Dr. Shannon Bass named recipient of 2025 AVMA Meritorious Service Award

(SCHAUMBURG, Illinois) July 2, 2025—The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) today named Dr. Shannon Bass, immediate past-president of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association, as the winner of the 2025 AVMA Meritorious Service Award.

Established in 2001, the award recognizes a veterinarian who has brought honor and distinction to the profession through personal, professional or community service activities that are conducted outside the scope of organized veterinary medicine or research. The AVMA Board of Directors selects the recipient.

"It’s difficult to receive an award that started with a disaster," said Dr Bass. "When I joined a hurricane response call the Monday after the storm, I did not anticipate this level of involvement. As we learned more about veterinary needs and saw places where we could help, NCVMA’s role kept growing. I’m pleased to accept this award on behalf of the hundreds of veterinarians who were affected by the storm and all those who responded to assist their colleagues."

Dr. Bass is being honored for her leadership and service in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which devastated Western North Carolina in 2024. With widespread flooding, landslides and infrastructure failures that left communities isolated and hundreds of veterinary practices and shelters in crisis, Dr. Bass stepped forward to lead a statewide response that had no precedent.

Dr. Bass oversaw the companion animal emergency response for North Carolina, working closely with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and a broad network of public and private partners. In the days following the disaster, she created a centralized volunteer system, matched veterinarians to both shelter operations and remote animal needs, and organized helicopter feed drops to livestock stranded by inaccessible roads.

Her efforts included leading more than 30 volunteers who assessed 284 veterinary facilities and 14 shelters, coordinating mobile veterinary clinics, and managing the donation and distribution of supplies and emergency grants to veterinary professionals, and her leadership helped unify disparate responders, sustain veterinary operations under crisis conditions and bring critical aid to thousands of animals and pet owners in need.

Beyond her disaster response efforts, Dr. Bass has had a distinguished veterinary career that spans emergency medicine, veterinarian recruitment and association service. She currently serves as Vice President of Medical Leadership for Vets Pets and was the 2024-2025 President of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association, where she championed initiatives that support veterinary professionals across the state. She is pleased to become the Chair of the NCVMA Disaster Response Committee to continue the work started during Hurricane Helene.

"Dr. Bass’s response to Hurricane Helene was nothing short of heroic," said Dr. Sandra Faeh, president of the AVMA. "She saw an overwhelming need and stepped in without hesitation, leading with humility, urgency and compassion. Her ability to coordinate statewide veterinary support during one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history speaks volumes about her character and commitment to service. She is an inspiration to us all and well deserving of this prestigious award."

To learn more about the AVMA Meritorious Service Award and past recipients, visit www.avma.org/awards.

For more information, contact Michael San Filippo, senior media relations manager, at 847-732-6194 (cell/text) or msanfilippoavma [dot] org (msanfilippo[at]avma[dot]org).