This past year, Dr. Jack O. Walther, AVMA president, attended a meeting of the Panamerican Association of Veterinary Sciences in Mexico City. At the meeting, he came to the conclusion that the AVMA has a place within the organization.

The PANVET has seven member countries from North, Central, and South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay. Mexico provides leadership for the organization, and member countries fund it, with ancillary support by interested organizations, such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The PANVET holds a congress every other year and the next is planned for Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2004; visit www.congresosint.com.ar/panvet2004/ for information.

In November, Dr. Walther submitted a recommendation, which was subsequently approved by the Executive Board, for the AVMA to rejoin the PANVET. The AVMA joined this group in the early 1970s, but discontinued membership in 1984, citing concerns with organizational and financial matters. In recognition of the AVMA's focus on globalization, the AVMA should join to enhance its commitment to international involvement in veterinary medicine. "It is the only organizational umbrella for the Southern Hemisphere," he said, noting that the AVMA should do what it can to strengthen relationships south of the border.

Membership dues will run $500 to $2,000, and the Executive Board made it clear that the AVMA should weigh the voting rights it will have when it negotiates dues. The board also recommended reevaluating participation in the group with a sunset review in three years.