Schmidt returns to board, this time as treasurer

Executive Board members elected Dr. Barbara A. Schmidt from among six candidates vying to succeed Dr. Bret D. Marsh of Indianapolis as AVMA treasurer.

In that capacity, Dr. Schmidt will be the principal accounting and financial officer of the AVMA. She will officially begin overseeing the Association's finances this July when Dr. Marsh's term as a nonvoting member of the Executive Board expires.

"My interest for the position of AVMA treasurer stems from my desire to be of the utmost service to our membership and to our Association," Dr. Schmidt said. "I am interested in effectively articulating the AVMA's vision as it relates to our financial decisions and helping to develop strategies that will address future expectations of our Association."

For more than two decades, Dr. Schmidt has owned and managed an equine practice serving the tri-state area of northern Kentucky, southeastern Indiana, and southwestern Ohio. Also, for most of that time she and her husband have owned and operated Bridlewood Farm, an equine breeding farm in Union, Ky.

Dr. Schmidt has been a member of the AVMA House of Delegates since 2002 and was elected in 2007 to serve on the House Advisory Committee representing equine private practice. As HAC chair, Dr. Schmidt served as the HOD liaison to the Executive Board in 2009-2010. She worked with the board in developing a resolution increasing AVMA membership dues, which went on to pass the HOD with more than 90 percent support.

Her two years on the AVMA Budget and Financial Review Committee piqued her interest in running for AVMA treasurer. "These experiences gave me a broader depth of understanding of the AVMA and its mission, governance, and financial management structure," Dr. Schmidt said.

A 1984 graduate of Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Schmidt is a former president of the Kentucky VMA and was twice appointed by the state's governor to the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners.