WSAVA Assembly 2009 Meeting Minutes Monday, July 20, 2009 Brasilia 3, Transamerican SP Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brazil Present from the Executive Board: • Dr. David Wadsworth, President
• Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn, President Elect
• Dr. Luis Tello, Vice President
• Dr. Diane Sheehan, Hon. Treasurer
• Dr. Walt Ingwersen, Hon. Secretary
• Dr. Brian Romberg, Past President Assembly Representatives present: - Dr. Ferenc Biro HSAVA Hungary
- Dr. Ciara Feeney VICAS Ireland
- Dr. Stefano Romagnoli AIVPA Italy
- Dr. Zoe S. Polizopoulou HVMS Greece
- Dr. Diane Belanger AMVQ Quebec
- Dr. Davorin Lukman CSAVS Croatia
- Dr. Kevin Stevens SAVA – NVCG S.Africa
- Dr. Janne Orro ESAVA Estonia
- Dr. Chris Amberger ASMPA Switzerland
- Dr. Adriana Lopez Quintana LAVECCS
- Dr. Ellen Bjerkaas NSAVA Norway
- Dr. Jerzy Gawor PSAVA Poland
- Dr. Rau Benevente AMVEPPA Peru
- Dr. Oscar Resburgo AVEACA Argentina
- Dr. Alistair Gibson BSAVA United Kingdom
- Dr. Marco Gioso ANCLIVEPA Brazil
- Dr. Didier Carlotti AFVAC France
- Dr. Siraya Chunekamrai VPAT Thailand
- Dr. Ariel Dario Saez SUVEPA Uruguay
- Dr. Renee Chalmers Hoynck van Papendrecht NACAM Netherlands
- Dr. Roger Clarke ASAVA – FASAVA Australia
- Dr. Umesh Karkare FSAPAI India
- Dr. Gregg Takishima AAHA USA
- Dr. Pieter Verhoek CAS New Zealand
- Dr. Joaquin Aragones AVEPA Spain
- Dr. Jiri Beranek CSAVA Czech Republic
- Dr. Jan Ilkjaer Birch DSAVA Denmark
- Dr. Mathews Thomas MSAVA Malaysia
- Dr. Tiina Toomet Lithuania/ Ukraine
- Dr. Gilberto Gauthier SOVEMEVEPAVenezuela
- Dr. Junghee Yoon KAHA Korea
- Dr. Shane Ryan SVA Singapore
- Dr. Raphaeal Hamburger Columbia
- Dr.Miguel Jumbo AMVEPE Equador
- Dr. Anjop Venker-van Haagen IVENTA
- Dr Gary Stamp VECCS USA
- Dr. Peter Ihrke ACVD
- Dr. Colin Burrows NAVC
- Dr. Maurice Roze ISVO – FAFVAC France
- Dr. Paulo Steagall IVAPM
Also in attendance: • June Ingwersen, Secretarial Assistant
• Dr. Michael J. Day, Chair SAC
• Dr. Ray Butcher, Co-Chair AWC
• Dr. Tjeerd Jorna, President WVA
• Dr. John Tait, President AAHA
• Dr. Fernando J. Alvarez, President FIAVAC
• Dr. Wanderson A. Ferreira, ANCLIVEPA Brazil
• Dr. Saliem Sayega, ANCLIVEPA Brazil
• Dr. Sung-Shik Shin KAHA Korea
• Dr. Jongil Kang KAHA Korea
• Dr. Jorge Guerrero NAVC
• Dr. Carlos Eduardo Caballero R, President Columbia 1. Welcome by the President 1.1. Dr. David Wadsworth welcomed the Assembly delegates present and recognized guests present 1.2. Dr. Wadsworth asked Assembly delegates to stand and observe a moments silence in honour of colleagues who had passed away during the preceding year, including Dr. Anna Worth. AAHA President, Dr. John Tait, said a few words to remember Anna. 2. Regrets • Dr. Carl Chow – Hong Kong (HKVA)
• Dr. H. A. W. Hazewinkel – IEWG
• Dr. Linda Jakusenoka – Latvia (LSAPS)
• Dr. Katia Di Nicolo – Luxembourg (LAK)
• Dr. Alexandra Vilen –Sweden (SSAVA)
• Dr. Ed Hall, chair Birmingham Congress Organizing Committee
• Dr. Bill Jackson – Past President
• Dr. John Holt – Past President
• Dr. Hans-Otto Schmidke – Past President
• Dr. Andrew Edney – Past President
• Dr. Larry Cory – President, American VMA
• Dr. Hans-Klaus Dreier – Past President
• Dr. Javid Aldavood – ISAVA Iran
• Dr. Saulius Laurusevicius – Lithuania
• Dr. Denis Novak – SASP/Serbia
• Dr. Julian Wells – BSAVA/UK
• Dr. Rainer Hassel – Namibia
• Dr. Fulvio Stanga – Italy (SCIVAC)
• Dr. Sue Blaikie – CAS/New Zealand
• Dr. Sarah Wilkinson-Eylte – Jamaica
• Dr. Nicola Neumann – Ireland
• Dr. Jean Francois Rousselot – France
• Dr. Pedrag Stojovic – Montenegro
• Dr. Lawson Cairns – WSAVA CE Committee
• Dr. H. A. Hazewinkel – IEWG
• Dr. Minna Rinkinen - Finland 3. Welcome of Assembly representatives and substitutions Dr. Wadsworth had the Assembly representatives introduce themselves, including new Assembly representatives and substitutions. 4. Adoption of the agenda The agenda was adopted with the following additions:
• 20.1 Nomination of a 7th Executive board member - 20.2 Consideration of Nepal as a late WSAVA Associate Member application
5. Adoption of the Dublin Assembly minutes Dr. Wadsworth moved that the Dublin Assembly meeting minutes be adopted as presented in the Assembly book. Three spelling errors were identified and noted. The motion was seconded by Dr. Roger Clarke and passed unanimously. Dr. Wadsworth signed the minutes as official record. 6. Officer’s reports 6.1. President
Dr. Wadsworth asked for questions to his report as presented in the Assembly book. There were none. 6.1.1. Presentation of the WSAVA President’s Award
Dr. Wadsworth presented Dr Didier-Noel Carlotti with the 2009 WSAVA President’s Award. 6.2. Vice President
Dr. Tello asked for questions to his report as presented in the Assembly book. There were none. 6.3. Honorary Secretary
Dr. Ingwersen asked for questions to his report as presented in the Assembly book. There were none.
Dr. Wadsworth motioned for adoption of the President’s, Vice President’s, and Honorary Secretary’s reports as presented. Unanimously adopted. 6.4. Honorary Treasurer
Dr. Diane Sheehan presented the financial report for 2008. She explained the shift from cash to accrual accounting practices as it better reflected the financial reporting needs of the WSAVA. She explained that a number of delinquent accounts outstanding for greater than 3 years (e.g., Mexico Congress) had been written off and are reflected in the 2008 WSAVA financials. As a large component of the Treasurer’s role was reimbursing expenses incurred in carrying out the WSAVA goals and initiatives (e.g., CE, etc.), she stressed the need for proper expense claim reporting. Dr. Sheehan called for questions – there were none.
Dr. Sheehan introduced Ellen Bjerkaas, new FAC member, to provide FAC input on the 2008 financial report. Dr. Bjerkaas said that the report had been reviewed by the FAC, any/all outstanding issues had been resolved to the FAC’s satisfaction, and the FAC supports the report as presented.
Dr. Sheehan thanked Drs. Anna Worth and Umesh Karkare for their past involvement on the FAC and introduced newly nominated FAC members Drs. Ellen Bjerkaas and Pieter Verhoek.
Dr. Wadsworth called for a motion to accept the WSAVA 2008 Financial report as presented – motion forwarded by Dr. Roger Clarke and seconded by Dr Umesh Karkare.
Dr. Wadsworth called for a motion to accept the new FAC Committee comprised of Drs. Diane Sheehan, Ellen Bjerkaas, and Pieter Verhoek – seconded by Dr. Gregg Takashima. Carried unanimously.
Dr. Sheehan then presented the WSAVA 2010 proposed budget and a call for questions. She was asked to clarify financial contingency for unexpected expenses and responded that a 2% factor was built into the budget to accommodate this. Dr. Sheehan called upon Dr. Bjerkaas from the FAC to comment and she responded that the 2010 budget had been discussed by the FAC and was supported as is.
Dr. Wadsworth forwarded a motion to accept the WSAVA 2010 budget as presented and it was adopted unanimously. 7. Strategic Planning Drs. Sheehan and Kirpensteijn reaffirmed the dynamic nature of WSAVA strategic planning based on the 5-year plan presented to and adopted by the Assembly in Dublin 2008. The group meeting initiative introduced last year is to take place this year again, on Thursday morning between 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM. Meeting groups, chairs, and locations were reviewed with topics to reflect implementation of the initiatives adopted during this meeting. Summaries, both individual and collective, would be provided for further Assembly consultation. 8. Constitutional Changes 8.1. Motion:
• That the WSAVA seek to formalize itself as an incorporated not-for-profit entity in Canada
• That expenditures up to $15,000 CDN be budgeted to accomplish this
• That the WSAVA Executive Board be given the responsibility to oversee this Dr. Wadsworth spoke to the motion and report in the Assembly book, indicating that the motion would simply formalize the current WSAVA association’s administration procedures and highlighted both the benefits of motion adoption (member liability protection, ability for the WSAVA to function as a legal stand-alone entity, and enhanced transparency and professionalism among others) and increased legal administrative/legal requirements, including enhanced reporting requirements to meet country of residence regulatory requirements.
Dr. Wadsworth reviewed the proposed by-laws contained in the Assembly book, which were simply the current WSAVA Constitution converted into by-law format with proposed changes as raised during the preceding year. If the motion was adopted, the current constitution would remain in effect until the “birth” of the WSAVA incorporated/not-for-profit-entity, at which time the by-laws provided would come into effect. Agenda items 8.2 and 8.3 were included in the proposed by-laws. Clarification on a number of points were raised and discussed by the Assembly with many comments in favour for the motion, primarily based on liability protection.
Dr. Wadsworth called for a vote and the motion carried unanimously. 8.2. Conflict of interest declaration
Addressed in bylaws adopted in 8.1
Signed by all present 8.3. Code of conduct declaration
Addressed in bylaws adopted in 8.1 9. Congress Proposal 9.1 Motion
• Beginning in 2014, Congress oversight and control should be centralized with the WSAVA assuming primary responsibility, with the host association providing a supporting role
• Proposals will be sought from PCO’s and a preferred service provider partnership sought
• Implementation will be the responsibility of the WSAVA Executive Board with assistance from a Congress Steering Committee Dr. Sheehan spoke to the motion and proposal report as contained in the Assembly book. She clarified the terms primary and supporting but highlighted the need for a more centralized control over key aspects of the Congress (e.g., scientific program, budgeting, etc.) while maintaining the involvement of the host association in a supporting role by providing a culturally enriched and unique Congress experience. She stressed the historical difficulty in self-underwriting resulting in a loss of profit to the PCO assuming this risk with the ultimate goal being self-underwriting and subsequent retention of profit within the veterinary profession and WSAVA Additionally it would provide “knowledge and expertise consistency” over time, thereby ensuring retention and continual improvement in Congress management. A number of Assembly representatives spoke in favour of the motion for the reasons stated. A question was raised as to how the partnering PCO would be identified and selected. Dr. Sheehan welcomed Assembly representative input into this during the strategic planning discussions, should the motion be adopted. Ultimately it would require a tender process based on a detailed set of PCO requirements. Dr. Berjkaas raised a concern on behalf of FECAVA as to whether the proposal would accommodate bids from member associations that self-managed their own Congresses or would it dictate the use of the partnering PCO selected by the WSAVA. Dr. Takashima from AAHA shared similar concerns . If the later, it would likely undermine any bids from these WSAVA member associations. Dr. Verhoek indicated that there were, historically, two types of WSAVA Congresses – one where the host association self-administered/underwrote their own Congress and the other where a smaller association outsourced the risk and administration to a PCO. He suggested that in the former, there be shared risk and profit between the WSAVA and host association whereas in the latter the WSAVA would receive a higher percentage of both. Dr. Kirpensteijn suggested a more liberal definition of partnership to build in the flexibility of annual choice over who was given the primary Congress administrative responsibility. The Assembly representatives requested that this be built into the motion and a discussion over the motion terms “primary” and “supporting”. An amendment was forwarded by Dr. Ray Butcher to read “….with the WSAVA assuming either a primary or joint responsibility, with the host association providing either a joint or supportive responsibility.”..”. This was supported by Dr. Verhoek and seconded by Dr. Kevin Stevens. Dr. Anjop Venker-van Haagen was still concerned over the term partnership however Dr. Takashima suggested that the term interpretation would be guided by the motion as amended and roles would be better clarified in a revised Congress SOP. Amended Motion 9.1
• Beginning in 2014, Congress oversight and control should be centralized with the WSAVA assuming either a primary or joint responsibility, with the host association(s) providing either a supporting or partnership role
• Proposals will be sought from PCO’s and a preferred service provider partnership sought
• Implementation will be the responsibility of the WSAVA Executive Board with assistance from a Congress Steering Committee Dr. Wadsworth called for a vote and the amended motion passed with 14 vote abstentions (weighted, based on association membership).. 10. WSAVA Executive Director Proposal 10.1 Motion
• The WSAVA explore the budgetary feasibility of hiring a part-time association management firm and/or executive director. Dr. Ingwersen reviewed the motion and the reasons why – specifically the increasing administrative demands being placed on the volunteer members of both the WSAVA Executive Board and committees as a results of the growing number and intricacy of the WSAVA initiatives. Additionally, the WSAVA would benefit from the involvement of an Executive Director that would have a key role in managing WSAVA finances and sponsorship relationships, including expanding these relationships and WSAVA international recognition. An initial tendering process had occurred and the responses were reviewed by the WSAVA Executive Board in preparation for this Assembly meeting and were put in context of the WSAVA 2010 budget. Based on the fees quoted for the services required, the WSAVA Executive Board could not support proceeding with this initiative at this time. The immediate WSAVA needs were administrative and the WSAVA Executive Board agreed that these would be met with minimal additional (if any) budgetary ramifications by expanding the administrative secretarial position into a central secretariat role. As such, the motion was withdrawn. Questions were asked of the Assembly representatives but none were forwarded. 11. WSAVA Foundation Proposal 11.1 Motion
• That the WSAVA seek to formalize a Foundation as an incorporated not-for-profit entity in Canada.
• That a committee will be established to accomplish this within 12 months
• That the WSAVA Executive Board be given the responsibility to oversee this
Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn spoke to the motion and report as is contained in the WSAVA Assembly book. He highlighted the key benefits, which included the ability to seek financial support from an expanded source of potential donors, who in turn would receive charitable contribution tax benefits and a potential to direct the funds to specific projects. Dr. Kirpensteijn invited Dr. Michael Day, chair of the SAC to speak to the motion. Dr. Day provided his support as it would provide a more transparent method of fund sourcing and allocation, which is part of a project identification proposal that the SAC has forwarded to the WSAVA Executive Board for consideration. Dr. Kirpensteijn asked for questions from the Assembly members. Dr. Colin Burrows asked if the establishment of a WSAVA Foundation would be superfluous, considering that the motion to establish the WSAVA as an incorporated not-for-profit entity was adopted. Based on Canadian regulations, the Foundation would be further characterized as a charitable entity, which allows for tax relief to the donor, and this is not able to be done from a simple incorporated not-for-profit entity, which is what the WSAVA is to become. Because charitable status is difficult to obtain and very restrictive on fund use, it was decided to separate the two so as to not interfere with WSAVA financial flexibility and to provide for transparent targeted project funding.
Dr. Wadsworth called for a vote on the motion and it passed unanimously. 12. Electronic Voting 12.1 Motion
• That the WSAVA Executive Board will be able to use an electronic voting system called Zoomerang
• That expenditures up to $600. USD be budgeted to accomplish this
• That the WSAVA Executive Board be given the responsibility to oversee Dr. Kirpensteijn spoke to the motion and supporting report contained in the Assembly book. He highlighted the benefits of being able to make key WSAVA decisions between Assembly meetings in a convenient manner that met the stipulations of the WSAVA Constitution. Dr. Berjkaas raised a concern that some motions that came before the Assembly for a vote benefited greatly from a pre-vote discussion and that this would be pre-empted by the voting system being suggested and would it be able to determine vote source/weighting? The Zoomerang system does allow for vote confirmation of receipt and source, thereby allowing vote weighting to occur by the Hon Secretary or administrative assistant. Also, a members only section was being implemented as part of the WSAVA website and this would allow for a list serve discussion that could be incorporated on any critical issues to satisfy the need for a pre-vote discussion
Dr. Wadsworth called for a vote on the motion and it passed with 5 abstentions. 13. Committee reports 13.1 Financial Advisory
Dr. Sheehan asked for questions to her report as presented in the Assembly book. There were none. 13.2 Scientific Advisory
Dr. Michael Day spoke to his report and provided a short presentation on the SAC and VGG activities. 13.3 Continuing Education
Dr. Wadsworth spoke to his report and extended apologies for misstating NACAM as the Norwegian Veterinary Association. He recognized the hard work of the regional CE directors (Drs. Tello, Cairns, Wells, and Clarke) our industry sponsors (Bayer Healthcare, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, and Intervet-Schering Plough Animal Health), as well as all supporting member associations (ASAVA, VOK, DSAVA, AFVAC, NSAVA, SVK, NACAM, BSAVA, and FSAVA). He called for other member associations to consider becoming sponsors as well. He asked for questions to his report as presented in the Assembly book. There were none. 13.4 Animal Welfare
Dr. Roger Clarke asked for questions to his report as presented in the Assembly book. There were none. 13.5 Hereditary Defects
Dr. Wadsworth asked for questions to the report as presented in the Assembly book. There were none. 13.6 Public Relations
Dr. Tello spoke to his report and provided a short presentation on the WSAVA 50th birthday celebration activities. He highlighted Dr. Peter Ihrke’s upcoming sabbatical year South American CE activities and suggested this could be used as a template for other regions. 13.7 Website/Editor
Dr. Ingwersen asked for questions to his report as presented in the Assembly book. There were none. 13.8 Standard Operating Procedure
Dr. Brian Romberg presented the following revisions to the SOP: 2. BIDS
2.2 A detailed plan of the proposed WC should be sent to each member of the WSAVA Executive Board at least eight months before the next Assembly meeting. If the Executive Board is satisfied with the quality of the document, a site inspection and meeting with members of the organising committee will then be carried out by a member of the Executive Board.
The Executive Board will then decide whether the Member Association may submit its bid to the vote at the Assembly Meeting. (Rhodes 2004) 5. BUDGETING AND FINANCIALFINANCAIL CONTROL
5.4 The WC registration fee will include US$25 for each full paying registrant, and US$15 per day registrant, payable to the WSAVA with a guaranteed minimum payment to the WSAVA of $50,000 (Prague, Oct 2006)
Payment shall be made according to the following table (Sydney 2007):
25% payable 18 months prior to congress
25% payable 12 months prior to congress
50% payable 6 months prior to congress 5. BUDGETING AND FINANCAIL CONTROL
5.5 The WSAVA Executive will pay the organizing committee
its share of the sponsorship deal concluded with Hill’s Pet Nutrition 30 days after having received payment less the 10% administration fee and the $50,000 owing to the WSAVA. A further 25% of the fee will be withheld and paid 30 days after the conclusion of the congress in accordance with the sponsorship deal and subject to the organising committee fulfilling its obligations towards the sponsor 8. SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
8.5 It is a requisite that the scientific program is registered for RACE 8.8 STATE OF THE ART LECTURES
8.8.9.5 All contracts must be referred to the
Executive Board sponsorship liaison 13. ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION
13.2 All congress promotional material must bear the Board
approved WSAVA logo (Appendix 17) and that of the major
sponsor/s Dr. Pieter Verhoek requested clarification as to the definition and requirement for RACE. RACE is an acronym for Registry Association of Continuing Education, which is a North American based group that reviews and accredits CE events for use as personal CE credit. There is a RACE website that provides additional information. Dr. Kevin Stevens suggested that a similar accreditation system would be valuable in other countries. Dr. Pieter Verhoek made a correction to the Assembly report, noting that $50.000 should read $50,000 Dr. Wadsworth called for acceptance of the SOP changes. Unanimously approved.
Dr. Wadsworth then called for acceptance of the committee reports as presented. Unanimously accepted.
14. Standardization reports
14.1. Gastrointestinal
As printed in the Assembly book and received as information. 14.2. Hepatic
No report received. 14.3. Renal
As printed in the Assembly book and received as information. 14.4. Vaccine Guidelines Group
As printed in the Assembly book and received as information (see also 13.2) 15. Congress reports and bids 15.1 Post Dublin 2008
Dr. Ciara Feeney spoke to the post-Dublin Congress report presented in the Assembly book and highlighted the success of the Congress. She informed the Assembly members that the PCO had won an international award for the Congress event and that the WSAVA Congress paved the way for a host bid for the Buriatrics Congress. Dr. Wadsworth provided a special thank you from the WSAVA Executive Board and Assembly for a job well done. He also clarified a line item in the report financials which indicated the Hill’s payment as outstanding – the payment was dependent on receipt of the final Congress report and once this had been received, payment was made. 15.2 Sao Paulo 2009
Dr. Marco Gioso provided an update on the Sao Paulo Congress, citing registration as being approximately 3,500, making it one of the biggest WSAVA Congresses ever. He highlighted the social events, thanked his organizing committee for their assistance, and wished everyone an enjoyable Congress. 15.3 Geneva 2010
Dr. Christophe Amberger spoke to his Assembly book report and provided a brief power point presentation on the current organizational status. The scientific program is complete, as are the planned social events however there is a concern over the lack of sponsorship interest, especially in the major sponsorship category. The organizing committee continues to work to secure sponsorship. If another major sponsor was not forthcoming, the social programs may need to be modified/scaled back. Dr. Jerzy Gawor asked why there was no dentistry tract and Dr. Amberger indicated there was still an opportunity to provide as a pre-Congress event. Dr. Amberger is also negotiating with the hotels to correct a discrepancy in the Congress discounted price, which is not as cheap as rates available for online reservations.
15.4 Jeju 2011
Dr. Jong-Il Kang spoke to the Jeju Congress Assembly book report and provided a brief power point presentation. He highlighted that the date had been changed to October 14-17, to include a weekend per the sponsors’ requests. A tentative scientific program has been completed and will now be confirmed based on potential speaker interest and availability. In response to Dr. Clarke’s question, he responded that there would be a animal welfare stream. Dr. Takashima expressed concern over the still-to-be built Congress hotel and Dr. Jong-Il Kang replied that they have assurances it will be built on time and that the current economy will not change this. 15.5 Birmingham 2012
Apologies from Dr. Richard Dixon who is en route and Dr. Alistair Gibson spoke to the Assembly book report and offered to answer any questions. There were none. 15.6 Congress bids
Dr. David Wadsworth introduced the two Congress bids – New Zealand and USA – and provided an overview of the presentation protocol and voting process. Drs. Tjeerd Jorna and Fernando Alverez volunteered as scrutiners. Dr. Wadsworth presented the WSAVA Executive Board recommendation that the USA (AAHA) bid be accepted by the Assembly as it represented the bid with the greatest financial opportunity and least risk to the WSAVA. Dr. Ciara Feeney expressed concern over the lack of transparency in the Executive Board recommendation as it simply provided an overall assessment and not full scoring disclosure. Dr Wadsworth reviewed the Congress bid review protocol, adopted by the Assembly in Rhodes 2004 and used annually since, and that this is detailed in the Congress SOP and available online.
After brief presentations by New Zealand and followed by the USA, a closed ballot vote took place and the Congress bid votes received as proxy votes provided to the scrutiners. The results were 55 votes in favour of New Zealand, 41 votes in favour of USA, with 4 spoiled votes. 16. WSAVA member association reports
Dr. Wadsworth thanked the following WSAVA member associations for having provided association reports, which is a requirement of WSAVA membership. He encouraged other member associations to ensure this requirement was met and highlighted the benefits of providing up-to-date information for the WSAVA website. ACVD
Austria
Australia
Croatia
Denmark
Greece
Hong Kong
India
Ireland
Korea
Lithuania
Malaysia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Peru
Serbia
South Africa
Switzerland
Sweden
NAVC
United Kingdom
USA
Estonia
Singapore 17. New member association applications 17.1 Cuba – associate membership – application by letter from Dr. Jesus Moreno Lazo - accepted 17.2Venezuela – full membership – presented by Dr. Gilberto Gautier Mendible - accepted 17.3 IVAPM – affiliate membership application presented by Dr. Paulo Steagall – accepted 17.4 ESVC – affiliate membership application presented by Dr. Christophe Amberger – accepted 17.5 LAVECCS – affiliate membership presented by Adriana Lopez Quintana – accepted
18. Member association application for payment deferral
18.1 Subscription discussion – Dr David Wadsworth reviewed the current disparity in membership fees contributing to the association finances and a concern over the current low cost of membership.
A discussion ensued and the Assembly members expressed support for subscription fee increases. 18.2 Tunisia
Dr. Wadsworth referred to the e-mail correspondence reprinted in the Assembly book detailing a request from Tunisia to have its past membership fees waived, leaving only 2008 fees outstanding. The reason provided was due to a lack of an active association in the preceding years. An Assembly discussion took place with some for waiving the fees to support WSAVA presence in the region while others felt it was unjustified due to the lack association information/details about the years in question. Dr. Wadsworth provided a proposal to expel Tunisia for lack of payment following the required 3 invoices and per the WSAVA Constitution.
The motion was carried with one vote against. 18.3 ESNVU
Dr Wadsworth referred to the letter from Dr. Reidun Heiene on behalf of the ESNVU, requesting for waiving of 2008 membership fees, citing the provision within the WSAVA Constitution that allowed for this request to be presented to the Assembly for consideration.
After a brief discussion, Dr. Wadsworth called for a vote on the request for waiving ESNVU 2008 fees and the vote was unanimously against the request. 19. Association liaison Brief reports, including a presentation, was made by Drs. Ellen Bjerkaas and Tjeerd Jorna on behalf of FECAVA and WVA respectively. The reports highlighted the respective associations major goals and initiatives. 20. New business 20.1 Nomination of Dr. Veronica Leong as a 7th Executive Board member.
Dr. David Wadsworth discussed the need for a 7th Executive Board member, based on the growing list of initiatives and their management needs, and highlighted the process involved in identifying potential candidates. From the information received by those that expressed interest and had provided both a CV and letter of intent, Dr Leong was considered by the WSAVA Executive Board as the strongest candidate. Motion by the chair to accept Dr. Veronica Leong as the 7th Executive Board member. Carried unanimously. 20.2 Wadsworth spoke to an associate membership application received from r.
Mukti Shrestha from the Veterinary Practitioner’s Association of Nepal. These discussions had been facilitated by Dr. Umesh Karkare, who had recently visited Nepal and spent time with the leadership of their growing small animal veterinary association. However, application was received after the application deadline for Assembly consideration, as dictated by the WSAVA Constitution.
Dr. Wadsworth forwarded a motion to accept the VPAN application despite it’s late receipt. This was unanimously accepted.
Dr. Wadsworth invited Dr. Karkare to speak to the application and answer any questions. As there were none, a motion was put forward to accept the VPAN as an association member of the WSAVA. It passed unanimously. 21. Next meeting & adjournment The next Assembly meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 1, 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland.
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