From the President

Message from the President Jan 2019

Aloha HVMA members,

January is a time to reflect back on the accomplishments of the past and look forward to the goals of the future. Thanks to the hard work of the conference committee we had another highly successful annual meeting in November with internationally recognized speakers in internal medicine, exotics, dentistry, Fear Free practice, disaster planning and more. We are already beginning to plan for next year’s event so please let us know if there are any speakers or topics you would like to see in the future. At our annual meeting we elected new officers to the board and also updated our by-laws. More information on these can be found on the Member Resources page of our website.

As we move into 2019 we look forward to serving members and the community in many ways including disaster planning with HI-EMA, legislative advocacy, keeping you informed on topics of importance to veterinary medicine in addition to opportunities to participate in community outreach. Our website’s About us page has been updated with our purposes as stated in our charter with the state. Please take a moment to read about who we are.

Membership renewal season has begun and we encourage you to renew early. Please see here for all the benefits of membership.

Finally, we want to share our gratitude to Eric Ako for his many years of service to the HVMA as the Executive Vice President. Please be sure to thank him when you see him, as this organization would not be where it is today without his tireless efforts. We are very fortunate that Jill Yoshicedo has agreed to take the reins as EVP, and know she will continue to add value to your membership and advocate on behalf of veterinarians in Hawaii. We also say aloha to Cordell Chang after many years of service as the HVMA representative to the AVMA.

Save the date for the 66^th Annual Conference: November 7-10, 2019!

Aloha on behalf of the HVMA board,

Aleisha Swartz

Message from the President Vol 3, 2018

Aloha HVMA Members!

We are excited to announce registration is open for our 65th Annual HVMA Conference, which will be held from November 8-11, 2018 at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel. This year we are offering RACE-approved CE (up to 30 credits for vets and 16 credits for vet techs) and bringing in world-renowned speakers covering a variety of topics including Fear Free experts Marty Becker and Gary Landsberg, emergency medicine specialist Tim Hackett, exotics specialist Joerg Mayer, and disaster medicine expert Debra Zoran.

Our wet lab offerings include four different orthopedic labs by Brian Beale and Don Hulse, advanced dental extraction labs by Kevin Stepaniuk, and a cat behavior lab by Karen Sueda. Please see our complete conference schedule at: https://hawaiivetmed.org/2018conference/schedule/.

During our conference we will hold our annual HVMA business meeting on Saturday November 10 at 12:15pm. You do not need to be a conference attendee to come to the business meeting. During the meeting, we will be voting on the 2018-2020 officer positions as well as a few proposed bylaw changes. If you are interested in putting your name on the ballot, please email us.

Also on Saturday November 10 from 6-8pm we will be hosting our annual social cocktail party and sharing some Hawaiian paniolo culture with our Japanese and international guests. Tickets to this event are $60 or complimentary with conference registration.

Register online for early bird pricing by September 15th. Remember to log in to your HVMA online account to register at the reduced member rates. If you have forgotten to renew your membership for 2018, it’s not too late!

Thank you to those who generously volunteered their time and energy toward making the 2018 Pet Expo another success. We are always looking for volunteers for the conference and other HVMA activities. Please send your ideas, feedback, and questions to contact@hawaiivetmed.org.

Aloha,
Jill Yoshicedo, DVM
President, Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association

Message from the President Vol 2, 2018

May 2018

Dear Colleagues,

Our annual Hawaii Pet Expo will be held this weekend on May 12-13th. Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to help put on this popular event. We expect over 10,000 attendees and can still use your help! If you have a couple free hours this weekend to stop by and support our public outreach at the Pet Expo, please sign up here.

The HVMA booth theme is “Year of the Dog”, and we are looking for more veterinarians and veterinary assistants to guide visitors through the booth and answer questions at the “Ask-a-Vet” section. Other volunteer posts include entrance greeters, Food Bank donation collectors, poop patrollers, and helpers at our Keiki Make ‘n Take craft booth.

We are also gearing up for HVMA’s 65th annual meeting to be held November 8-11th at the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel. Speakers include Fear Free advocates Marty Becker and Gary Landsberg, ECC specialist Tim Hackett, exotics specialist Joerg Mayer, and internal medicine specialist Debra Zoran. We will also have laboratory sections on orthopedics by Beale and Hulse, dentistry by Kevin Stepaniuk, and cat behavior by Karen Sueda. Information on our conference will be posted here, with registration opening up this summer. We hope you will join us.

Would you like to write an article or draw a comic for our quarterly newsletter? Can you write up a visitor’s guide suggesting activities and eateries for our out-of-state conference attendees? Are you interested in serving on the HVMA Board? Do you have any other ideas you would like to help the HVMA implement to better serve our members? These are just a few ways you can get more active with us! Please contact me at contact@hawaiivetmed.org if you want to get involved or have an idea to share. Open board positions are listed here, or you can directly contact Leilani Sim-Godbehere, head of the Nominations Committee, for more info.

Thank you for your membership renewal in 2018. Please remember to sign up for your online account at https://hawaiivetmed.org/newaccount. You will need an individual online account to register for the annual conference at the reduced membership rate. We are happy to help you with this process, so please contact us if you have any difficulties.

Aloha,

Jill Yoshicedo, DVM
President, Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association

Happy New Year 2018

Aloha HVMA Members,

Hau’oli makahiki hou! We are glad you are a part of our veterinary community here in Hawaii. Membership registration is open, so please renew your membership at https://hawaiivetmed.org/membership/

Your HVMA membership allows us to help support you in your professional life. We seek to keep you informed on current events and provide legislative advocacy on issues pertinent to veterinarians in Hawaii. We provide members-only online content including classified ads, job postings, relief vet listings, and an online directory of member clinics. At our annual local conference, we bring in top-notch speakers and offer discounted registration to all current members. Through our organization, you will find networking, volunteer, and leadership opportunities.

Please let any of your new colleagues know that 2017 DVM graduates qualify for reduced membership dues ($50) in 2018, and 2018 DVM graduates receive complimentary HVMA membership in 2018. You do not need to be an AVMA member to be apply for HVMA membership, and if anyone needs help finding sponsors, just contact us. Please also notify us if you have reached the golden age of 65 and have 20+ years paid dues to qualify for Life Member status (membership dues waived).

We enjoyed seeing so many of you at our conference this past October, and hope to see many more at our 65^th Annual Conference from November 8-11, 2018. Save the date!

As we continue to work to make the HVMA more accessible and relevant to its membership, please bear with us through the changes as we move to digital communications, and send us any feedback, suggestions, or interest in volunteering at contact@hawaiivetmed.org.

With warm aloha on behalf of your HVMA Board,

Jill Yoshicedo, DVM