American Association of Swine Veterinarians

Event

Annual meeting, March 9-12, Orlando, Florida

Program

The meeting had 1,200 attendees, 10 pre-conference seminars, two general sessions, three concurrent sessions, research presentations, industry presentations, a student seminar, about 70 poster presentations, and AASV committee and business meetings.

Awards

Swine Practitioner of the Year
Dr. William Hollis (Illinois '96) is a partner at Carthage Veterinary Service in Carthage, Illinois, and president of Professional Swine Management. He was honored for proficient and effective service to clients, profitable and sustainable partnerships as a farm management adviser, and work with organizations including the AASV board of directors, Pork Quality Assurance Plus, the National Pork Producers Council, National Pork Board, and AVMA House of Delegates.

Howard Dunne Memorial Award
Dr. Peter Davies (Melbourne '75) is a professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. The award honors important contributions and outstanding service to the AASV and swine industry. Dr. Davies has educated veterinary students on swine health and production, epidemiology, and food safety, as well as helped swine practitioners improve epidemiological skills and performed research on swine health, antimicrobial administration and resistance, zoonoses, and foodborne pathogens. He is studying infectious-disease risks where humans and swine interact. He is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria and the Merck Veterinary Manual editorial board.

Meritorious Service Award
Dr. David Madsen (Purdue '69) is a swine outreach coordinator for the Montana Board of Livestock, part-time mixed animal practitioner, and surgeon for a local animal shelter. The award honors outstanding service to the AASV, and Dr. Madsen was a charter member of the organization in 1969, when it was the American Association of Swine Practitioners. He represented the AASV for 12 years in the AVMA House of Delegates, represented food animal veterinarians on an AVMA committee that drafted principles of animal welfare, and served on the AASV Foundation board, through which he proposed developing a free pre-conference seminar for students and recent graduates.

Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year Award
Dr. Paul Thomas (Iowa State '13) is an associate veterinarian at AMVC Management Services in Audubon, Iowa. The award honors AASV members for exemplary services and proficiency within five years of graduation. Dr. Thomas is a former fellow of the Swine Medicine Education Center at Iowa State University, and he supports the center by teaching fourth-year veterinary students and conducting seminars to introduce industry members to the process and constraints of pork production. He is known as a role model, an entertaining teacher, and an effective communicator.

Technical Services/Allied Industry Veterinarian of the Year Award
Dr. Ron White (Iowa State '90) is a group director of international diagnostic medicine for Zoetis, and he lives in Ames, Iowa. He has been a volunteer on AASV committees, chair of AASV Foundation golf outings, reviewer of student presentations at meetings, and a presenter on livestock health and production topics at international and regional meetings. He enjoys meeting veterinarians and producers, understanding production systems, and finding ways to improve use of diagnostics and improve herd health and production.

AASV Foundation Heritage Award
Dr. Steven Henry (Kansas State '72) is the fifth recipient of the Heritage Award, which is given on occasion to honor lifetime achievements in swine veterinary medicine. Before retiring in 2017, Dr. Henry specialized in health management and swine disease, with expertise in prevention and diagnosis. He was an international consultant, a frequent author on swine medicine, a pork producer, 1982 AASV president, and a member of AASV committees, the AVMA House of Delegates, AVMA Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee, and committees of the National Pork Producers Council and National Pork Board.

Officials

Drs. Nate Winkelman, Rice, Minnesota, president; Jeffrey Harker, Frankfort, Indiana, president-elect; Mary Battrell, Garland, North Carolina, vice president; C. Scanlon Daniels, Dalhart, Texas, immediate past president, Tom Burkgren, Perry, Iowa, retiring executive director; and Harry Snelson, Wilmington, North Carolina, incoming executive director