December 15, 2021

Event

Virtual meeting, Oct. 14

Awards

AAFSPHV Veterinarian of the Year
Dr. Joni Scheftel (Minnesota ’82), Mayer, Minnesota, won this award, given each year in recognition of a veterinarian’s outstanding accomplishments in the fields of veterinary food safety and public health. Dr. Scheftel is Minnesota’s state public health veterinarian and leads the Zoonotic Diseases Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health, overseeing zoonotic disease surveillance and zoonotic disease outbreak investigation. She also serves as a liaison between the Department of Health and Minnesota’s animal agriculture agencies for issues that intersect human and animal health. Dr. Scheftel is a co-founder of the Compendium of Veterinary Standard Precautions for Zoonotic Disease Prevention in Veterinary Personnel and chairs the AVMA Committee on Antimicrobials. For Minnesota’s COVID-19 response, she co-leads the Workplaces Team. From 2011-15, Dr. Scheftel chaired the AVMA Steering Committee for FDA Policy on Veterinary Oversight of Antimicrobials.

Business

The AAFSPHV provided members with an update on the organization’s work during the past year. The association sponsored symposia on food safety at the annual conventions of the AVMA and the United States Animal Health Association. Monthly continuing education webinars on food safety, one health, and public health are being provided in partnership with the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, National Association of Federal Veterinarians, American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, and USAHA. Dr. Katherine Waters, executive vice president of the AAFSPHV, reported on membership and finances. Drs. Paulo Mohyla and Bonnie Buntain, who represent the association on the AVMA Food Safety Advisory Committee and AVMA Legislative Advisory Committee, respectively, provided updates on the activities of those committees. Dr. Kristen Obbink, AAFSPHV delegate to the AVMA House of Delegates, also provided an update on her work with the HOD. In 2021, the AAFSPHV newsletter and the Electronic News o Gram, a compendium of public health and food safety abstracts, were merged to create AAFSPHV Quarterly. The AAFSPHV is establishing the Dr. Daniel E. Lafontaine Memorial Scholarship, in honor of Dr. Lafontaine, a founding member of the association, who died Feb. 24, 2021 (see obituary, June 15, 2021, JAVMA). The scholarship will provide tuition support to students and veterinarians working on a veterinary or master’s degree with an emphasis on food safety and public health.

Officials

Drs. Donna DeBonis, Oak Harbor, Washington, president; Angela Demaree, Indianapolis, president-elect; Catherine Alexander, Fort Collins, Colorado, recording secretary; Kelly Vest, Blackwell, Oklahoma, treasurer; Jennifer Wishnie, Seattle, immediate past president; Katherine Waters, Denver, executive vice president and AVMA alternate delegate; Kristen Obbink, Ames, Iowa, AVMA delegate; and directors—Drs. Roger Murphy, Raleigh, North Carolina; Van H. Brass II, Phoenix; Renee Funk, Atlanta; Mike Gilsdorf, Sykesville, Maryland; Kristen Obbink, Ames, Iowa; and Pamela Abney, Millsboro, Delaware