HOUSE OF DELEGATES

AVMA delegates elect Kornegay, re-elect Brown

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The AVMA House of Delegates elected Dr. Larry M. Kornegay as the Association's 2009-2010 president-elect and gave Dr. Gary S. Brown a second term as vice president.

Drs. Kornegay and Brown were the sole candidates for their respective offices, and the HOD elected them by unanimous consent during its regular annual session July 10 in Seattle.

Dr. Kornegay, a companion animal practice owner from Houston, has represented Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas on the AVMA Executive Board since 2003. In that time, he has served the Association in many ways, including as vice chair of the board and as chair of the Executive Vice President Search Committee, Legislative Advisory Committee, and Diversity Task Force.

When he launched his campaign for president-elect in New Orleans last year, the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine graduate emphasized the importance of unity within the veterinary profession. Unity is the profession's strength as well as the key for veterinarians to remain relevant in a fast-changing society, according to Dr. Kornegay.

Dr. Kornegay's nomination was made by the Texas VMA and supported by the Kansas VMA and Kentucky VMA. Following the vote and joined by his wife Chris, also a veterinarian, Dr. Kornegay thanked delegates for their confidence in him.

Dr. Brown sought a second term as vice president so he could continue building bridges between the AVMA and veterinary students.

The job of the AVMA vice president is to be the Association's liaison to the Student AVMA and student chapters of the AVMA. For the past year, Dr. Brown has visited several veterinary schools and colleges to hear from students about their issues.

Elected to his first term as vice president in 2008, the companion animal practice owner from Princeton, W.Va., said a second one-year term allows him an opportunity to carry on with the work of introducing veterinary students to all the AVMA benefits available to them.

Dr. Brown's nomination to a second term was made by the Kentucky VMA and supported by the West Virginia VMA and the SAVMA. With his wife Mitzi at his side, Dr. Brown thanked delegates for giving him another year in office.

Dr. Brown is a graduate of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and was president of the West Virginia VMA from 2004-2006. He also was that state association's representative in the HOD.

In January, the AVMA HOD approved a Bylaws amendment that will change the vice president's service to a single two-year term, effective with the 2010-2011 election. The change was seen as a way of increasing the vice president's efficiency and productivity while reducing the expenses associated with campaigning for re-election.

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