The Executive Board elected Dr. Bret D. Marsh of Indianapolis as treasurer-elect. Dr. Marsh, the Indiana state veterinarian, will succeed Dr. James F. Peddie, whose six successive terms as AVMA treasurer end this July.

Since 1994, Dr. Marsh has held the position of Indiana state veterinarian. Selected by the Indiana State Board of Animal Health and approved by then-Governor Evan Bayh, Dr. Marsh became the youngest state veterinarian in the country.

As state veterinarian, Dr. Marsh is responsible for a staff of some 140 people, including 15 veterinarians, and an agency budget exceeding $8 million.

In his nomination letter to Executive Board Chair Roger K. Mahr, Dr. Marsh wrote: "As an executive responsible for the proper management of funds, I have frequently made difficult choices during some of Indiana's most challenging fiscal periods.

"I have consistently met or exceeded any budget reduction guidelines, established reserves, frozen staff positions as necessary, and effectively reallocated resources to priority issues. Periodic reviews of the agency's accounting records by the State Board of Accounts consistently indicate all fiscal requirements have been exceeded."

Dr. Marsh recently served as the special detail to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture's Homeland Security Staff. In that role, he represented the views of the country's state veterinarians on issues affecting the nation's ability to preserve and protect its agricultural assets.

After graduating from Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1984, Dr. Marsh began his career with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, first as an area supervisor/training officer in meat and poultry inspection, then as director as Swine Health Programs.

Dr. Marsh has served in the AVMA House of Delegates for nearly a decade. In that time, he has twice been elected a member of the House Advisory Committee. Currently, Dr. Marsh is Indiana's delegate in the HOD as well as a member of the Constitution and Bylaws Task Force.

"I am honored to have been selected by the Executive Board, and I look forward to serving the entire AVMA membership," Dr. Marsh said. "Dr. Peddie has been very effective in delivering the treasurer's message to the membership, and I will do my best to uphold that tradition."