AVMA Board elects Lemme chair, Knapp vice chair
Dr. Charles "Chuck" Lemme was elected 2023-24 AVMA Board of Directors (BOD) chair during the Board's July 16 meeting in Denver. Dr. Robert Knapp was elected 2023-24 Board vice chair.
Dr. Lemme joined the Board in 2018. He represents District VII for the Board, which encompasses Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
He is a 1975 veterinary graduate of Iowa State University. In 1985, Dr. Lemme and his family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he bought a small animal practice and practiced until his retirement in 2018.
Dr. Lemme's involvement with the AVMA began when he was selected to be the American Animal Hospital Association representative on the AVMA Clinical Practitioners Advisory Committee to the Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents.
Dr. Lemme also served as the Iowa alternate delegate and delegate in the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) for six years before joining the Board.
As AVMA Board vice chair, Dr. Knapp will substitute for Dr. Lemme in his absence and perform other duties as prescribed by the Board or the chair.
Dr. Knapp joined the Board in 2019. He represents District V for the Board, which covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Dr. Knapp received his veterinary degree in 1992 from The Ohio State University. He currently owns the seven-associate practice Knapp Veterinary Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, which was started by his late grandfather Dr. John Knapp (Ohio State '32) in 1945. His father, Dr. Paul Knapp (Ohio State '61), worked at the practice until retirement.
Early in his career, Dr. Robert Knapp became active in the Ohio VMA, serving in various capacities including as an officer on the board of directors and as VMA president in 2007. He was a member of the AVMA HOD from 2012-19, first as alternate delegate, then as delegate for Ohio.
An active Ohio State alumnus, Dr. Knapp serves as treasurer of the Veterinary Medicine Alumni Society and held the position of president in 2008.
A version of this story appears in the September 2023 print issue of JAVMA