NAVC Consolidating at Convention Center in 2017January 18, 2016Now that you’ve mastered the maze of hallways and the bus shuttle routes at the Gaylord Palms, Marriott World Center and Caribe Royale, get ready for a different NAVC venue in 2017. The annual conference is abandoning its traditional January schedule and moving to the Orange County Convention Center. Next year’s event will take place February 4 to 8. “I’m excited about the move for two primary reasons,” NAVC’s CEO, Tom Bohn, said when the change was announced. “First, since we’ll be taking over all three hotels connected to the center [and] we can continue to offer the intimate and closely connected experience our attendees have come to expect. “Second, the new space allows us to add new programs and partnerships as we seek innovative ways to deliver outstanding conference programs.” The closest hotels will be within walking distance of the convention center: the Hilton Orlando, Hyatt Regency and Rosen Centre. Lectures, luncheons, master classes and laboratories will be held under one roof. The same goes for the trade show. NAVC has booked the convention center through 2023. Other scheduled dates are Feb. 3 to 7, 2018, and Jan. 19 to 23, 2019.
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News and More at NAVC 2016January 18, 2016NAVC, the nation’s largest annual gathering of veterinary professionals, is where companies and organizations like to reveal what’s new or what they’re working on. Here’s some of what went on in Orlando: Petplan (Gaylord, Booth 919) handed out the fifth-annual Veterinary Awards during a dinner. The winners were: Metzger Animal Hospital of State College, Pa. (Practice of the Year); Sean Aiken, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, of Veterinary Specialty Hospital of San Diego (Veterinarian of the Year); Jody Weaver, CVT, of Rau Animal Hospital in Glenside, Pa. (Practice Manager of the Year); Annette Kim, RVT, of Abbotsford Animal Hospital in Aurora, Ontario, Canada (Veterinary Technician of the Year); Crystal Dawson of Northpointe Animal Hospital in Lynnwood, Wash. (Receptionist of the Year); and Erin Kowalski of Bialy’s Wellness Foundation and AURA Natural Pet in Chicago (Pet Parent of the Year). Merial Ltd. (Gaylord, Booth 1019; Marriott, Booth 3801) launched www.RabiesAware.org, a national rabies information resource. The website tracks state and local rabies laws, provides up-to-date surveillance data, lists U.S.-approved vaccines, and provides access to the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians’ Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and …
Check Out New Veterinary Products Featured at NAVCJanuary 17, 2016Dozens of foods, devices, nutraceuticals and drugs are introduced to the veterinary profession each year in Orlando. Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find at exhibitor tables: Bair Hugger therapy temperature management (3M Animal Care—Gaylord, Booth 1508) Claro Otic Solution (Bayer HealthCare—Gaylord, Booth 1513) Duralactin Canine Joint Plus Soft Chews, Canine Soft Chews and Feline + Fatty Acids Soft Chews (Veterinary Products Laboratories—Gaylord, Booth 1425) Neo software (Idexx Laboratories—Gaylord, Booth 2207) Interceptor Plus, Onsior Injection and Osurnia (Elanco Animal Health—Gaylord, Booth 1325; Marriott, Booth 4023) Multifunction pet food (Royal Canin USA—Gaylord, Booth 1715) Solliquin Behavior health supplement (Nutramax Laboratories Veterinary Sciences Inc.—Gaylord, Booth 825; Marriott, Booth 3612) SVet II ultrasound (Fujifilm Sonosite—Gaylord, Booth 2527) Swift digital compound microscope (Swift Optical Instruments Inc.—Gaylord, Booth 2227) Zymox Plus Otic Advanced Solution (PKB Animal Health—Gaylord, Booth 613)
First-Time NAVC Exhibitors Looking for AttentionJanuary 17, 2016Dozens of exhibitors—from Acon Laboratories Inc. to Young Again Pet Food—made their NAVC debuts this year with booths set up inside the Marriott World Center convention hall. Many of the newbies are start-up companies looking to gain a foothold in the industry, while others have displayed at smaller conferences and are jumping to the nation’s largest veterinary trade show. At least one—Lyon Technologies Inc. of Chula Vista, Calif. (Marriott, Booth 4004)—took a few years off before returning to Orlando. “To be honest, we’re just giving it a shot to see what type of business we can drum up,” said Richard Hogan, sales manager at Lyon, a manufacturer of critical care and incubation chambers. “I figured we’d do this show, check this out, and then my boss will go to Atlanta,” Hogan said. Taking place in less than two weeks is the International Production and Processing Expo, which Lyon hasn’t missed in decades. That show is one of the largest in the poultry, meat and feed industries. For anyone in need of a penguin nebulizer, a unit specifically designed for flightless birds, Hogan is the person to see. “We worked with SeaWorld to develop it,” he said. “They gave us the …
It's the First Annual Veterinary Team Appreciation Week!January 17, 2016 (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); From the receptionist to the veterinarian, it’s a team effort to care for pets. We’re thankful for our fellow vet... Posted by American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) on Sunday, January 17, 2016 Petplan pet insurance has teamed up with the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) and the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) to create the first ever “Veterinary Team Appreciation Week.” According to Petplan: “Created to celebrate the passion and dedication veterinary teams bring to their work, Veterinary Team Appreciation Week is the first event to recognize the entire team in practices and hospital clinics – after all, it takes a village to keep pets healthy!” “We are so inspired each year by the nominees for Petplan’s Veterinary Awards that we decided to do something to give back to these extraordinary professionals,” Natasha Ashton, co-founder and co-CEO of Petplan, said in a press release. “Whether it’s the veterinarian who saves a pet’s life …
Monday Night! NAVC's Concert Series Features Singer Sheryl CrowJanuary 16, 2016As the sun goes down tonight at the NAVC conference, appetizers will be served. Then comes the main course. Attendees can start off by choosing from a menu of lectures. Once they leave the Gaylord Palms meeting rooms, they can stroll over to Osceola Ballroom for a free concert by Grammy Award-winning singer Sheryl Crow. The NAVC writes on their website: "Free-spirited, fearless and fierce — Sheryl Crow has sold more than 35 million records worldwide, saw the launch of her very own clothing line, Bootheel Trading Co., and is a cancer survivor and passionate humanitarian at the pinnacle of her success. Join us and get moving with this legend of music and nine-time Grammy Award winner. Open to All! Doors open at 7:30 PM." Evening Session classes make up a small percentage of the talks, master classes, luncheons and laboratories taking place during the conference at the Gaylord Palms, Marriott World Center and Caribe Royal. The eight Monday evening lectures, along with the room locations and sponsors, are: “An Unlikely Combination: An Evening of Urinary and Dermatology,” Sun C (Royal Canin—Gaylord, Booth 1715). “New Technologies Against Resistant Bacteria,” Sanibel (VetBiotek Inc.—Marriott, Booth 3821). “Beyond …
For Outgoing AVMA Chief, the Show Must Go OnJanuary 16, 2016This week may be the last chance for NAVC attendees to say goodbye—and congratulations—to Ron DeHaven, who has led the American Veterinary Medical Association since 2007 as its CEO and executive vice president. Dr. DeHaven, DVM, MBA, announced last week that he will retire this year. He said after his arrival in Orlando that he will become a bicoastal resident, living in California and Maryland so he and his wife, Nancy, can be closer to and spend more time with their son, daughter and four grandchildren. “We’ve been planning this for a long time,” said DeHaven, who resides in Chicago. “Because of my previous career with USDA I left a daughter in California. She now has two sons. We moved from there to Maryland, so I left a son in the D.C. area. He has two daughters. “For five years the plan has been [to buy] a small house in California and then a small house in Maryland. We would travel back and forth.” The decision by DeHaven, 64, to retire and maybe “do a little bit of consulting” may surprise veterinary professionals he has met or worked with, …
Many Win-Win Opportunities at NAVCJanuary 15, 2016Come to Orlando in an airplane, go home in a car. Or go home with an iPad Mini, Beats headphones or bar of silver. Companies set up at NAVC’s two exhibit halls—the Gaylord Palms and the Marriott World Center—are offering all types of prizes to lure convention-goers to their booths. From a 2016 Subaru Forester to a basket of veterinary pharmaceuticals, rewards for simply saying hello, listening to a sales pitch or entering a raffle run the gamut. Here is a sampling of the free things that NAVC attendees can claim at the 2016 conference: 2016 Subaru Forester: Get the NAVC Passport stamped at the booths of 14 participating Gaylord Palms exhibitors and 11 Marriott exhibitors. Then place the completed passport into a drop box outside an exhibit hall. Don’t win the car? Runners-up will receive a Disney vacation package, a 2017 NAVC conference package or an assortment of Apple products. $1,000 worth of generic veterinary drugs: Putney Inc. (Gaylord, Booth 724). Keurig brewing system: Wedgewood Pharmacy (Gaylord, Booth 2009). Trip to France (veterinarians only) or smart watch: Royal Canin (Gaylord, Booth 1715). iPad Mini: Aratana Therapeutics (Gaylord, Booth 339). Smoothies: …
Meet the Man Behind NAVC’s ArtworkJanuary 15, 2016If Jim Wilson is really 107 years old, as he claims with a twinkle in his eye, that means he started creating North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) artwork when he was 82. More likely he was in his 40s. Wilson, a Gainesville, Fla., wildlife artist, plays a major role in how visitors remember the NAVC conference. From the front cover of proceedings books to the annual poster to the T-shirts, coffee mugs and calendars sold at souvenir stands, his work is constantly on display. He was introduced to NAVC in 1990 after he created a 20th anniversary Earth Day poster for the University of Florida. The artwork earned front-page coverage in the Gainesville Sun, and NAVC’s executive director at the time, Colin Burrows, “asked me to design a conference poster—an owl flying and a bunch of other wildlife,” Wilson recalled. “They just never let me go,” he said, “so I’ve been doing proceedings books, posters, advertising, the yearly poster.” Wilson draws his artistic inspiration not from TV, the Internet or books, but from photographs he takes during trips to wildlife areas. Two years ago he spent a month in Africa, traveling to Botswana and …
Besser to Lead WSU Wild Sheep Research EndowmentJanuary 15, 2016Thomas Besser, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVM, a veterinary professor at Washington State University, has been named the Rocky Crate DVM and Wild Sheep Foundation Endowed Chair in Wild Sheep Disease Research. Dr. Besser succeeds Subramaniam Srikumaran, BVSc, Ph.D., who held this position since its beginning in 2004. “I am honored to be appointed to Dr. Crate’s chair,” Besser said. “Pneumonia is a very nasty disease that has severely limited the recovery of bighorn sheep in the western U.S. We’ve learned a lot about the disease in the past few years, and I am looking forward to trying new approaches to preventing the disease in bighorn herds that haven’t yet been affected, and in limiting the damage in herds that have. We are getting ready to start clinical trials that may lead to effective, manageable approaches for all parties, including domestic sheep producers.” Besser’s work on pneumonia in bighorn sheep ranges from basic investigations of the infectious process and immunity, to development of practical approaches to management of both domestic sheep and bighorn sheep to alleviate the disease, according to the university. “For decades, people smarter than I …
