Board meeting covers a lot of ground

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Multiple locations and an assorted agenda characterized the AVMA Executive Board's spring meeting.

The board met March 30-April 1 at AVMA headquarters in Schaumburg, Ill., then flew to Washington, D.C., to complete its agenda and join members of the House Advisory Committee for AVMA leaders' biennial legislative contact visit to Capitol Hill.

Dr. Robert E. "Bud" Hertzog, District VII, chaired the board meeting.

Board actions ranged from policy decisions to changes in standard forms used in veterinary practice to initiatives supporting veterinary research, shelter medicine, and avian influenza preparedness.

AVMA Treasurer Bret D. Marsh noted that the independent auditor's report on the AVMA's financial position for year-end 2005 showed income over expenses of $1,393,181. "That's significant in a year when the Executive Board put $500,000 into the Hurricane Katrina response and $500,000 into the AVMA-Heifer International tsunami relief partnership," Dr. Marsh said. The treasurer outlined some factors that cast doubt on the budget prospects for 2006 being as promising.

To fund the recommendations approved at its spring meeting, the board authorized $64,490 from the contingency fund, an expenditure from the reserve fund for a new staff administrative position, and about $114,000 authorized for inclusion in the 2007 budget when it is developed.