Raquel Wong, DVM, has been with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture for almost 25 years and has a wide breath 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.
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).
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.
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!
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!
The Hawaii Pet Expo was a spectacular event with over 11,000 people with their animals in attendance. It was wonderful to see so many people and animals in our community! Mahalo to all the participants, vendors, and volunteers for making this event a success. We’ll see you all at next year’s Hawaii Pet Expo in May 2025!!!
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!
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.
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!
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
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