Category: Member News

Meet a Board Member – Heidi Choy

Heidi Choy, DVM
Oahu County Representative

Dr. Heidi Choy is a small animal vet currently practicing at Oahu Veterinary Clinic. She is originally from Mo’ili’ili and graduated from Maryknoll High School. She received her Bachelor’s in Biochemistry from Santa Clara University and her veterinary degree at Purdue University in Indiana. After school, she moved to Seattle, where she spent six years working at Rainier Veterinary Hospital and volunteering at the Seattle Humane Society and PAWS.

In 2016, Dr. Choy returned to Hawaii to be closer to family. She spent many years as the treasurer for the Honolulu Veterinary Society.

Dr. Choy has a 13 month old little girl who keeps her busy! She loves traveling (especially to National Parks), hiking, solving escape rooms, and she has a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Bowie.

2025 HVMA Scholarship Recipients

HVMA would like to congratulate our 2025 scholarship recipients this year! We had a record number of applicants and it was very difficult to choose our awardees. Your dues help to provide these scholarships and support our local veterinary students – thank you!

Kylie Ebisuya
Washington State University

Kylie Ebisuya is a rising third year student at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine who intends to practice in small animal clinical medicine when she returns to Hawaii. She has a strong interest in organized veterinary medicine and serves as the WSU Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) President. She is also a WSU Clinical Skills lab peer instructor, a position that requires strong clinical skills, approachability, creativity, calm demeanor, and the ability to work with all types of people. Kylie received a B.S. in Animal Sciences and a B.A.in Japanese from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. While an undergraduate student, she worked at The Pet Clinic in Honolulu and was active in the research laboratories of Dr. Birendra Mishra and Dr. Jenee Odani.

Eric Fukawa
Oregon State University

Eric Fukawa will also be starting his third year at the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University this September.  Eric grew up in Mililani and is a proud graduate of Damien Memorial School Class of 2016.  His aim is to focus on small animal general practice with interest in small animal surgery. Eric is looking forward to coming back to Hawaii to serve his community when he graduates.

2025 HVMA 72nd Annual Conference Registration NOW OPEN

This year we are moving our annual conference back to Waikiki at the Sheraton Princess Ka’iulani Hotel! Labs will be offered on Nov 5-6, 2025, including Essentials for Fracture Repair for General Practitioners and Stabilization of Unstable Joints, Dental Radiography Positioning, Physical Medicine and Pain Management Workshop, and a hands on Laser Lab. See more lab details here.

Multiple track lectures will fill Nov 7-9, 2025, including ophthalmology, internal medicine, soft tissue surgery, anesthesia and analgesia, and an equine track on Saturday. Veterinary technician specific lectures will be offered on Saturday and Sunday. The HVMA Hui (Annual Business Meeting) will occur over lunch on Saturday, and we will be holding our annual social event with dinner at the Zoo on Saturday evening.

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. Discounted group room rates at the Sheraton Princess Ka’iulani will be posted soon and must be booked by October 1, 2025.  

Check out our conference page for more information as we will continue to post details such as the conference schedule and speaker bios. Please join us for great RACE-approved CE, our lively exhibit hall, food, and fellowship with your local vet community! 

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

Meet a Board Member – Raquel Wong

Raquel Wong, DVM
Oahu Rep

Raquel Wong, DVM, has been with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture for almost 25 years and has a wide breadth of experience within the Animal Industry Division working in all branches of the Division. Dr. Wong earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in veterinary medicine. Dr. Wong enjoys spending her free time with family both on Oahu and the Big Island, caring for 3 large dogs, and keeping busy with many hobbies.

In Remembrance – Al K. Takayama

Allen Takayama, DVM

AL K. TAKAYAMA 92, passed away on April 10, 2024, in Honolulu. He was born and grew up in Hilo along with his predeceased nine siblings. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University and practiced for nearly 50 years, initially in California, then in Honolulu after moving back to Hawaii where he built his own animal hospital in Aina Haina. He enjoyed golfing, traveling, good food and wine. He is survived by his wife Elaine, son Allen (Cathy), son Jon (Lise), daughter Lori (Nathan) Chung, and six grandchildren. Private services were held. The family requests no flowers or monetary gifts (koden).

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 – Fall 2024

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha, fellow veterinarians!

We are coming up to one of my favorite times of the year: the annual HVMA Conference! And this year, we’ll be enjoying a new venue: the Hawaii Convention Center! In addition to the great CE sessions that have been organized, the conference also represents a time where we can see old friends and meet new members of our veterinary community. If you haven’t yet registered, please do so! And if you have already registered, please encourage other veterinarians that you work with to register as well! Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary staff are all welcome!

As our organization and the profession continue to evolve, please let us know what directions you’d like to see us take or discuss issues that are important to you with us. Your island representatives and board members are here to listen. There are many opportunities for participation on our committees if you’d like to increase your level of involvement as well.

Lastly, after the conference, I’ll be stepping down as President. Serving in that role been one of the greatest honors of my career. We have much work ahead of us for our organization and our profession, and I look forward to working alongside our new President, Heather Kihara, in the coming years!

With deepest gratitude,
Jenee

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

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