AVMA delegates elect Cook, Hendrix to key posts
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Dr. Cook represented Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia on the Executive Board for six years, starting in 2001, and served the final year of his term as board chair. Since declaring his candidacy for president-elect, Dr. Cook campaigned with the message that the AVMA belongs to its members, who have the power to effect major changes not only in their profession but society as well. Dr. Cook was nominated for AVMA president-elect by the Kentucky VMA and seconded by the West Virginia VMA and American Association of Bovine Practitioners. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. You don't know what an honor this is," Dr. Cook said after his election. Dr. Cook graduated from Auburn University in 1976 and started a mixed practice in Lebanon, Ky., that he owns today. He was Kentucky Veterinarian of the Year in 1988 and president of the Kentucky VMA in 1993. Dr. Cook was Kentucky's delegate to the AVMA HOD from 1996 until his election to the Executive Board. As a board member, Dr. Cook has served in a variety of roles, including vice chair of the board and chair of the Legal Status of Animals and Legal Remedies task forces. Dr. Hendrix teaches parasitology at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. As AVMA vice president for the past year, Dr. Hendrix has been the Association's liaison to the Student AVMA and student chapters of the AVMA. He is also a voting member of the Executive Board. The Alabama VMA's nomination of Dr. Hendrix to a second term as vice president was seconded by the Illinois and Georgia VMAs. Following his election, Dr. Hendrix acknowledged Jon Nielsen and Rachel Friedrich—veterinary students at Iowa State University and ambassadors of the Veterinary Student Mixed Animal Recruitment Team. The purpose of VSMART is recruiting and mentoring mostly high school students across Iowa for careers in food animal medicine. "They are touching the future for us," Dr. Hendrix said. A 1974 graduate of the University of Georgia, Dr. Hendrix has served as chair of the AVMA Committee on Wellness. As an AVMA Congressional Science Fellow, he worked for two U.S. representatives and in the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. | ||
Meeting in Washington, D.C., July 14, the AVMA House of Delegates elected Dr. James O. Cook of Lebanon, Ky., the 2007-2008 president-elect. Delegates also gave Dr. Charles M. Hendrix of Auburn, Ala., a second term as vice president. Both candidates ran unopposed and were elected by unanimous consent.