Category: HVMA Updates

Hawaii Pet Expo Volunteer Sign-ups

The 33rd annual Hawaii Pet Expo is coming up next month from May 3-4, 2025 10am-4pm. This event will be held at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall in Honolulu, Hawaii and is free to the public.

We are looking for volunteers from the veterinary community to help us make this event a success! If you’re willing to volunteer, please sign up at the link below before Monday, April 21, 2025.

Sign up to volunteer here!

Volunteers needed for:

HVMA BOOTH
• Ask-A-Vet
• Answer questions and encourage public to enjoy the educational displays in the booth

GREETERS
• Pass out programs, poop bags
• Aid in helping attendees with strollers, wheelchairs, etc through turnstiles
• Smile

FOODBANK / INFO BOOTH
• Be able to answer questions, direct vendors and public to booth area
• Lost and found center
• Be able to find security, expo organizers
• Collection and packing of food donations
• Collection of monetary donations
• Coordinate volunteers (show where shirts are and their work areas)

MAKE & TAKE CRAFT BOOTH
• Help kids and adult with crafts
• Encourage participation

SHOW MARSHALS
• Walk around exhibition hall and outside to clean-up spills and accidents (take poop to outside dumpster)
• Mop areas where there has been accidents
• Make sure exhibition hall doors are closed
• Remind pet owners to keep dogs leashed or secured and have cats, birds and pocket pets in carriers for the safety of all pets involved
• Assist exhibitors with removal of trash and put in outside dumpster
• All cleaning supplies provided (poop bags, disinfectants, mops)

SNACK BAR
• Help pet owners create snacks for pets

2025 HVMA Scholarship

The Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association is pleased to announce that the 2025 HVMA scholarship application is now open! The application deadline is April 30th, 2025. 

Interested veterinary students (1st-4th year, US citizens) currently enrolled in an AVMA-accredited doctoral program of veterinary medicine who graduated from a high school in Hawaii are eligible to apply. Please share this opportunity with any students you think may be interested!

Please contact Dr. Jenee Odani if you have any questions. 

Letter from the President – Winter 2025

Heather Kihara, DVM
HVMA President

Aloha HVMA members! 

Happy New Year & Kung Hei Fat Choy! Coming into 2025, I’m very excited to lead us into the next two years! Our past president, Dr. Jenee Odani has done a wonderful job and I can only hope to carry on her excellent work and continue to build momentum for our Hawai’i vet community.

Jenee will continue to be on the board as the past president, alternate AVMA delegate, friend and mentor. In fact, the broad range of expertise of the veterinarians on the board is quite impressive! From our executive VP, zoo vet Dr. Jill Yoshicedo to our newest island representatives Drs. Raquel Wong, Gabrielle Asay, and Melissa Shaw, we not only represent small animal medicine but government, industry, small/large/exotic/aquatic/zoo animal medicine, holistic & rehab medicine, specialty, and of course small business owners.

Each newsletter we feature a board member along with any news both locally and nationally from AVMA and highlights of important events. Yet we continue to try to add to our breadth to make sure everyone is represented! Please consider joining the board! We are actively looking for outer island delegates and we will always accept help on committees. As a volunteer organization, I like to think that every member is passionate about advancing veterinary medicine and animal welfare in Hawai’i! Please encourage your fellow vets to join HVMA and let’s do good!

2025 HVMA Membership Renewal

Happy New Year!
Why be a member of the HVMA?

Your participation in local organized veterinary medicine makes our voice stronger. We actively advocate to promote Hawaii’s veterinary profession in the eyes of the public and the legislature. We support you and your staff by keeping you up to date with important news that impacts you as veterinary health professionals, maintaining online resources, coordinating local veterinary disaster response, and bringing top-notch continuing education in Hawaii. Your dues help to support all of this and more. 

Choose the automatic annual renewal option and never forget to renew your membership again! If you can’t remember whether you signed up for automatic renewals, feel free to email us to check before registering again. Your renewal date will be one a year from registration or February 28, whichever comes first. 

Renew by February 28, 2025 to avoid a lapse in your membership, and encourage your colleagues to join as well. We appreciate your participation and support!

For new applicants: Please note that AVMA membership is NOT required for HVMA membership. If you do not know two HVMA members to sponsor your application, you may send us an email to introduce yourself to us in lieu of the sponsorship, as specified in the application instructions.

2024 Annual Conference Nearing

Join us for continuing education and camaraderie with your fellow local veterinarians and vet techs!

November 6-10, 2024
Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii

Labs & Workshops 11/6-11/7
Lectures & Exhibit Hall 11/8-11/10
HVMA Hui Annual Business Meeting 11/9
Lucky Strike Social 11/9

Lecture topics include behavior, cardiology, anesthesia, soft tissue surgery, exotics, and more! 

Registration is still open for attendees. Remember to log in to your HVMA online account to receive the discounted registration rates for active members. Accommodations will be across the street from the convention center at the Ala Moana Hotel.

Check out our conference page where you can find lab details, exhibit hall details, speaker info, and our conference schedule. Please join us for great RACE-approved CE (Program # 20-1252830), our lively exhibit hall, food, and fellowship, and get to know your local vet community! 

Letter from the President – Summer 2024

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha, everyone! I hope this message finds you well in these final days of summer! Like many of you, I have had the pleasure of seeing students who I’ve mentored apply to veterinary school and start their journey toward becoming veterinarians. I always take a moment to relive certain moments of my path, like the stress of typing applications (the days before we had personal computers) and the unbelievable joy when I got my letter of acceptance.

You may have noticed that there have been a number of new veterinary programs that have been established throughout the US. This is good news for the profession as it makes vet school more accessible to potential applicants and, therefore, will ensure that there are enough new graduates to fulfill the need for veterinary services. It does make me wonder whether Hawaii could start thinking about starting a 2+2 program in conjunction with one of our WICHE PSEP partners or another existing veterinary school. I’m curious to hear what your views on this are, and hopefully, we can start having some real conversations about this over the next few years. 

The rest of this newsletter contains information about our upcoming conference, annual business meeting, and other activities. If you would like to get involved with any of the committees, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

HVMA Mentorship Program

The HVMA Mentorship Program offers opportunities for recent graduate (c/o 2020-2024) veterinarians to connect with other veterinarians in the state, as well as resources and guidance to pursue career and professional development. To receive these opportunities, join HVMA and fill out this form here. HVMA offers FREE New Grad Membership to all 2024 graduates! We look forward to meeting and helping you in your veterinary career!

2024 HVMA Scholarship Recipients

The HVMA Scholarship Committee received applications from so many excellent veterinary students with ties to Hawaii that the Committee decided to award $1000 individual scholarships to five deserving students:

1. Lauren Arakaki, 3rd year Colorado State University
2. Alicia Hara, 3rd year Washington State University
3. Deziree Huynh, 3rd year Lincoln Memorial University
4. Irene Liang, 3rd year Oregon State University
5. Samantha Masca, 3rd year Colorado State University

Congratulations to these veterinary students! Thank you to the generous donations from the vets on the Scholarship Committee. If you are interested in donating to support the HVMA Scholarship for vet students from Hawaii, please contact us.

2024 HVMA Conference Registration Now Open

This year we are moving our annual conference to the Hawaii Convention Center! Labs will be offered on Nov 6-7, 2024, and a full slate of lectures will fill Nov 8-10, 2024. Lecture topics include behavior, cardiology, anesthesia, soft tissue surgery, exotics, and more! 

Registration is now open for attendees and exhibitors. Remember to log in to your HVMA online account to receive the discounted registration rates for active members. Accommodations will be across the street from the convention center at the Ala Moana Hotel.

Check out our conference page where you can find lab details and our conference schedule. Please join us for great RACE-approved CE, our lively exhibit hall, food, and fellowship, and get to know your local vet community! 

In Remembrance: Lester Naito

Dr. Naito with Tomi, a chihuahua-terrier.
Photo by Craig T. Kojima

Lester Naito graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1959 and opened his 1st clinic in 1963, Animal Clinic Waimalu, followed by Animal Clinic Mililani, Moanalua, Waipahu, and Kapolei. These clinics are now VCA Animal Hospitals.

Dr. Naito studied for two years as a pre-med major at Marquette University in Milwaukee. He chose to further his education at OSU because the pre-veterinary requirements closely matched his pre-med course work.

He and his wife Grace have 4 kids, Steven, Joanne, Scott and Leslie.

I will always be grateful to Doctor Lester Naito for giving me the opportunity to gain experience and grow in the profession as a beginning veterinarian.  By example, he kept his optimism even during difficult circumstance.  His foresight and support were instrumental in developing my own professional vision .   Through the years his life touched many of us as employees, pet owners and friends.  Les will be missed.
– Dr. Isaac Maeda