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WSAVA Assembly Meeting

For a complete report on the Assembly meeting, please read the full Assembly 2008 Meeting Minutes

Assembly Meeting Summary

WSAVA President Dr. Brian Romberg welcomed the Assembly members after a 12-month hiatus since the last assembly meeting in Sydney, Australia on August 19, 2007. He provided assembly members updates from a very active WSAVA leadership, including the Executive Board and various committees, which he highlighted in his Congress President’s Message (see September WSAVA News).

In addition to the passing of the Presidential Chain of Office and retirements of Drs. Anne Sorensen as Honorary Secretary, Larry Dee as Immediate Past-President, and Anjop Venker-van Haagen as Scientific Advisory Committee Chair, an election of Officers was also held that saw the new WSAVA Executive Board affirmed and includes (pictured from left to right) Dr. Brian Romberg (Immediate Past-President; South Africa), Dr. Luis Tello (Vice President; Chile), Dr. David Wadsworth (President; UK), Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn (President Elect; Netherlands), Dr. Di Sheehan (Honorary Treasurer; Australia), and Dr. Walt Ingwersen (Honorary Secretary; Canada).

The assembly members voted in favour of accepting 2 new full member associations that included Montenegro Association of Small Animal Practitioners (MASAP) and the Federation of Indian Small Animal Veterinary Associations (FISAVA; made possible by the membership withdrawal of the Pet Practitioners of Mumbai, who are now members of FISAVA). Also, the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society was voted in as an affiliate member. A number of associations had their membership revoked for lack of subscription dues payment. Additionally, Birmingham, UK was chosen as the site for the 2012 WSAVA Congress being hosted by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA).

Additional Assembly Meeting highlights included:

• Past WSAVA President Dr. Hans Klaus Dreier presented with the inaugural President’s Award for his past and ongoing significant contributions to the WSAVA and international veterinary medicine.
• The Treasurer’s report that acknowledged a difficult 2007 financial year, due in large part to unpaid revenues from member association subscriptions, lack of payment of Congress revenue from Mexico, and loss of sponsorship for select WSAVA Awards. However, and due in large part to the recently announced Hill’s Prime Partner sponsorship agreement (see next bullet and www.wsava.org for more information), 2008 and beyond sees the WSAVA enjoying healthier financial stability. The revised and more equitable fee structure, voted in at the 2007 Assembly meeting, was readily implemented with an additional 4.5% subscription increase for 2008 to account for cost of living increases. The 2008/2009 budget was passed as presented.
• Announcement of Hill’s as a long-term Prime Partner that provides over 1.5 million dollars in sponsorship over 3 years support for a multitude of WSAVA projects and initiatives, including the Congress, various WSAVA Standardization Projects, and www.wsava.org
• A Continuing Education Committee report that thanked industry and member association sponsors and celebrated the past and ongoing successes of WSAVA-sponsored CE in various regions around the world.
• Dr. David Wadsworth presented the results of the WSAVA Strategic Planning sessions together with time the following morning dedicated for WSAVA member association input and hosted by WSAVA Executive Board members. A full summary will be published on www.wsava.org at a future time.