Awards

AAHA Awards

AAHA has made it a tradition to honor its members who continually earn the admiration and respect of their clients and peers with the following awards.

Commitment to Excellence Awards
Dr Mike Cavanaugh, executive director of AAHA, congratulated attending hospital members celebrating 25 and 50 years of AAHA accreditation at the awards display in the Exhibit Hall. A commemorative photo opportunity was provided and these milestones were also acknowledged at the AAHA-Accredited Practice Breakfast on Sunday.

AAHA-Accredited Practice of the Year Awards
In an exciting conclusion to the AAHA/OVMA – Toronto 2011 Conference, the Association announced the second annual AAHA-Accredited Practice of the Year Award winners. The goal of these awards is to recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of accredited practice teams. Each entry was evaluated on their most recent accreditation score, mission and vision, AAHA branding, practice design, practice team composition, continuing education and training, community service, and compliance improvement efforts.

Congratulations to Norwalk Veterinary Medical Center of Norwalk, Ohio, named the 2011 AAHA-Accredited Practice of the Year! Norwalk Veterinary Medical Center demonstrates a commitment to continuing education and training by providing frequent practice team training activities. This is reflected in their annual goal of 100 hours per person of CE and team-building. Maintaining the standards of accreditation is paramount to the mission of this one-doctor practice. The practice team has done an excellent job communicating the accreditation message to pet owners, and proudly reports that, "Every new client is ‘branded’ with the AAHA message 10 times or more by the end of their first visit."

This year, the AAHA-Accredited Referral Practice of the Year Award was introduced as well. Upstate Veterinary Specialists of Greenville, S. C. took home this prestigious inaugural honor.

Olathe Animal Hospital of Olathe, Kan. Took second place honors, with third place going to PAWS Integrative Veterinary Center of Tucson, Ariz. The two finalists for the AAHA-Accredited Practice of the Year were Animal Care Clinic of San Luis Obispo, Calif. and Coal Creek Veterinary Hospital of Centennial, Colo.

Read more about the 2011 AAHA-accredited Practice of the Year Awards on Trends Today.

View the winner of the 2010 AAHA-Accredited Practice of the Year Award.

Anna E. Worth AAHA Student Leadership Award, Melissa L. Berning
Inspired by the late Anna Worth, VMD, AAHA president 2008-2009, the Anna E. Worth AAHA Student Leadership Award recognizes outstanding student leadership and commitment to the profession and community. This award will be presented at the Accredited Practice Breakfast.

Melissa Berning of Purdue University receives the Anna E. Worth AAHA Student Leadership Award for her outstanding student leadership, including service as Purdue’s AAHA Student Chapter president for two years. Ms Berning is a fourth year veterinary student at Purdue, having completed her BS in biological sciences in 2007 there as well. She has already accumulated a list of professional experiences including an externship at Animal Accident and Emergency Center in Melbourne, Australia, time as a laboratory technician at Purdue’s DeWoody Laboratory, and two years as a veterinary assistant at Stoney Creek Pet Clinic in Noblesville, Ind.

Melissa’s involvement as an AAHA student leader at Purdue University runs deep.

"I was challenged to find a niche for SCAAHA among the student organizations at Purdue I asked other SCAAHA presidents for ideas, and I created a survey to gather information about the needs of SCAAHA’s members I used that information to plan events that would mesh students’ needs with AAHA values and initiatives," explains Ms Berning.

She managed to revive an inactive AAHA student chapter, increase its membership and plan several successful events, including an interview and résumé workshop with Dr Tom Kendall, a panel breakfast with local AAHA practitioners, a joint meeting with VBMA discussing financial planning, and interactive case discussions with faculty members over lunch.

In addition to her leadership roles with AAHA, Melissa is also active in SCAVMA as an executive board member, Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine as a curriculum committee member, as well as several community organizations. She has been the recipient of several awards, including 2009 VPIVBMA Student Case Competition Winner.

Ms Berning’s commitment to the profession and her community makes her more than qualified for this prestigious AAHA Student Leadership Award. Congratulations Ms Berning!

OVMA Awards

Each year, OVMA honours the stars of the veterinary profession for going above and beyond the call of duty and inspiring others to do the same. The OVMA Awards celebrate those who have made outstanding contributions to the veterinary profession, veterinary medicine and/or animal welfare. Please join us in celebrating two exceptional veterinarians as we present the Award of Merit and the Outstanding Veterinarian Award during the OVMA Member Breakfast on Thursday from 7:30 – 8:45 am.

OVMA Award of Merit, Dr. Jim Fairles
The OVMA Award of Merit recognizes individuals for their practice of, or help to, veterinary medicine. In recognition of his distinguished public service to the veterinary profession, OVMA is pleased to present this award to Dr. Jim Fairles.

After graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1980, Dr. Jim Fairles was a partner of Harriston-Mount Forest Veterinary Services, and later owned his own clinic in Mount Forest, Ontario. Dr. Fairles worked with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for two years as a Swine Veterinarian in China, where he worked in training veterinarians in swine health and production. Dr. Fairles currently works as the client services veterinarian at the Animal Health Laboratory at the University of Guelph.

Dr. Fairles has been involved with various veterinary associations on the local, provincial and national levels, including; the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, the Ontario Association of Bovine Practitioners, the Grey-Bruce Veterinary Association, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, and Veterinarians Without Borders.

Dr. Fairles is also an active volunteer in his community, and was named Mount Forest’s Citizen of the Year.

OVMA Outstanding Veterinarian, Dr. Doreen Houston
OVMA is pleased to present the Outstanding Veterinarian Award to Dr. Doreen Houston for her exceptional contributions to the veterinary profession.

Dr. Doreen Houston graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1980, and is currently the director of clinical research for Medi-Cal®/Royal Canin. She was lauded by her peers for going above and beyond the call of duty during the pet food recall in 2007 – assisting veterinarians by providing advice and support to help save the lives of pets affected by the recall.

Dr. Houston regularly speaks at events across Canada and the United States, including seminars that focus on urinary tract conditions and gastrointestinal disease. She has been an integral part of the success of the Canadian Veterinary Urolith Centre based out of the University of Guelph. Dr. Houston is also an active participant in the VSTEP program at the Ontario Veterinary College, and taught renal and urinary lectures for the program from 2006-2009. She has also taught at various schools, including the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), and sits on the Small Animal Issues Committee with the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA).