MVMA Presidents Corner

This is a great profession. That is basically the message that I gave to the Class of 2014 on Sunday, April 21, at the U of M College of Veterinary Medicine's White Coat Ceremony. I also encouraged them to be active in State and National veterinary organizations regardless of where they ended up in practice, teaching, research or whatever.

Some of the important things that your MVMA has been doing since the annual meeting include our annual Board Retreat. The major items that we discussed were Membership and an ongoing Strategic Plan. The membership issue included a discussion of the book "The End of Membership as We Know It" which points out the changing face of membership in professional organizations and how different generations view the value of these memberships. Our profession and organization has members from four different generations, from Matures (born before 1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1960), Generation X (1961-early 1970's) and Generation Y (1970's to 2000). All of these generations view membership and the value of membership differently. With this in mind and reviewing participation in all areas of Veterinary Medicine, we have revised the various membership categories subject to MVMA member approval of these changes. We will vote on this at the next annual meeting in February 2014.

One of our accomplishments was getting the legislature to vote against a sales tax on veterinary services. Our thanks to Dr. Tom Hagerty, his committee and our lobbyists, but also to each member who contacted their legislators about this issue.

Volunteers are always needed for the State Fair in August. The Miracle of Birth and the Surgery Suite both need MVMA members to help with these education efforts.

Please don't forget the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Foundation fundraising events. The Annual Golf Classic is August 1, 2013 at The Refuge Golf course in Oak Grove, MN and the Shoot for the Future clay shoot on September 19, 2013 in Clear Lake, MN. These events are not about golf or shooting, they are fundraisers for your veterinary foundation, the MVMF. The foundation supports scholarships for veterinary and veterinary technician students as well as support for the state fair events, animal health education and other veterinary related areas.

One of the ways we are addressing the generation issues is with the Power of Ten Initiative sponsored by the MVMA and Elanco. Dr. Eric Ruhland and Dan Tjornehoj attended the training session. They in turn will help train ten newer graduates in understanding themselves and others in helping our association and profession move forward. This is a proven program and will be very beneficial to the MVMA. Please let the MVMA know if you would be interested in this training in the future.

Please feel free to contact me or any board member if you have any concerns or comments regarding MVMA or veterinary medicine in general.
Thank you,

John W. Baillie, DVM