Excellence recognized at AVMA convention

During the AVMA Annual Convention in Minneapolis, numerous individuals were honored for their contributions to the veterinary profession. Awards were presented at the AVMA General Session and World Veterinary Congress Opening Ceremony on July 16 and at the AVMA President's Installation Luncheon on July 19. Hill's Pet Nutrition sponsored both events.

At the General Session, the AVMA's highest honor was conferred posthumously on Dr. James A. Jarrett, Rome, Ga. The award recognizes distinguished contributions to the advancement of veterinary organizations.

Dr. Jarrett was deeply committed to the veterinary profession and had a lifelong involvement with veterinary organizations up to his death this past January.

Dr. Jarrett was a 1960 graduate of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Since 1993, he had been executive vice president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, an organization he helped found in 1964. Following graduation, Dr. Jarrett practiced at Williams Animal Clinic in Rome for five years. He then spent two years with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, organizing and directing the nation's second statewide quality milk program. In 1967, Dr. Jarrett started a dairy production consulting business, working with dairy farms around the world.

President of the AABP in 1978, he served as its delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates from 1984-1988. Dr. Jarrett was a member of the National Mastitis Council and served on the AVMA Council on Education, AVMA Group Health and Life Insurance Trust, and former AVMA Mastitis Committee. Dr. Jarrett was a past president of the Eastern States Veterinary Association. A member of the Georgia VMA, he served on its Food Animal Medicine Committee. Dr. Jarrett was also involved with the North American Veterinary Conference, American Dairy Association, American Society of Association Executives, and the World Association of Buiatrics.

As 2004-2005 AVMA president, Dr. Bonnie Beaver presented the AVMA President's Award to State Rep. Joe Barton; Arlington, Texas, Paula Gaughan, Las Vegas; and Nancy M. Little, Arlington Heights, Ill. The award recognizes individuals and groups inside and outside veterinary medicine who have made an impact on animal, human, or public health; veterinary organizations; and the profession.

State Rep. Joe Barton has represented the 6th district of Texas since 1984. As chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he was instrumental in securing passage of the Minor Use Minor Species Animal Health Act. This legislation increased the availability of approved animal drugs for minor species and minor uses, providing more treatment options when caring for minor animal species or treating rare diseases in major animal species.

An expert on energy policy, Rep. Barton has worked to pass comprehensive national energy policy legislation, sharing authorship of the two most comprehensive energy policy packages to pass the House since the 1930s. He is also a leader for tax reform.

Paula Gaughan operates the Rocking K Arena in Las Vegas and the Rocking K Ranch in Weatherford, Texas. She produces two of the largest major aged events of the National Cutting Horse Association at the arena. Gaughan is a director for the National Cutting Horse Association and National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. She was honored for her generosity and hospitality in making the Rocking K Arena available for hosting the Clinical Proficiency Examination for the AVMA Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates. The provision of space and resources for this activity will facilitate the certification of foreign graduates and help maintain the highest professional standards in veterinary medicine.

Like her husband, AVMA Executive Vice President Bruce W. Little, Nancy M. Little has been active in veterinary organizations, having served as parliamentarian for the Auxiliary to the AVMA and president of the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Auxiliary.

Little has taught in elementary schools in Manhattan, Kan., and Normal, Ill., and did two years of teacher training at the Illinois State University Elementary Laboratory School. When her husband owned a practice, she served as general office manager and bookkeeper for 17 years. Currently, she is a licensed, consistent multimillion-dollar realtor and has earned the Graduate Realtor Institute designation.

Dr. H. Marie Suthers-McCabe, Blacksburg, Va., received the Hill's-sponsored Leo K. Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award. She was honored for her outstanding work in increasing understanding of, preserving, and protecting human-animal relationships.

Dr. Suthers-McCabe received her DVM degree from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is an associate professor of human-companion animal interaction in the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Center for Animal Human Relationships, which promotes the convergence of human and veterinary medicine through research, education, and service. Her research interests include the impact of human-animal interactions on specific human populations, and the well-being of animals employed in therapeutic interventions for humans.

Dr. William D. Hueston, St. Paul, Minn., received the Karl F. Meyer-James H. Steele Gold Head Cane Award. Sponsored by Hartz Mountain Corp., the award recognizes individuals concerned with animal health who have advanced human health through the practice of veterinary epidemiology and public health.

A 1980 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Hueston is director of the University of Minnesota Center for Animal Health and Food Safety. Also, as a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and School of Public Health, he oversees a team of faculty who address surveillance, risk analysis, and policy issues related to foodborne illnesses and emerging infectious diseases. Dr. Hueston is an internationally recognized expert on bovine spongiform encephalopathy. He works with academia, government, industry, and producers to protect the United States food supply.

Dr. Early Maxwell "Max" Sink, High Point, N.C., was honored with the Meritorious Service Award for his involvement in professional, community, and fraternal organizations in the veterinary profession.

A 1958 graduate of the University of Georgia, Dr. Sink practiced from 1958-1999 and retired from Guil-Rand Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Sink served for 17 years in the AVMA HOD and was president of the Guilford County and North Carolina VMAs and the Southern Veterinary Medical Federation. He has continued his commitment to the profession into retirement. His wife, Dorothy, is a past president of the Auxiliary to the AVMA. Dr. and Mrs. Sink established the E. Max and Dot Sink Family Scholarship Endowment at the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation.

During the AVMA President's Installation Luncheon, Dr. Beaver and AVMA Immediate Past President Jack O. Walther were on hand for the installation of the Association's 2005-2006 President, Dr. Henry E. Childers. During the event, awards were given to eight individuals who have contributed greatly to the profession.

Dr. Ilona Rodan, Madison, Wis., received the Animal Welfare Award for her efforts to advance animal well-being, dedication to animal care, and contributions to the community and society. She is active in organized veterinary medicine and has served for 18 years on the board of the American Association of Feline Practitioners.

Dr. Rodan graduated in 1978 from the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is the owner and director of the Cat Care Clinic in Madison, Wis., where she started the Cat Care Clinic Help Fund. Through Maddie's Fund, she provides spays and neuters for cats of Medicare patients, and promotes spaying and neutering of feral cats through her involvement with the AAFP Feral Cat Committee. Dr. Rodan has chaired the AAFP Guidelines Committee for six years and has helped establish comprehensive guidelines for feline practice.

Jeff Goodwin, PhD, Fort Collins, Colo., received the AVMA Humane Award for his humane efforts on behalf of animals and his exceptional compassion for animal welfare. Dr. Goodwin has been a pioneer in fostering ethics-based decision making for agriculture's youth livestock programs. A graduate of Texas A&M University, he serves as director of the 4-H Club and Youth Development Programs at Colorado State University.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Goodwin was a county extension agent with the Texas Agricultural Service and a county agricultural agent in western Texas and Dallas. He has spoken in 43 states and four Canadian provinces on issues affecting agriculture. Dr. Goodwin has produced educational videos that address animal welfare, the philosophy of animal use in society, and livestock show ethics.

Dr. Lee Walter Morgan, Gaithersburg, Md., received the Practitioner Research Award for his outstanding accomplishments in veterinary medical research as a practicing veterinarian. A diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, Dr. Morgan owns the Georgetown Veterinary Hospital in Washington, D.C. Earlier in his career, he was a staff member at an emergency hospital. Dr. Morgan received his Master of Science degree in marine biology from the College of William and Mary and his DVM degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

While at William and Mary, Dr. Morgan coordinated efforts to rescue stranded marine mammals, subsequently publishing his research findings. During his time at UW, Dr. Morgan worked with the Department of Naval Research's dolphins in San Diego, and with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, at the Ames Research Facility in Mountain View, Calif., on a project to develop an aquarium for the International Space Station.

Dr. William L. Ingalls, Columbus, Ohio, received the AVMA Public Service Award for his outstanding contributions to public health and regulatory veterinary medicine. A faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine since 1947, he is professor emeritus in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. During his career, Dr. Ingalls also worked in Ohio's state diagnostic laboratory in Reynoldsburg, served as assistant state pathologist with the Ohio Department of Agriculture laboratories, and worked as an associate animal pathologist at the Virginia Agriculture Experiment Station.

A past AVMA vice president, he has served in the HOD and on the Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Ingalls is past president of the Ohio VMA. He has served on the board of directors at the American Association of Extension Veterinarians and as director of the Ohio Extension Professors Association.

Dr. Michael D. Kastello, Bridgewater, N.J., earned the Charles River Prize for his distinguished contributions to the field of laboratory animal medicine and science. A 1970 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Kastello is vice president of global laboratory animal science and welfare at Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals. A diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, the American Board of Toxicology, and the European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, he has conducted research activities ranging from pathogenesis of high-hazard microorganisms to preclinical safety assessments of potential antiviral and antineoplastic agents. Dr. Kastello serves as president-elect of the board of directors at the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, and as chair of the New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research. Dr. Kastello currently serves as ombudsman and ad hoc consultant on accreditation to the Council on Accreditation of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation at Laboratory Animal Care International.

Dr. Joe N. Kornegay, Columbia, Mo., was honored with the XII International Veterinary Congress Prize for his outstanding contributions to the international understanding of veterinary medicine. He graduated in 1973 from the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Kornegay is dean of the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and an investigator at the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center. Dr. Kornegay is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. His clinical interests include most aspects of veterinary neurology and neurosurgery, while his research centers on a canine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Dr. Kornegay maintains a research program supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the National Institutes of Health. He is chair of the International Affairs Committee of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges and co-chair of the AVMA/AAVMC Task Force on Veterinary Infrastructure in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dr. Susan E. Little, Athens, Ga., earned the Student AVMA Teaching Excellence Award in Basic Sciences, which recognizes excellence, innovation, and enthusiasm in the field of basic veterinary science and education. Dr. Little is a professor and Krull-Ewing Endowed Chair in Veterinary Parasitology at Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences. Recently, she served as associate professor of veterinary parasitology at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She is a 1993 graduate of Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

While at UGA, she spearheaded a SAVMA-run Parasite Control Product Educational Program that provided veterinary students with flea, tick, heartworm, and intestinal parasite control products and heartworm tests for use in their own pets. Dr. Little also designed and oversaw Summer Science, a club for veterinary students interested in biomedical research. Dr. Little's students at UGA nominated her for the award.

Dr. Robert Scott Pleasant, Blacksburg, Va., was honored with the SAVMA Teaching Excellence Award in Clinical Sciences for his excellence, innovation, and enthusiasm in the field of clinical veterinary science and education. An equine extension specialist at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Pleasant provides equine outreach throughout the state as well as didactic and clinical instruction to undergraduate students, and professional clinical instruction to veterinary students. During his tenure at VMR, he has served as chief of large animal surgery. He is a 1984 graduate of VMR.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Pleasant practiced in eastern Virginia for four years. A diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, he has research interests that include equine lameness and podiatry. Dr. Pleasant has authored or co-authored more than 75 manuscripts, abstracts, and book chapters and has given more than 100 presentations internationally.