Dear IVMA Members,
November marks the middle of the fourth quarter of the year and the time change to early darkness in late afternoon. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it is appropriate to think about the many things for which we are grateful. As veterinarians, we have the opportunity to lead a life that many people dream about – caring for animals and serving the special people that love animals and provide excellent care and husbandry. When we cross paths with people that do not know how to provide excellent care and husbandry, it is our duty to educate and inform them.
As IVMA President, I have interacted with Purdue veterinary students and their families in an official capacity at the white coat ceremony, accreditation day, commencement, and the stethoscope dinner. We also met with Purdue SCAVMA representatives at the AVMA leadership conference in Chicago, the AVMA Convention in Denver and I witnessed the Purdue Quiz Bowl Team compete at AABP in Milwaukee. Even though I am near the end of my career, I feel very good about the future of our profession when I meet and interact with the talented, dedicated, and optimistic future leaders of our profession. I really think it is our duty to encourage, mentor, and incorporate this next generation of veterinarians into our profession. In visiting with these students, they really do want to practice, and do what they can to improve the lives of animals and clients. It is our role to listen to them and to support and provide encouragement.
I am extremely grateful for the dedicated group of volunteers that serve and lead the IVMA. We have an outstanding slate of candidates for office to serve us in 2024. This slate of candidates brings a diverse set of skills and I think are outstanding representatives of Indiana veterinarians.
I invite all of you to attend the Crossroads Veterinary Conference at Embassy Suites in Noblesville on February 1-3, 2024. Our annual membership meeting and Keynote Address from Dr. Addie Reinhard will take place on Thursday evening. I listened to Dr. Reinhard in Chicago this past January and I know she will bring us a great message. There is an offering of over 20 hours of CE and an outstanding marketplace. For me, the best thing about the conference is visiting with fellow Indiana veterinarians at an outstanding venue. Thank-you to our CVRC Working Group for organizing another outstanding conference!
At our September Board of Directors Meeting, we developed a new IVMA Mission Statement. Our mission is to promote, protect, and advance veterinary medicine and animal health. We feel it is very important that all of our efforts support this mission. This mission is to not only support Indiana veterinarians but to advance the entirety of veterinary medicine and animal health in our state. We work to promote veterinary medicine to all of the constituents of our state by promoting a positive message and optimistic future. Our Legislative Working Group works to protect the interests of Indiana veterinarians but also to protect and safeguard animal health in our state. It is also our mission to look to the future to incorporate new technologies, beneficial business strategies, and cutting-edge continuing education to advance veterinary medicine and animal health.
At our September board meeting we discussed and proposed amendments to our IVMA Bylaws to comply with our new association management model. See the proposed updated Bylaw changes in this newsletter. We will vote on these changes at our annual meeting on February 1 at CRVC.
I want to make you aware of our new and improved IVMA website. The address is invma.org. There are many resources and contacts on our website. Please use it as resource in your practice and give us feedback about it.
My last thing to be grateful for is the support I receive from Lisa Perius and Lourdes Syndram. They make my job easy! They work in the background to support your IVMA officers, board of directors, and all association members. We lean on them to do the day-to-day tasks of our association and they give us the tools we need to think about the direction of this association. If you need anything from the IVMA, visit our website, give Lisa or Lourdes a call, or email me at gregkurtz56@gmail.com.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving,
Dr. Greg Kurtz, IVMA President
gregkurtz56@gmail.com.