Submitted by Alan Schrope, Veterinary Teaching Hospital Administrator
Congratulations are in order for two members of the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital team who were recognized as recipients of the 2018 VMX Speaker of the Year Award Monday, January 21, in Orlando, Fla., during this year’s annual Veterinary Meeting and Expo (VMX). Dr. Nickie Baird, Large Animal Hospital chief of staff and professor of surgery in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, and Megan Brashear, Small Animal Hospital veterinary nursing manager, were among five award recipients honored at the annual convention, which is presented by the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC).
Dr. Baird was recognized as the Large Animal Speaker of the Year. Megan was honored as the Nurse/Technician Speaker of the Year. They were selected for the awards, along with the other honorees, based on feedback provided by veterinary professionals from around the world who attended VMX in 2018. A statement on the NAVC website said, “The NAVC is proud to honor our Speakers of the Year…With a field of 350+ exceptional and nationally renowned veterinary speakers presenting more than 1,200 different sessions, it’s quite an honor to be voted as a top speaker by event attendees.”
The award winners initially were announced following last year’s conference, and then were invited to the official awards presentation at this year’s VMX. The other 2018 award recipients were:
- Small Animal – Dr. Audrey Cook, associate professor, Texas A&M University
- Exotics – Dr. Shane Boylan, staff veterinarian, South Carolina Aquarium
- Practice Management – Betsy Choder, attorney, VetCounsel, LLC
The announcement about the award recipients on the NAVC website included this statement of commendation: “A huge congratulations to those who wowed attendees with their incredible topics and talks at VMX 2018.”