats has increased steadily from 1991-2024. At the same time, many consumers have been getting more budget conscious as inflation has limited their spending power.
For small animal practices, these trends have resulted in fewer product purchases and fewer patient visits, which Katelyn McCullock, AVMA chief economist, says are here to stay for 2025. During the 2024 AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum, held virtually October 8-9, she also highlighted several macroeconomic factors impacting U.S. businesses and households, as well as the chances Americans will soon endure another recession.
“The economic growth and consumer pressures just seem like they are lining up to enter a weaker economic phase and that will impact veterinary visit data pretty significantly for 2025,” she said. “How long that lasts, I think is anyone’s guess, but we’ll have to just keep monitoring that data and the consumer side of things.”
Revenue and pricing
McCullock and Sheri Gilmartin, vice president of data services for Vetsource, presented during the Practice Pulse session at the economic forum on October 9. They summarized findings collected from a survey of 6,000 veterinary practices across the U.S. between August 2023 and August 2024.
The data was collected from mostly small animal general practices that have a direct data connection with Vetsource or are Vetsource customers. About 35% are corporate owned and 65% are independent. They looked at in-hospital transactions only.
Price increases have driven revenue growth since the latter half of 2022. However, with a continued decline in patients and visits, revenue growth has slowed. Consumer spending is expected to keep tightening, extending into 2025, with lower veterinary visit numbers anticipated for the year, according to Sheri Gilmartin, vice president of data services for Vetsource.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 263, 1; 10.2460/javma.263.1.17
Overall, patient visits decreased 2.3% year over year, on average, while overall revenue increased 3.9% in that time, mostly because of price increases, Gilmartin said. Specifically, the average annual revenue per patient increased 7% year over year, coming out at $622—$499 from professional services and $203 from product services.
From August 2021 to August 2023, veterinary practices saw similar patient visit trends (-2.7%), however, there was sustained revenue growth from August 2021 to August 2023 at 5.7% on average.
By comparison, in 2019 and 2020, both years saw around 2% growth in patient visits and overall revenue increases at 6.7% and 10.1%, respectively.
“We look at the last 12 months compared to 2019, and we are seeing that the visit trend is very different, and those declining visits are slowing down revenue growth year over year,” Gilmartin said.
On average, veterinary prices have increased 8.24% over the past 12 months. The impact on revenue was a gain of about 6.1%, Gilmartin said. Comparatively, veterinary prices increased by 9.81% from July 2022 to July 2023 with revenue increasing 8.8%. From July 2021 to July 2022, veterinary prices rose 7.3% and revenue increased 9.8%.
Gilmartin said when looking back 24 to 36 months, the impact of price increases on revenue was higher than they were these past 12 months because of the decline in patients and visits, Gilmartin said.
Patient visits
Active patients are down 1.9% per practice, on average, despite feline patient visits being up .8%. That’s largely because of the decline in canine patients by an average rate of 3.3%. Notably, these canine patients account for about 81% of practice revenue.
The biggest decline in visits, at 7% on average, were product-only visits that involve the owner purchasing food or medication only. Sick visits have stabilized since 2023 but well visits are still lagging and down about 1.5%, on average, Gilmartin said.
New puppy and kitten patients are also down 9% year over year, on average, and new clients are down 8.6%, which Gilmartin says is certainly impacting veterinary visit trends.
“The other thing to note is that 8% of total practice revenue is from new clients, so we’re seeing this decline in canine patients, which is a large portion of revenue, and then we’re not seeing that backfill of (new) patients,” she said. “We’re also seeing pet owners extending the time between visits and these trends seem to be impacting all practices.”
Looking at July 2020 to July 2021, pet owners had an average of 57.6 days between visits. But between July 2023 and July 2024, the average was 85.8 days between visits—a 48% increase between those two time periods.
Gilmartin noted that since December 2023, there has been less of a difference between the benchmark practices and those in top 20%, based on visit growth compared to the national average.
“This tells me macro-economic trends are impacting everybody,” she said, “And then looking at (the number of) transactions, days worked, and monthly patients per DVM are all down each year for the past three years.”
The big picture
The bad news is recession is coming, if it isn’t already here. The good news is recessions are normal and not necessarily something to fear.
“Boom and bust cycles happen globally. They happen in every country’s economy,” the AVMA’s Katelyn McCullock said during her presentation, “Setting the Scene: Forces of Change,” on October 8.
One of the hardest jobs an economist has, McCullock said, is predicting when large-scale economic events will occur. In this case, several key indicators strongly suggest the nation is either already experiencing a recession or will be soon.
One of these indicators, the yield curve, is a longitudinal depiction of the relationship between interest rates yields on bonds of varying maturities issued by the U.S. Treasury.
A healthy yield curve is upward sloping, meaning that longer-term bonds have higher yields than shorter-term ones. The upward arc indicates an expectation of economic growth in the future. An inverted yield curve is when the curve slopes downward, reflecting short-term yields are higher than long-term yields, meaning investors expect lower growth and possibly lower inflation in the future.
“What this measures is expectations in the long term relative to the short term,” McCullock explained, adding that the yield curve has been inverted since July 2022, the longest in U.S. history.
“The previous one was in 2005 up to the Great Recession,” McCullock said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean we will see a recession quite the magnitude of 2008, but what it does say is that we are generally thinking that a recession is coming.”Each of the last two recessions have been unique, she said. The anticipated recession may resemble a more typical economic downturn, with potentially fewer acute impacts on society.
“Although the specific effects on veterinary spending remain uncertain, we expect general pullback that mirrors reductions across the other sectors of the economy,” McCullock said. “Assessing the timing of these changes is challenging. However, consumer spending tends to follow seasonal patterns, with higher volumes typically observed in the fourth quarter. The first quarter of the next year may serve as an early indicator, further complicated by shifts in the political landscape.”
New Jersey’s first veterinary college achieves first step in accreditation process
By Malinda Larkin
The first veterinary school in New Jersey is now enrolling students for its inaugural class after advancing toward becoming accredited by the AVMA Council on Education (AVMA COE).
The Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine of Rowan University announced October 11 that it received a letter of reasonable assurance from the council after meeting September 20-22, 2024, at AVMA headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. The decision is based on the AVMA COE’s comprehensive site visit that took place April 21-26, 2024, on Rowan’s campus in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, just south of Philadelphia.
Dr. Matthew Edson, founding dean of the veterinary school, told AVMA News he’s ready to see students on campus after all the work that has gone into developing the program.
“I’m quite happy and our entire team is very pleased with our progress. It took many years of work to get to this point. We tried to do this right, and students are our biggest customers. We designed this program to best fit their needs,” he said.
A letter of reasonable assurance is not a pre-accreditation action but indicates that the Shreiber veterinary school may gain accreditation in the future if the program completes the plans it presented to the AVMA COE. The letter paves the way for the school to begin accepting applications for its inaugural class of 70 students who will start in the fall of 2025.
The next cohort and beyond will have the opportunity to apply directly through the Veterinary Medical College Application Service. The veterinary school expects it will eventually admit 90 students annually, with half coming from New Jersey and the rest from out of state.
Tuition and fees for first-year students are $37,500 for in state and $58,500 for those out of state.
Rowan University is a public institution founded in 1923 that evolved from a teacher preparation college to a public research institution. Today, Rowan University offers bachelor through doctoral degrees in person and online to 23,000 students through its main campus in Glassboro, New Jersey, as well as its medical school campuses in Camden, Stratford, and Sewell.
The AVMA COE currently accredits 34 veterinary colleges in the United States, four of which are developing colleges with provisional accreditation. These veterinary colleges are located in 27 states and Puerto Rico; four programs are delivering the first year or the first two years of the curriculum at a location in another state.
Rowan first sought accreditation for its veterinary school from the AVMA COE in July 2021 with a feasibility study and a request for a consultative site visit, which took place May 14-18, 2023.
In November 2021, the New Jersey legislature approved $75 million in funding to construct the veterinary school’s primary academic and clinical facility. Then in April 2023, during a groundbreaking ceremony for the school, South Jersey business leader and philanthropist Gerald B. Shreiber announced a $30 million gift to the institution to support scholarships for students. The veterinary school is now named in his honor.
A rendering shows the exterior of the Shreiber veterinary school and the Virtua Health College Research Center at Rowan University. (Image courtesy of Rowan University)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 263, 1; 10.2460/javma.263.1.17
A ceremony on Rowan’s West Campus this past September marked the half-way point in construction. The Shreiber veterinary school and the Virtua Health College Research Center both will be housed in the $176.4 million facility on a 300-acre tract in Gloucester County, New Jersey.
The largest academic facility at Rowan, the 162,000-square-foot building includes space for classrooms, a teaching hospital with clinical services to serve the community, and research and diagnostic laboratories. Construction is anticipated to be completed and the building inhabited by July 2025.
Dr. Edson said the veterinary school will mostly have a traditional model of clinical education with most experiences housed at a Rowan facility or program. Many external opportunities will be supplemental, depending on how faculty hiring goes, or when extra support is needed.
AVMA adopts new policies on climate change, health certificates
AVMA Board of Directors also approved a new policy on sheep and goat castration
By Malinda Larkin
The AVMA has a new policy on “Climate Change and Related Sustainability Issues” after requests by members and the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) to have the Association further elaborate its position on the topic.
The AVMA Board of Directors (BOD) approved the policy and took action on a number of other policies during its November 13-15, 2024, meeting at AVMA headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Sustainability issues
This new policy on climate change will replace existing policies on “Climate Change and One Health,” “Environmental Responsibility Is a One Health Issue,” and “Extractive Industries.”
It says, in part, “The AVMA recognizes the significant health impacts arising from climate change, including the anthropogenic drivers of the problem. The AVMA has endorsed the World Veterinary Association’s position that climate change is a global emergency, recognizing that veterinarians have a professional responsibility to protect environmental health. The AVMA also acknowledges that climate change is one of several interrelated sustainability challenges and is best addressed in the context of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”
The Committee on Environmental Issues (CEI), which was responsible for crafting the policy, wrote in its recommendation to the Board that it worked to responsibly to expound on issues related to climate change, “while at the same time developing statements that help to describe areas where veterinarians can make an impact with sustainability initiatives as encouraged by the House of Delegates and the BOD.”
The HOD asked the Board to consider having the AVMA develop resources for its members that promote environmental sustainability in the veterinary workplace during its regular annual session in July 2023. That came after House members discussed sustainability in veterinary medicine, specifically the greening of veterinary workplaces, during its Veterinary Information Forum (VIF) prior to that meeting.
The VIF topic addressed resources, but the CEI wanted a policy before they could consider resources, explained Dr. Robert Knapp, AVMA Board chair. “This is step one, and then the resources will come.”
Certificates of veterinary inspection
Another new policy approved by the Board is one on “Certificates of Veterinary Inspection.”
The policy comes in response to a request the Council on Veterinary Services (CoVS) last year.
“The main reason for this request was because there still exists a perception among some veterinarians that companion animal veterinarians do not need to hold USDA Accreditation status to complete CVIs,” the recommendation background stated.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Veterinary Services accredits veterinarians to complete certificates of veterinary inspection (CVIs) or other animal movement documents.
Part of the policy states: “Animals are regularly transported domestically and internationally, and CVIs are vital components to facilitate their movement while also aiding in animal disease surveillance, prevention, traceability, and control. The United States and other countries have regulations in place governing the movement and importation of animals. These regulations protect people, animals, and ecosystems by helping to prevent the spread of diseases, pests, invasive and injurious species, and aid in epidemiological traceability of disease.”
Sheep and goat castration
The Board also approved the new policy “Sheep and Goat Castration.”
Originally, the House of Delegates discussed the proposed policy during its summer 2023 meeting, which was referred back to the Board. It was to be sent back to the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) with a recommendation to include age at which castration should be performed. Delegates also requested clarification regarding the phrase “negative welfare implications.”
The AWC revised the policy to include specific recommendations on ages for the different methods of castration and removed the sentence referring to “negative welfare implications.”
The policy states: “Male sheep and goats should be castrated as early as practicable, but after the maternal bond has been established and adequate colostrum intake achieved (i.e., after 24 hours of age). Castration can be performed using banding, Burdizzo (clamping), or surgery up to 12 weeks of age.”
Diversity is about becoming our best selves, speaker says
Story and photo by R. Scott Nolen
The AVMA convened a first-of-its-kind veterinary summit this November that saw academics, practitioners, and leaders from across veterinary medicine come together to discuss the im-portance of making the profession a healthier, more inclusive one, and strategies for making that a reality.
Among the speakers at the AVMA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Wellbeing Summit, held November 7-9, 2024, in Atlanta, was sociologist, comedian, and best-selling author Bertice Berry, PhD.
“When I saw y’all were combining DEI and wellness—I was like, ‘Oh, you people get it,’” Berry said. Through her expert use of humor, story, and insight, highlighted the power of gratitude, the need for authenticity, and the value of belonging.
“Diversity is about becoming our best selves,” she told the audience, asking them to see diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a journey of self-discovery and community.
She recounted a recent conversation with an Uber driver who emigrated to the United States when he fell in love with an American. The driver met his wife when she was vacationing with her family in his native Jordan. Despite their differences, including him being Muslim and her Catholic faith, they fell in love and married. Thirty-three years later, they are still happily together.
Their secret? “I don’t ask her to change, and she doesn’t ask me to change,” the Uber driver said. “When you look in someone’s eyes with love, all you see is their soul,” he added, the lesson being that when we respect another’s uniqueness and recognize their authentic self, a powerful bond is formed.
She also advised for people to stop looking at each other in judgement.
“The same way I’m judging your story is how I’m judging myself. I got to let it go. I got to see bigger than that,” Berry said.
The belief that diversity is “helping those poor people over there” is often the wrong way to think about it, Berry said. She explained that people can’t talk about diversity unless they really mean diversity, which does not mean everyone talking or looking alike. Rather, it’s about learning and appreciating the unique connections between oneself and others.
“Sociologists say the self is social,” she said. “I’m a product of everything and everyone I come into contact with, and the more I come in contact with, the more I evolve.
“I need your diversity to become me.”
At its core, DEI is about making marginalized people less marginalized, according to Berry, who expanded that category to all of us, saying that at some point in their life everybody has been marginalized. “When we begin to see through the eyes of love, you see that our internal diversity is so much greater than the external, and you begin to connect.”
Bertice Berry, PhD, sociologist and author, emphasizes during her keynote address at the AVMA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Wellbeing Summit that personal authenticity is essential to one’s wellbeing, and wellbeing thrives in supportive communities.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 263, 1; 10.2460/javma.263.1.17
“For me, belonging is you get to be you, I get to be me, and together we become so much more. It is the opposite of fitting in. If I have to fit in, I don’t feel like I belong.”
Honor roll members inducted
The following 1,160 AVMA members have been granted honor roll status beginning in 2025. These individuals have maintained membership in the Association for a period of 40 years or more and have reached the age of 70, or they have reached the age of 72 and have maintained continuous membership since graduation. As honor roll members, they will continue to receive the full benefits of membership while being exempt from the payment of dues.
Alabama
Donna Angarano, Auburn
Billy Berry, Piedmont
Cynthia Brooks, Bessemer
Sherry Brown, Brent
Diane Harrington, Montevallo
Richard Hopper Sr., Auburn
Stephanie Ostrowski, Tuskegee
Harold Pate Jr., Hayneville
Nathaniel Powell Jr., Montgomery
Charles Roney, Midland City
Stephen Schneider, Mobile
Saralyn Smith-Carr, Jacksons Gap
Marlon Springer, Jasper
Timothy Stewart, Summerdale
Bruce Thornton, Opelika
William Whitfield, Chelsea
Alaska
Thomas McGregor, Chugiak
Arizona
Wayne Anderson, Glendale
James Baker, Phoenix
David Barnes, Casa Grande
James Boulay, Tucson
Roy Cruzen, Phoenix
Timothy Doherty, Cottonwood
Linda Elliott, Phoenix
Duncan Ferguson, Cave Creek
Kerry Forsyth, Huachuca City
Peg Fricke, Yuma
Nita Gulbas, Elgin
John Huntley, Vail
Joseph Mancino, Prescott
Alan McKersie, Scottsdale
Paula Medler, Oro Valley
Janet Mueller, Tucson
Michael Murray, Oro Valley
Gene Nightengale, Tucson
Linda Schmitt, Tucson
Ronald Tenney, Chandler
Leslie Wootton, Apache Junction
Arkansas
Paula Broadfoot, Van Buren
John Duckett, Bentonville
Claude Henkel, Stuttgart
Joel Lenz, Garfield
Paul Norris, Bryant
Kenneth Shaddox, Conway
Thomas Sherrill, Hot Springs Village
California
Darcy Atterbury, Healdsburg
Richard Baer, San Diego
Marguerite Barrett, Folsom
Laura Becker, Oakland
Janet Berens, Chatsworth
Stephen Bilbrey, Moorpark
Scott Blond, Truckee
Elizabeth Boynton, Claremont
John Branam, Huntington Beach
Paul Breckenridge, Pleasant Hill
Richard Breitmeyer, Plymouth
Mary Cameron, Cupertino
Gary Cash, Riverside
Pedro Cisneros, Santa Clarita
Lorrie Clemens, Portola Valley
Charles Copeland, Winton
Autumn Davidson, Three Rivers
Patricia Dedrick-Terry, Santa Ynez
Michael Doe, San Leandro
Freeland Dunker, Pacifica
David Elmore, San Diego
Lexie Endo, Walnut Creek
Susan Evers, Chico
Linda Fossum, Penn Valley
Tara Gee, Loomis
Sanford Geller, Orange
Steven Goldberg, Northridge
Joseph Graff, Sebastopol
Arnold Gutlaizer, Oakland
Timothy Hare, Simi Valley
Mitzi Howard, La Jolla
Michael Ikeda, Mission Viejo
Richard Johnson, Upland
Joann Kean, Los Olivos
Andrew Kestler, Campbell
Sally Kimsey, Pope Valley
Mark Kopit, Costa Mesa
Todd Kopit, Yorba Linda
Wallace Liberman, Redding
Leonard Lindsay, Garberville
Howard Martin, Oak Park
Gregory Martinez, Oakhurst
James Matteson, Discovery Bay
Kevin May, Jamul
Ron May-Pumphrey, San Jose
Tracey McNamara, Rancho Cucamonga
Nancy Merrill, Pine Grove
Carol Mertens, San Jose
Stuart Meyers, Davis
Charles Mintzer, Phillips Ranch
Nancy Modglin, Grand Terrace
Patrick Morris, Ramona
Melissa Nixon, Cedar Ridge
Gregory Ogilvie, Carlsbad
Rebecca Papendick, San Diego
Joanne Paul-Murphy, Davis
James Perkins, Pollock Pines
Keith Reimann, Palm Springs
Gregory Rex, San Bernardino
Ernesto Rosete, Laguna Hills
Joan Rowe, Capay
Marybeth Rymer, Emeryville
Gregory Sauer, Oak Park
Jeffrey Scheer, Porterville
Alan Schwartz, Moorpark
Marcia Smith, Loomis
Donna Stadtmore, San Diego
Daniel Stoup, Modesto
Pia Tucker, Woodland
Sheila Tuler, Oceanside
Jaime Velasco, Apple Valley
Theodore Veling, Auburn
Jeffrey Werber, Los Angeles
James White, Rocklin
Mary Ann Wickes, Walnut Creek
Joan Winter, Simi Valley
Thomas Zehnder, Elk Grove
Sharon Zito, Spring Valley
Carol Zoltowski, Brisbane
Colorado
Julia Aiello, Littleton
K.D. Ashbrook, Grand Junction
Al Atkinson, Carbondale
Steven Benscheidt, Longmont
Susan Bloss, Colorado Springs
Joanne Brownhill, Aurora
Joel Brubaker, Penrose
Bernadette Bylina, Fort Collins
Kevin Conrad, Woodland Park
Peter DeWaal, Colorado Springs
Roger Dinsmore, Fort Collins
Jerry Dorsam, Howard
Valerie Fadok, Berthoud
Gregory Farrand, Fort Collins
Sharon Gillette, Fort Collins
Robin Goodyear, Loveland
Jon Gustafson, Longmont
Jana Hoyer, Pagosa Springs
Norman Jorgensen, Loveland
Patrick Kramme, Loveland
Donald Maul, Livermore
Vicki Mills, Arvada
Lou Novosad, Colorado Springs
Raye Pearson, Denver
Curtis Probst, Parker
Susan Raymond, Hotchkiss
Thomas Remmler, Ouray
Joseph Schmidt, Fort Collins
Steve Schwartzenberger, Longmont
Ronald Smith, Canon City
Karlene Stange, Durango
Shauna Sutton Omlie, Fraser
Susan Tasillo, Granby
Darrell Tomky, Holyoke
Robert Welborn, Franktown
Susan Whitmore, Colorado Springs
Mary Wright, Fort Collins
Connecticut
Lawrence Brooks, Farmington
Robert Fair, Killingworth
Clifford Heidinger, Ridgefield
John Huhn, Salem
Betsy Japp, Eastford
Jean Lasser, Lyme
Nancy Maloney, Norwalk
Nancy Mattesen, Stafford Springs
Jeffrey Minor, Killingworth
Thomas Morganti, Avon
Deborah O’Keefe, North Granby
Rita Power, Newtown
Anita Sabellico, Suffield
Nancy Sawyer, Darien
Manjunath Seetharaman, Ansonia
Nan Tartt, Avon
Ruth Ann Valli, Hebron
Delaware
Kevin Coogan, Wilmington
Christine Cornish, Dover
Debra Givin, Lewes
Paul Hanebutt Jr., Dover
Steven Kuhlman, Millsboro
Terrence Maskol, Georgetown
Wendy Walker, Selbyville
Samuel Wooters Jr., Seaford
District of Columbia
Michael Dykes, Washington
Gail Hansen, Washington
Florida
Jonathan Allen, Boca Raton
Daryl Backos, Boca Raton
Jack Beal, Bradenton
Barbara Beckett, Inverness
Jamie Bellah, Clermont
William Bitetto, Hutchinson Island
Octavio Blanco, Lutz
Daniel Bowen, Tampa
Allan Cohen, Deltona
Donald Cook, Jacksonville
Brandon Cox, Fort Lauderdale
David Cox, Jupiter
Marcia Cushing, Orlando
Catherine Deptula, Brandon
Walter Dornbusch, Panama City
Robert Engelman, Tampa
Ellen Fannon, Valparaiso
Horace Ferguson III, Ocala
Robert Ferran, Miami
Daniel Franklin, Marco Island
Thomas Freiberg, Port Orange
Valerie Fucci, Port Richey
Richard Funk, Sarasota
Elizabeth Garcia, Wimauma
Nancy Gerhardt, Bradenton
Patricia Gionet, Jacksonville
Cynthia Godshalk, Stuart
Jeffrey Goldberg, Newberry
Mary Gray, Sanford
Kent Greer, Crystal River
James Grubb, Delray Beach
Joseph Hardy, North Miami Beach
D. Harris, Niceville
Thomas Householder, Key West
Donald Howell, Seminole
James Hughes, Palm Harbor
Sharon Hunter, Brandon
A.N.J. Izad, North Port
Louise Jones-Todd, Williston
Edward Kanara, Naples
Donald Kanfer, DeLand
Anita Kiehl, Bushnell
Michael Kohan, Belleview
William Kroll, Cape Coral
Baskarasamy Kumar, Royal Palm Beach
Carolyn Morgan, Brandon
Joseph Neff, Ormond Beach
Herbert Nicholas, St. Augustine
Raul Perez, Rockledge
Lesley Phillips, Fort Pierce
Jerry Quinlan, The Villages
James Raatz, Wimauma
Iris Ramirez, Fort Myers
David Randall, Naples
John Rentz, Cocoa
Mary Schooley, Miramar
Larry Scott, Fort Myers
Michael Shaff, Pompano Beach
Khader Shakir, Orlando
Katherine Shaughnessy, Ponte Vedra Beach
Sarah Skinner, Jacksonville
Max Smith, The Villages
Mary Lynn Stanton, Sarasota
Richard Stein, Bonita Springs
Elliot Stetzer, Lake Worth
Rhoda Stevenson, Jacksonville
Joseph Suarez, Debary
Kathleen Vliet, Alachua
Don Wolfersteig, O’Brien
William Yerkes, Loxahatchee
Byron Young, Sarasota
Sherry Zenor, Sarasota
Norma Zurich-Haupt, St. Augustine
Georgia
Jennifer Adams, Hull
Glenn Alexander, Smyrna
James Barger, Roswell
Lynn Beckmann, Bogart
Christine Berthelin-Baker, Sandy Springs
Fredrick Blackmar, Cataula
Stuart Burnett Jr., Villa Rica
Don Cole, Winterville
Franklin Dickerson, Loganville
Michael Dzimianski, Nicholson
Fredrick Freeland, Albany
Robert Griffith III, Atlanta
John Henry, Oxford
Beverly Hickman, Macon
Mary Hill, Milton
Gilbert Jacobs, Athens
Paul Johnson, Climax
Sue Kascher, Cumming
Robert Lafferty, Alpharetta
A. Leard, Lavonia
Cyd Lusk, Canton
Leonard Michelbacher III, Fort Valley
Kinsey Phillips, Commerce
Amanda Reeve, Atlanta
Linda Sawyer, Americus
Linda Scheller-Bradley, Pembroke
Aaron Scott, Roopville
Pamela Stone, Lavonia
Herbert Tally Jr., Cartersville
Andrew Tripp, Cartersville
John Wadley Jr., Macon
Michael Wilke, Chickamauga
Craig Yeomans, Snellville
Michael Zager, Ellijay
Hawaii
Patrick D’Angelo, Holualoa
David Haas, Kapaa
Miyo Miyasaki-Kim, Wailuku
Alan Nagakura, Hilo
Idaho
Randall Acker, Ketchum
Olin Balch, Cascade
Marty Becker, Bonners Ferry
Robert Durland, Boise
James Green, Jerome
Stephen Hardy, Eagle
Charles Higgins, Pocatello
William Pilcher, Caldwell
Michele Weaver, Victor
Illinois
Allen Barclay, Bushnell
Raymond Bishop, Darien
Richard Blazer, Elmhurst
Randy Brunswick, Bloomington
Charles Burmeister, Peoria
Joan Claus, Wilmette
William Condie, Freeport
Robert Dann, Wilmette
Kenneth Davis, Galesburg
Albert Estock, Rushville
Steven Etheridge, Rockford
Dennis French, Urbana
Carol Fuhrman, Lisle
Brian Gerloff, Woodstock
Ellen Glagola, Hinsdale
Ellen Hikes, Naperville
David Hucek, Huntley
Gregory Hurst, Springfield
J. David Huston, Roseville
Carl Johnson, Peoria
Nancy Kucera, Cobden
Linda Lapin, Barrington
Margaret MacHarg, Elgin
James Norton Jr., Brookfield
Donna Nykaza, Matteson
Edward O’Brien, Gurnee
Kyuhun Park, Elmwood Park
Barbara Petersen, Monticello
Marta Petryna, Park Ridge
Belinda Poe, De Soto
Humphrey Roberts, Chicago
Bohdan Rudawski, Fox Lake
Mark Rusley, Algonquin
Susan Schmitt, Streator
Lorna Sifford, Alhambra
Susan Sneed, Libertyville
George Stasula, Chicago
John Steinmeyer, Staunton
Roman Tkaczuk, Glenview
Anthony Ulrich, Dongola
Karen Wernette, Bensenville
Charles Wildt, Virginia
Kathryn Wilkes, North Barrington
Craig Zabel, Sugar Grove
Indiana
Susan Ahlfeld, Fort Branch
Robert Bill, West Lafayette
Gayla Bradfield, Bloomington
David Brelage, Fort Wayne
Richard Chaille, Columbus
Paul Clemente, Fort Wayne
Gail Dallas, Indianapolis
Jay Davis, Michigantown
Daniel Eichhorn, Middletown
James Holscher, Terre Haute
Mary Jennings, Carmel
Thomas Kilbane, Newburgh
Jeffrey Longenbaugh, Middlebury
Tom Martin, Crawfordsville
Thomas Parell, Martinsville
Willie Reed, West Lafayette
Jerry Rodenbarger, Valparaiso
Cynthia Rowe, Avon
Mark Thomas, Owensville
Scott Thompson, Newburgh
Robin Waltz, Madison
Wendy Wirtz Hatter, Grovertown
Iowa
Mary Anson, Coralville
Michael Bottorff, Fort Dodge
Dana Danks, Slater
Michael Dierenfeld, Northwood
Thomas Donohue, Oskaloosa
Gene Fjeld, Forest City
Rory Friedow, Kanawha
Gregory Garvin, Muscatine
Randall Groth, Plainfield
John Hallberg, Hopkinton
Shirley Harder, Des Moines
Brian Hargens, Hudson
Daniel Huiskamp, Cresco
Albert Jergens, Ames
Douglas LaFleur, Sioux City
Randall Levings, Ames
Ivan Lilienthal, Delhi
Stee Maxwell, Moville
Eric Mills, Ames
Frederick Mulch, Bettendorf
Mary Neumeister, Dubuque
David Rasmussen, Bloomfield
Matthew Sexton, Readlyn
Clifford Shipley, Nodaway
Richard Sibbel, Ankeny
Doyle Slavik, Schleswig
Robert Tiarks, Sidney
Craig Tucker, Stockton
Michael White, Dubuque
Kansas
Alan Brownback, Lyndon
Michael Cocke, Augusta
Marilyn Colgan, Lawrence
Billie Deam, Manhattan
Mary DeBey, Topeka
Glenn Engelland, Salina
David Howard, Lawrence
Karl Lukert, St. Marys
Mark Marks, Lawrence
Diane Mason, Manhattan
R. McAllister, Lenexa
Gary Meyer, Topeka
David Nottingham, Lawrence
Gary Oehmke, Derby
Louis Scott, Jetmore
Vickie Smith, Tonganoxie
Claudia Terry, Pomona
Teresa Tucker, Carbondale
Brad Walker, McPherson
Laurie Walker, Topeka
Janet Weidner, Sublette
Eric Zuk, Bonner Springs
Kentucky
Gregory Bach, Independence
Randall Benham, Brandenburg
Jeffrey Berk, Lexington
Sandra Fubini, Paris
Wyatt Godfrey, Danville
Betty Horrar, Louisville
Charles Keiser, Danville
Bernard Kordenbrock, Burlington
Claire Latimer, Lexington
Alice Mills, Lexington
Deborah Perkins, Bardstown
Marie Petrites-Murphy, Paducah
Stephen Pinkston, Versailles
James Rice, Cynthiana
Joel Salyer, Paintsville
R. Shuffett, Greensburg
Mitch Spaulding, Stanford
Noel Thomas, Murray
Susan Trock, Berea
Craig VanBalen, Lexington
Johna Veatch, Hopkinsville
James Weber Jr., Alexandria
Louisiana
Robert Beauchamp, Clinton
Ramley Bordelon, Haughton
Kim Bradley, Abbeville
Richard Broussard, Lafayette
James Carson III, Lafayette
J. Crochet, New Iberia
Gary Dupree, Bossier City
Mary Finley, Arnaudville
Ronald Gilbert, Hammond
Phillip Griggs, Lafayette
David Hesse, Gretna
Robert Hewlett, Powhatan
Charles Kleinpeter, Prairieville
William Marcello, Thibodaux
Bernie Mayer, Westwego
Royce McMahen, Springhill
Daniel Mooney, Baton Rouge
Eddie Moore, Princeton
Dale Peyroux, Amite
Kent Walker, Mandeville
Maine
Susan Chadima, Topsham
Stephen Kinney, Gray
Mimi Moore, Thomaston
Kenneth Newman, Camden
Kenneth Odrzywolski, Kennebunk
Jason Orr, Pittsfield
Margaret Shively, Kennebunk
George Tarkleson, Damariscotta
Maryland
Debra Beasley, Clinton
Charles Bray, Westminster
Stephen Denny, Ijamsville
Robert Etter, Severna Park
Wendy Feaga, Ellicott City
Susan Gordon-Garcia, La Plata
Greg Herbert, Owings Mills
Melvin Howard II, Bowie
Edward Knickman, Jarrettsville
Linda Miller, Chaptico
Sara-Ann Moran, Gaithersburg
Joseph Nizolek, Easton
Gregory Parham, Mitchellville
Kathleen Russell, Westminster
Thomas Schmidt, Hydes
Michael Shulkin, Ellicott City
Mark Simpson, North Potomac
Kyle Stump, Catonsville
Rand Wachsstock, Catonsville
John Wade, Charlotte Hall
Massachusetts
John Berg, Westborough
Cheryl Blaze, Hudson
Margaret Darcy, Becket
Robert Davis, Cataumet
Margaret Delano, Boxborough
Shelley Dubin, Northborough
George Fountas, Andover
Elaine Gilleece, Dedham
Elizabeth Hennessy, Amesbury
Phoebe Hoyt, Marblehead
John Kelley, Orleans
Deborah Klingener, Boylston
Sarah Lentini, Framingham
Jeffrey Levy, Williamsburg
Martha Lindsay, Andover
R. Lindsay Jr., Andover
Martin Maketansky, Holland
Julie Medley, Lexington
Christopher Meehl, Lynnfield
Vivian Meyer, Florence
Nancy O’Leary, Millbury
Constance Orcutt, Brookline
Nancy Owen, Northampton
Michael Robinson, Millis
James Rodd, Randolph
Paula Ruel, Franklin
James Sawyers, Lynnfield
Elizabeth Shaker, Great Barrington
Barbara Smith, Beverly
Kathryn Sneider, Plymouth
Andrea Speed, Fiskdale
Laurie Stewart, Westford
Abrar Syed, Malden
Ann Thompson, Plymouth
Peter Watts, Brewster
Stephen Zanotti, Winchester
Michigan
Katheryn Applegate, Charlevoix
Katherine Ash, Olivet
Steven Aubry, Ludington
Michael Bolton, Honor
Sherri Bowers, Waldron
Jack Brummel, Holland
Walter Bungard, Atlanta
Marcy Carlson, Midland
Shirene Cece-Clements, Warren
Marj Field, Grosse Ile
Kathleen Foss, Brighton
Jessica Franklin, Saline
Mark Frankowiak, Chesterfield
Eugene Gavin, Alto
Ruth Hansen, Gladwin
Susan Hendricks, Grand Blanc
Michael Hermesmeyer, St. Clair
Susan Hoppe, Cass City
Christine Juroszek, Haslett
Balvir Khangura, Canton
Marc Leven, Wyoming
Susan McFall, Whitmore Lake
Jacalyn Pozniak, Howell
Richard Rinzler, Belmont
Donald Schollenberger, Dearborn
Michael Schumacher, Harbor Beach
Heidi Stucki, Galesburg
Marc Toennies, Cedar
Gail Walter, Kalamazoo
Lynn Weaver, Ludington
Eugene Wilson Jr., Dowagiac
Minnesota
Michael Bahr, Edina
Marcia Brower, Monticello
Cathy Carlson, Shoreview
Sarah Carlson, Mound
Margaret Duxbury, Hopkins
Nicholas Gatto, Eden Prairie
Dale Gilbertson, Wabasha
Loren Johnson, Tyler
Dennis Lange, Audubon
Trilva Melbo, Hampton
Holly Neaton, Watertown
David Pinson, Lakeville
Dawn Price, Anoka
Tom Radke, Mantorville
Charles Schwantes, Prior Lake
Randal Shirbroun, Worthington
Julie Smith, Bloomington
Luanne Wendland, Northfield
Julia Wilson, Stillwater
Mississippi
Robert Clemmer, Lena
Franklin Davis, Mooreville
Danny Magee, Brandon
Randall Moore, Laurel
Lucy Senter, Starkville
Steven Tobias, Ocean Springs
Thomas Watts, Columbia
Ruth Wilburn, Olive Branch
Missouri
Dorothy Brinker, Washington
James Buehler, St. Louis
Vincent Caldwell, Marshfield
Gregory Chapman, Columbia
David Frueh, Maryville
Gary King, Fenton
Kathryn Kovar, St. Louis
Ann Krueger, St. Louis
John Lawrence, St. Joseph
Donald Loden, Joplin
Kathleen McCune, Kimberling City
Robert Miller, Union
William Motley, Rocheport
James Peddicord, Odessa
Tim Pennington, Kirkwood
Michael Thompson, Warrenton
Catherine Vogelweid, Auxvasse
Vincil Wilt, Paris
Theo Wolff, Kansas City
Montana
Constance Campbell, Missoula
Richard Cunningham, Hysham
William Damby, Lewistown
Timothy Gilligan, Great Falls
Sid Gustafson, Bozeman
Jo Jones, Missoula
Gerald Killen, Forsyth
Diana Kuehn, Huntley
Sandra Moore, Missoula
Rollett Pruyn, Missoula
Judith Rongen, Roundup
Diana Scollard, Absarokee
Estelle Shuttleworth, Hamilton
Deborah Skow, Ronan
Ron Walters, Lewistown
Nebraska
James Albrecht, Emerson
Ronnie Brodersen, Hartington
Jere Detter, Omaha
Bradley Gloystein, York
Lynn Guthmiller, Creighton
Randall Kumpost, Martell
Rodney Moxley, Lincoln
Robin Nelson, Gretna
Michael Sheldon, Pawnee City
Jay Stewart, Wood River
Barbara Teter, Omaha
Nevada
Steven Boyer, Reno
Karen Dowds, Henderson
David Henderson, Las Vegas
Roger Knighton, Las Vegas
Peter Perron, Las Vegas
Craig Schank, Fallon
George Upham, Las Vegas
New Hampshire
Stephen Bassett, Stratham
Patricia Day-Lollini, Rye
Charles DeVinne, Peterborough
Thomas Dowling, Hancock
Elizabeth Hall, Hopkinton
Eugene Handel, Hampstead
Evan Janovitz, Warner
Elliot More, Deerfield
Gail Robinson, Loudon
Lee Spyridakis, Dover
Allen Wachter, Newport
Patricia Wakenell, Strafford
New Jersey
Joanne Bicknese, Cream Ridge
Joseph Chiosi, Sayreville
Louis Crupi, Nutley
Scott Delaney, Ocean
Diane Eigner, Barnegat
Oliver Elbert, Ringoes
Robert Fitzpatrick, Cape May Court House
Jeffrey Grodkiewicz, Washington
Laurie Heeb, Bloomfield
John Heidgerd, Bridgewater
Faith Krausman, Montclair
Gary Levy, Jackson
Mark Milwicki, Verona
Boaz Rogan, Metuchen
Carl Rosen, Chester
Spencer Silvers, South Bound Brook
Cynthia Smith, Pennington
Joji Luis Soriano, Somerset
Clifford Sporn, Hainesport
Thomas Trotter, Red Bank
Alice Tucker, Bloomingdale
New Mexico
Kathryn Harris, Albuquerque
Paul Malin, Albuquerque
Joan Moreau, Santa Fe
Robert Owen, Ruidoso
Madison Seamans, Capitan
Jane West, Albuquerque
New York
Bette Arnold, Rochester
Wendy Bates, Victor
Christine Camann, Unadilla
Mark Caravaty, Clifton Park
Thomas Carreras, Staten Island
Ann Cary, Corning
Melvin Chambliss, Alfred Station
Amy Charpentier, Penfield
Alan Coren, Huntington
Attlee Douglas, Bronx
Kathy Earnest-Koons, Ithaca
Robert Eggleston, Verona
Glenn Fahnestock, Penn Yan
Peter Farrell, Burnt Hills
Mark Feldman, Beacon
Janet Ficarra, New York
Jonathan Fischer, Islip
Marla Fischl, Cold Spring Harbor
Leonard Fox, Bedford Hills
Steven Fox, Atlantic Beach
Robert Glasser, Long Island City
Joseph Glennon, Pattersonville
Richard Hanusch Jr., Calverton
Carla Hernas, Schenectady
William Hornbuckle, Freeville
Andrew Kaye, Flushing
Michael Keschner, Brooklyn
Jeffrey Kramer, Huntington
Jeffrey Krasnoff, Glen Head
Teresa Labuszewski, Williamsville
Daniel Leiman, New Rochelle
Kay Lin, Fayetteville
Thomas Lopez, Wellsville
Brian MacNamara, Warwick
Carol Novotney, Port Washington
Mary O’Horo-Loomis, Waddington
George Palmer, Plattsburgh
Robert Reisman, New York
Henry Schroeder, Scottsville
Gary Selmonsky, Merrick
Jeffrey Strom, East Rockaway
Jeffrey Williams, Rhinebeck
Kevin Wolfer, Lyons
Amy Yeager, Freeville
North Carolina
John Adamson, Charlotte
Janet Batker, Fuquay Varina
John Bianco, Bahama
Audie Bloise, Moravian Falls
Denise Bounous, Hendersonville
James Cartner, Statesville
Marcia Coit, Black Mountain
Lois Combs, Stoneville
Karen Davis, Flat Rock
Wallace Diehl, Mebane
Lynn DiMarco, Hampstead
Robert Evans, Granite Falls
Keven Flammer, Apex
Leonard Fussell, Millers Creek
Kim Gemeinhardt, Germanton
Thomas George II, Salisbury
Warren Gintis, Raleigh
Richard Hawkins, Durham
Robert Hicks, Glade Valley
Dean Hutsell, Fairview
John Isaacs, Cary
Karen Kennedy, Climax
Gary Klein, Wake Forest
Marjorie Lindeke, Hillsborough
Philip McHugh, Durham
Ross McKinlay, Madison
Perry Parks Sr., Asheboro
Brenda Parsons, Hendersonville
Jerry Shelton, Asheville
Michael Sink, High Point
Margurette Straley, Charlotte
Thomas Todd Jr., Franklin
Sally Vivrette, Cary
Harvey Whitley Jr., Washington
North Dakota
Thomas Bettenhausen, Bismarck
Douglas Hintzman, Kulm
Ohio
Steven Barkyoumb, Wooster
Michael Barrie, Dublin
Leonard Battig, Wakeman
Roxanne Baumgartner, Loudonville
Dalia Bloze, Strongsville
Marcia Carothers, Loudonville
Craig Clouse, Dayton
Gail Counts, Portsmouth
Valerie Daubenmier, Logan
Robert Diesem, Seville
John Douds I, Wakeman
Christine Dresser, Medina
Neal Fledderjohann, St. Marys
Elisabeth Giedt, Chardon
Tamara Goforth-Ooten, Cincinnati
Jeffrey Hayes, Reynoldsburg
Ronald Hendrikson, Oberlin
Melanie Hull, Galion
Susan Johnson, Dublin
Michael Kline, Maplewood
Michael Manheim, Cincinnati
Robert Maro, Lowellville
Jerome Masty, Hilliard
Franklin McMillan, Lebanon
Philip Moore, Cincinnati
Susan Orosz, Toledo
Benjamin Pearson Jr., Akron
Philip Price, Eastlake
Jill Richards, Carroll
Maria Riedel, Akron
Earle Rogoff, Chagrin Falls
Jennifer Schoenfeld, Pickerington
Douglas Sharpnack, Loveland
Steven Shaw, Seven Hills
David Smith, Hanoverton
Lou Taylor, Zanesville
Roger Thompson, New Albany
Jonathan White, Columbus
Linda White, Ashville
Scott Whiteman, New Albany
Richard Wiley, West Salem
Vicki Zunic, Springfield
Oklahoma
Gregory Campbell, Perkins
Brian Carroll, Oklahoma City
Jeffrey Ellis, Piedmont
Tony Epperson, Yukon
William Frazee, Nowata
Marjorie Gross, Stillwater
George Horn, Chickasha
James Jenkins, Henryetta
Terry Lohmann, Alva
LeMac Morris, Stillwater
Tina Neel, Oklahoma City
Kevin O’Hair, Enid
Kenneth Olivier, Midwest City
Dwight Olson, Enid
William Omohundro, Ada
Stanley Pope, Boswell
Carl Propp, Adair
Fawn Reely, Enid
Rick Reid, Nowata
Carlos Risco, Stillwater
Roy Rosier, Oklahoma City
Max Rust, Tulsa
Virginia Schultz, Newcastle
Mark Setser, Tulsa
Janis Smith, Fairland
Leslie Turner, Purcell
David VonTungeln, Calumet
Michael Voss, Checotah
Edward Wagner, Tulsa
Michael Wiley, Norman
Joel Wilson, Shawnee
Oregon
Steve Amsberry, Sisters
Emily Beck, Portland
Mitchell Benson, Gold Hill
Sarah Bledsoe, Rainier
John Carr, Bend
Terry Gerros, Salem
David Hammond, Springfield
Lisa Hoberg, Portland
Regina Housley, Scappoose
Marianne Mackay, Philomath
Marla McGeorge, Tualatin
Kathleen McGill, Bend
Michael Motschenbacher, Gold Hill
David Nay, Monmouth
Anthony Oddo, Prineville
Bradley Pope, Warrenton
Priscilla Pulver, Adrian
Sandra Sherman City
Susan Tornquist, Corvallis
Pennsylvania
Kenneth Barnsley, Kennett Square
Mary Beers Graham, Williamsport
Alexander Bilello, Langhorne
Deborah Brzezinski, Media
Mark Burch, Saylorsburg
Elizabeth Burke, Easton
Michael Chovanes, Alburtis
Jeffrey Conrad, Montoursville
Melinda Cosgrove, Lincoln University
Margaret Cumming, Wayne
JoAnn DeWire, Wyomissing
Deborah Ellinger, Red Hill
James Eubank, Honey Brook
William Feeney, Newtown
Mark Guise, Harrisburg
Katrin Hinrichs, Kennett Square
Douglas Humphries, Downingtown
Kevin Keane, Cochranville
Deborah Keim, Middletown
Jane Kirchhoffer, Jenkintown
Donn Laudermilch, Rome
Christopher Manning, Steelville
Samuel May, Warminster
Jeffrey McKissick, New Castle
Kathryn Michel, Bryn Mawr
Patricia Morgan, Hawley
Ellen Prieto, Pipersville
Kathy Purcell, Boiling Springs
Ethel Ritchie, Ephrata
Susan Stehman, Wallingford
Maureen Stokes, Washington Crossing
Thomas Szczepkowski, Elysburg
Jimmy Thurman, West Chester
Marylouise Visco, Dravosburg
Ferdinand Visintainer, New Tripoli
Nadine Vukovich, Mechanicsburg
Ronald Wilson, Annville
Donald Yorlets, New Oxford
Puerto Rico
Gustavo Brito, Humacao
Carmen Catoni, Caguas
Jose Vientos, Guaynabo
Rhode Island
Meryl Kardon, Narragansett
South Carolina
Sheila Allen, Sullivans Island
Kenneth Brown, Rock Hill
Steven Harnagel, St. Helena Island
Glen Haynes, Summerville
Paul Laney, Mount Croghan
Ila McFadden, Olanta
Boyd Parr, Newberry
Anne Phlipot, Simpsonville
Paul Sundberg, Anderson
Daniel Venner, Aiken
South Dakota
Kay Burkhart, Valley Springs
Roland Good, Parker
Gregory Grauer, Sturgis
Dale Miskimins, Elkton
Peter Moisan, Brookings
John Voegeli, Piedmont
David Zeman, Brookings
Tennessee
Samuel Beckman, Hermitage
Thomas Bradford, Brentwood
Don Claiborne, Crossville
Phillip Elsea, Johnson City
Jerome Geiger, Hendersonville
Gwendolyn Griffith, Nashville
Richard Hewitt, Morristown
John Johnston, Springfield
Hillary Kaufman, Gallatin
Rebecca Lillard, Louisville
Hugh McCampbell, Sweetwater
Susan McClure, Telford
John Mullins, Ooltewah
Stephen Mullins, Bell Buckle
Guy Sanders, Cleveland
Angela Snow, Powell
Brad Thacker, Mount Juliet
Eileen Thacker, Mount Juliet
Charles Thompson, Crossville
James Thompson, Seymour
Richard Thompson, Cleveland
Alfred Wakefield, Lewisburg
Ann White, Ooltewah
Texas
Nathan Allen III, Graham
Thomas Alvarado, Dallas
Stanley Ancinec, Clyde
Jan Anderson, Thrall
Patricia Auge, Austin
Fred Baron, El Campo
David Behrends, Blanco
Carol Black, Tyler
Kevan Blasor, Ranger
Allen Bolt, Abilene
Ronald Box, Pecos
Bruce Bradley, Jefferson
Gwendolyn Carroll, College Station
William Claxton, Quinlan
Siegfried Coady, Dallas
Curran Corder, San Antonio
Mark Cotnam, Austin
Rae DeWitt, Rowlett
Donald Deyo, Galveston
Kathie Digilio, Bacliff
Douglas Dornak, El Campo
Kathleen Eichholtz, Tolar
James Fix, Houston
Donna Fuller, Ovilla
James Gates, Macdona
Terry Glover, Weatherford
David Goodnight, Kerrville
Dennis Gourley, New Braunfels
Elizabeth Griffin, Longview
Connie Guerra, San Antonio
William Hamilton, Stafford
Dean Hansen, Frisco
Janet Hardwick, Granbury
Bonnie Hartland, Grapevine
Robert Hawthorne, Dallas
Don Hegi, Lubbock
Marla Hendricks, Waco
Ben Hillhouse, Wheeler
Lee Hillhouse, Wheeler
Kurt Hoffman, Prosper
Candis Hogan, Cedar Hill
Michael Jacob, Rosenberg
Jay Jones, Shallowater
Laurel Jones, Shallowater
Robert Kellogg, Harlingen
Ann Kivney, Friendswood
Lura Klecka, San Antonio
Sherry Klumpp, Houston
Gregory Knape, Alvin
Donna Korvick, San Antonio
Dallas Kuehl, Fulshear
Mark LaBrie, San Antonio
J. Lawhon, Abilene
Dennis Marek, Sealy
Duane Maxwell, Dallas
Gordon McCluskey, Woodville
Patricia McCreight, Amarillo
Nicholas Millichamp, College Station
John Mims, Bulverde
Joel Miskimins, Sachse
Richard Mouser, Austin
Daniel Mumford, Katy
Ronald Naylor, Granbury
Johan Nieuwoudt, College Station
Debra Nossaman, Grapevine
Carol Ong, Bellaire
Eric Osterman, Houston
Stephen Pappan, Houston
Robert Perkins, Corpus Christi
Charles Pipes, Garland
Ruann Pittman, Fort Worth
Patrick Richardson, San Antonio
Christopher Rose, Cedar Hill
Robert Rosebrock, Buda
Barbara Rowe, Spring
Marilyn Rowe, Arlington
Jeff Rubinett, Fort Worth
Wayne Schlosser, Bryan
Barry Schmitt, Spring
Stephen Sells, Bandera
Scott Severin, Schertz
Guy Sheppard, College Station
James Sloat, Waller
Franklin Stiles, Leander
Becky Stone, Del Rio
Ellen Teboe, Rosenberg
Jan Treybig, Arlington
Dennis Umlang, Conroe
Mark VanNess, Houston
Richard Wall, The Woodlands
Mitchell Wasko, Leonard
Robert Wilcox Jr., Port Neches
Stephen Wilson, New Braunfels
Richard Young, Fort Worth
Utah
Christopher Davies, Logan
Charles Gold, Salt Lake City
Kathy Howell, Salt Lake City
Scott Leiter, Pleasant Grove
Elizabeth McGrath, Park City
Joe Roundy, Tooele
Vermont
Sarah Haddock, Manchester Center
Alison Knox, Essex Junction
Lynne Martin, Barnard
Juliann Moenter, Monkton
H. Saunders, Shelburne
John Wheeler, Bridport
Eileen Wilentz, Shaftsbury
Paula Yankauskas, Hyde Park
Virginia
A. Allen, Middleburg
Mary Aller, Oakton
Jerry Bayer, Midlothian
Martin Betts, Charlottesville
Michael Bissell, Fairfax Station
Kathryn Bouvier, Carrollton
Janine Braun, Norfolk
David Brinker, Newport News
Alfred Brooks, Chesapeake
Connie Canode, Boones Mill
Deborah Carleton, Winchester
Maurice Casey, Marshall
Eric Chafetz, Vienna
Kathryn Dixon Edmunds, South Boston
Cynthia Downes, Lexington
Mark Finkler, Roanoke
Judith Garland, Bealeton
Jeannette Gibbons, Fredericksburg
Stephen Goldsmith, Alexandria
Steven Gustavson, Woodstock
Charles Hable, Stuart
Richard Hartigan, Earlysville
Marilyn Haskell, Chester
Karen Henderson, Woodford
Bradford Hildabrand, Linville
Douglas Houston, New Kent
T. Kessler, Portsmouth
William Kusterbeck, Woodbridge
Vikki McLawhorn, Alexandria
William Monroe, Blacksburg
Gareth Moore, Pembroke
Kathryn Neel, Roanoke
Roger Nichols, Dumfries
James Poage, Roanoke
Wanda Pool, Centreville
Robert Porter, Suffolk
Shauna Spurlock, Lovettsville
J. Strickland, Leesburg
Robert Wilbanks, Orange
Washington
Earl Aalseth Jr., Lake Stevens
Charles Acock, Walla Walla
Edward Alford, Bellevue
Robert Best, Eatonville
Robert Braun, Olympia
Kimber Brawley, Bellevue
Patrick Carter, Spokane
Karen Comer, University Place
Mary Conger, Kent
Linda DeBowes, Seattle
Gregg DuPont, Seattle
Marianne Febach, Olympia
Glenn Johnson, Seattle
Casey Kime, Puyallup
Karen Kime, Graham
Darrell Kraft, Snohomish
Mary Lindley, Lacey
John Mangiameli, Oak Harbor
William McGaffey, Deer Park
Richard Morgan, Sequim
Carole Mylius, Benton City
Lynnel Rowan, Yakima
Susan Torgerson, Lake Forest Park
Kamal Walia, Puyallup
Lance Weekes, Duvall
James Wempe, Gig Harbor
Jan White, Kent
West Virgina
Mark Ayers, Huntington
Robert Marshall, Kenna
John Pratt, Moorefield
James Radcliffe, Wheeling
Wisconsin
Kemberlie Anderson, Hartford
Terry Barker, Green Bay
Melissa Behr, Madison
Brenda Bray, Roberts
Bruce Buckley, Colfax
Janet Calkins, Madison
M. Cantrell, Janesville
Annamarie Dittmar, Port Washington
Allen Dunbar, Green Bay
Rosamunde Elliott, Waukesha
Robert Entwistle, Elkhorn
Richard Ernsberger, Fox Lake
Mary Frautschy, Greenfield
Peter Gasper, Fremont
LaMonte Gray, La Crosse
Martha Greco, Baraboo
Daniel Griffiths, Lomira
John Gustafson, Madison
James Hardekopf, Waterford
Deborah Henson, Amery
Paul Knier, Oshkosh
Kaye Krueger, Hartland
Deborah Logerquist, Sturgeon Bay
Brian Nelson, West Allis
Ann Plata, Columbus
David Rosene, Fox Point
Peter Schreiner, Stratford
Robert Sieber, Hortonville
Janeen Smith, Mazomanie
Howard Steinberg, Madison
John Swingle, Deer Park
Steven Trost, Monroe
Alice VanMaastricht, Milwaukee
Thomas Whitten, Glenwood City
Wyoming
James Bechaver, Evanston
Robert Beiermann, Big Piney
Dawn Bodin, Green River
Joseph Dona, Casper
Randy Hunter, Wheatland
Janice Trumpeter, Cheyenne
Canada
Karen Nyrop, Didsbury, Alberta
Grace Karreman, Nanaimo, British Columbia
Lyndell Levitt, Cloverdale, British Columbia
Real Provencher, Dunham, Quebec
Australia
John Doyle, Toowoomba
Alicia Faggella, Balcatta
France
Thomas Hodge, Paris
Mongolia
Mary Ballenger, Ulaanbaatar
Assemblies
American College of Veterinary Surgeons
The American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) held its annual surgery summit from October 24-26 in Phoenix. The ACVS officials are Dr. Jan F. Hawkins, Raleigh, North Carolina, chair and immediate past president; Dr. Bryden J. Stanley, Flint, Michigan, president; Dr. Kelly D. Farnsworth, Pullman, Washington, president-elect; Dr. Julie D. Smith, Mountain View, California, treasurer; Ann T. Loew, Germantown, Maryland, chief executive officer; and regents—Drs. Jose M. Garcia-Lopez, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; Laurent P. Guiot, Culver City, California; Ursula Krotscheck, Ithaca, New York; David G. Levine, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; Annette M. McCoy, Urbana, Illinois; and Jason Syrcle, Philadelphia.
Feline VMA
The Feline Veterinary Medical Association (FelineVMA), formerly the American Association of Feline Practitioners, held its annual conference from September 26-29 in Minneapolis. The conference drew more than 1,000 veterinary professionals. The theme of the conference was “Feline Dermatology, Cardiology, and Diagnostic Methodology.” Continuing education sessions and presentations focused on a variety of topics, including feline allergies, autoimmune skin disease in the feline patient, topical therapy in feline dermatology, infectious skin diseases, diagnosis and management of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, why saddle thrombus is no longer a death sentence, pulmonary pattern paradigms and left-sided congestive heart failure in cats, a diagnostic imaging approach to noncardiac respiratory distress, unlocking the power of genetic testing for feline diseases, cytologic diagnosis of inflammatory and infectious diseases in cats, improving skills in diagnosing obstructive gastrointestinal disease in cats with radiography, and recognizing airway disease in cats. Ancillary sessions covered osteoarthritis pain, diabetes treatments, new feline products and developments, and nutrition. Also on offer were educational topics for veterinary technicians. Attendees can register and gain access to some of the content from December 2 until May 31, 2025, via the virtual conference platform, jav.ma/VirtConf. Immediate past president of the FelineVMA, Dr. Tammy Sadek, reflected on the association’s 50-year history and recognized the contributions of past and current volunteers over five decades of leadership and dedication. She also announced the association’s new name and logo. The FelineVMA’s fifth annual Spring into Feline Medicine e-conference will be held on April 27, May 7, and May 17, 2025. The 2025 annual conference will be held from September 18-21 in Portland, Oregon. The theme of the conference will be “Feline Nephrology, Urology, & Dentistry.” Further details on the e-conference and annual conference will be made available in the near future via the FelineVMA education platform,jav.ma/CatVetEducation. The FelineVMA officials are Drs. Ashlie Saffire, Columbus, Ohio, president; Hazel Carney, Emmett, Idaho, president-elect; Michelle Meyer, Sterling Heights, Michigan, treasurer; Tammy Sadek, Grand Rapids, Michigan, immediate past president; Colleen Currigan, Chicago, AVMA delegate; Cathy Lund, Providence, Rhode Island, AVMA alternate delegate and director; and directors—Drs. Lacie Lee, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Ross Mahowald, Lincolnwood, Illinois; Kira Ramdas, The Woodlands, Texas; Dale Rubenstein, Germantown, Maryland; Angie Smith, Austin, Texas; and Autumn Vetter, Athens, Georgia.
Iowa VMA
The Iowa VMA (IVMA) held its annual meeting from September 26-27 in Ames. The IVMA officials are Drs. Ken May, Slater, president; Aubrey Cordray, Humboldt, president-elect; Preston Ayers, Cedar Rapids, vice president; and Kristen Clark, Faribault, Minnesota, immediate past president.
Washington State VMA
The Washington State VMA (WSVMA) held its Pacific Northwest Veterinary Conference from September 27-29 in Tacoma. For the upcoming fiscal year, the association’s strategic goals will center on increasing membership and protecting the veterinary profession through legislation and regulatory advocacy. The WSVMA will continue to focus on assisting members on issues created by the workforce crisis and on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Three new members were appointed to the board of directors to fill newly created representation and diversity positions. The WSVMA officials are Dr. Eddie Haigh, Shelton, president; Dr. Sally Thompson-Iritani, Seattle, vice president; Dr. Haena Lee, Federal Way, secretary; Dr. Melanie Bowden, Renton, treasurer; Ken Gordon, Seattle, chief executive officer; and directors—Drs. Radha Ganesan, Seattle; Robert Mealey, Pullman; Lily Ngai, Seattle; Katie Kuehl, Seattle; Kristi Wubben, Vancouver; and Irene Yen, Renton.
Visit avma.org/news/community to read the full reports, including awards.
In Memory
Edward J. Bicknell
Dr. Bicknell (Kansas State ’60), 96, Manhattan, Kansas, died June 28, 2024. From 1999-2015, he served as resident veterinarian for Hickman’s Family Farms in Buckeye, Arizona. Following graduation, Dr. Bicknell worked as an instructor at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He subsequently served on the veterinary faculties of Kansas State and Iowa State universities. From 1968-73, Dr. Bicknell was a professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at South Dakota State University. He then served 25 years as a professor in the Department of Veterinary Science and Microbiology at the University of Arizona.
Dr. Bicknell was a life member and a past president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. Memorials, toward the Kansas State University Foundation, may be made c/o Lee Weide, 6738 Flush Road, St. George, KS 66535.
Eugene Branscum
Dr. Branscum (Purdue ’76), 75, Decaturville, Tennessee, died October 4, 2024. Following graduation, he worked briefly in Indiana. Dr. Branscum then moved to Parsons, Tennessee, where he practiced for 45 years. His wife, Lauralei; a son, a daughter, and a stepdaughter; six grandchildren; and a brother survive him.
Steven B. Colter
Dr. Colter (Colorado State ’67), 82, Fort Collins, Colorado, died July 7, 2024. During his career, he served as a professor at the Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology; worked at VCA Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in Denver; practiced at Pikes Peak Veterinary Hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and worked at Flint Veterinary Hospital in Salt Lake City. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Dr. Colter was a past president of the Colorado VMA (CVMA) and served as Colorado’s delegate and alternate delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates. His wife, Kay; a son and a daughter; eight grandchildren; and two sisters survive him. Memorials, toward the Neurology and Neurosurgery Service, with the memo line of the check notated “In Memory of Dr. Colter” may be made to the CSU Foundation, P.O. Box 1870, Fort Collins, CO 80522, jav.ma/Neurology.
Jennifer Devey
Dr. Devey (Guelph ’88), 60, Saanichton, British Columbia, died June 11, 2024. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC), she was an emergency and critical care consultant with veterinary hospitals in the United States, Canada, and other countries. During her career, Dr. Devey served as director of emergency and intensive care services at several referral practices in Canada and the United States. Active with the International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium (IVECCS), she was laboratory coordinator of the workshops for several years and organized the emergency procedures wet laboratory, recently named in her honor. Dr. Devey served on committees of the ACVECC and the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS). She is survived by her brother.
Katherine S. Gloyd
Dr. Gloyd (Texas A&M ’76), 73, Wilmington, Delaware, died October 5, 2024. Following graduation, she practiced in St. Petersburg, Florida, for seven years. During that time, Dr. Gloyd also served three years as director of the veterinary technology program at St. Petersburg College. She subsequently worked a year as a professional services manager for Hills Pet Nutrition. From 1984-97, Dr. Gloyd served as vice president of Veterinary Learning Systems. She then co-founded Gloyd Group Inc., which was later renamed Elevate DVM with her husband, Dr. Joe S. Gloyd (Colorado State ’61).
Dr. Gloyd is survived by her husband, a son, three stepdaughters, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 1314 Foulk Road, Wilmington, DE 19803.
James A. Hall
Dr. Hall (Texas A&M ’75), 78, Houston, died September 9, 2024. He practiced mixed animal medicine at Dayton Veterinary Clinic in Dayton, Texas, with his wife, Dr. Donna Kay Hall (Texas A&M ’75), prior to retirement. Dr. Hall is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, three grandchildren, two brothers, and a sister. Memorials, toward the Veterinary Medicine Class of ’75 Endowed Scholarship #34263, may be made to the Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840, jav.ma/TAMU.
Harvey W. Hayden
Dr. Hayden (Pennsylvania ’57), 91, Sharon, Connecticut, died May 10, 2024. He was the founder of Sharon Veterinary Clinic where he worked until 2023. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hayden practiced small animal medicine in Concord, Massachusetts, and served in the Air Force. His wife, Kathryn, and his family survive him. Memorials may be made to the Sharon Fire Department, P.O. Box 357, Sharon, CT 06069.
Ray M. LaCour
Dr. LaCour (Texas A&M ’55), 96, Lafayette, Louisiana, died October 19, 2024. He owned a practice in Lafayette for several years prior to retirement. Dr. LaCour was a past president of the Louisiana VMA and served on the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine for six years. His four daughters, six grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and four siblings survive him. Memorials may be made to Acadiana Animal Aid, 142 Le Medicin Road, Carencro, LA 70520, jav.ma/Acadiana.
Henry Philmon
Dr. Philmon (Iowa State ’58), 91, Mound, Minnesota, died August 27, 2024. Following graduation, he served in the Army Veterinary Corps, attaining the rank of captain. Dr. Philmon subsequently worked in Davenport, Iowa. In 1969, he moved to Minnetonka, Minnesota, where he practiced at Minnetonka Animal Hospital. During that time, Dr. Philmon also developed curriculum for veterinary technology programs at various institutions, including the University of Minnesota, and provided spay and neuter services at the Minnesota State Fair for several years. He later established M.A.S.H., a mobile surgical practice. Dr. Philmon was a life member of the Minnesota VMA. He is survived by his son, daughter, and two grandchildren.
Eugene W. Plegge
Dr. Plegge (Missouri ’58), 89, Linn, Missouri, died September 13, 2024. Following graduation, he served in the Air Force, attaining the rank of captain. Dr. Plegge subsequently worked a year in Windsor, Missouri. He then established a clinic in Linn, where he practiced until retirement in 1999. Dr. Plegge is survived by his wife, Evelyn; a daughter and a son; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children, Office of Development, International Shrine Headquarters, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
William S. Rowe
Dr. Rowe (Georgia ’65), 85, Mineral Bluff, Georgia, died October 29, 2024. He began his career as the resident veterinarian at Millarden Farms in Woodbury, Georgia. Dr. Rowe subsequently served a year in the Army Veterinary Corps. He later established four mixed animal practices in the San Antonio area of Texas and co-founded a veterinary emergency clinic in San Antonio. Dr. Rowe was active with the Christian Veterinary Mission. He is survived by four daughters and 11 grandchildren. Memorials, toward the Endowment Fund, may be made to the Christian Veterinary Mission, c/o Dr. Kit Flowers, 19303 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98133.
James A. Sweeney
Dr. Sweeney (Iowa State ’64), 92, Bloomington, Minnesota, died July 29, 2024. In 1970, he co-established Bloomington Veterinary Hospital with his brother, Dr. William Sweeney (Iowa State ’67). Earlier in his career, Dr. Sweeney worked in Wisconsin in Greendale and Brookfield. He retired in 2009. Dr. Sweeney was a lifetime member of the Minnesota VMA. He is survived by his wife, Lois; a daughter, two stepdaughters, and a stepson; and seven grandchildren. Memorials may be made to Living Well Disability Services, 1168 Northland Drive, Mendota Heights, MN 55120; Nativity of Mary Catholic Church, 9900 Lyndale Ave. S., Bloomington, MN 55420; or Partnership Resources Inc., an organization supporting people with disabilities, and sent to 1069 10th Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.
Henry J. Travis
Dr. Travis (Cornell ’74), 75, Centerport, New York, died October 10, 2024. Following graduation, he joined Fort Hill Animal Hospital in Huntington, New York, eventually taking ownership of the practice. Dr. Travis worked 50 years at the hospital until his death. He was a past chair of the advisory council for Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Baker Institute for Animal Health. Dr. Travis is survived by his wife, Karen; a son and two daughters; and four grandchildren. One daughter, Dr. Lyndsey Travis (Ross ’06), is also a veterinarian.
Thomas R. Wolski
Dr. Wolski (Cornell ’71), 76, Cambridge, New York, died June 6, 2024. He was the founder of Cambridge Valley Veterinary Hospital, where he practiced for more than 30 years. Dr. Wolski served on the Cambridge School Board for a decade. He is survived by his wife, Jan; a daughter; two grandchildren; and three sisters. Memorials may be made to the Cambridge Food Pantry, P.O. Box 473, Cambridge, NY 12186.
