AASV Annual Meeting Sets Records, Again

March 16, 2016 — 

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) held its 47th annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 27 to March 1, 2016. The meeting, held at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, drew record attendance of 1160 total attendees including 696 paid registrants (also a record), 278 international members (24% of the total attendees), and 148 students. The participants represented 31 countries including the United States. Total attendance included 243 allied industry representatives from 85 exhibitors. The students in attendance represented 25 veterinary schools!

The meeting participants attended numerous educational sessions, including 10 pre-conference workshops, two general sessions, three break-out sessions, research topics, industrial partner sessions, 15 student seminar presentations, and 73 posters.

Dr John Harding opened the Monday General Session with the Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture. His presentation, entitled “Emergence of Brachyspira hampsonii in western Canada: A collaborative success” described the multidisciplinary collaborative approach employed by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan when faced with the emergence of an enteric pathogen. One of the key takeaways from Dr Harding’s talk is his commentary on the essential elements of collaboration. These elements are applicable to anyone working with groups of individuals with varying backgrounds. He concluded by encouraging the audience to “strive to be a pioneer; strive to make a lasting difference in your professional and personal lives.”

Dr Peggy Anne Hawkins presented the Alex Hogg Memorial Lecture entitled “Whose shoulders are we standing on?” Her presentation explored the issues of collaboration within the profession of swine veterinary medicine given the diversity of our individual members. She described the personality types and generational values that make up the membership of the AASV as a facet of our collaborative spirit.

The second half of the Monday morning session focused on a variety of topics including neonatal immunity, public perception of pork production, welfare audits and collaboration. Monday afternoon concurrent sessions allowed attendees the opportunity to delve deeper into the broad topics of enteric coronaviruses, respiratory diseases and antibiotic use. The Tuesday General Session addressed the issues associated with the introduction of transboundary and emerging swine diseases. The Howard Dunne and Alex Hogg Memorial Lectures were video recorded and have been posted in the video library on the AASV web site.

The AASV Awards Reception was held Monday night, followed by the AASV Foundation’s annual fund-raising auction. Dr Tara Donovan, 2012 AASV President and chair of the 2016 Awards Selection Committee, presented the recipients of the Swine Practitioner of the Year (Dr Luc Dufresne), the Howard Dunne Memorial Award (Dr Scott Dee), the Meritorious Service Award (Dr Patrick Webb), the Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year Award (Dr Chase Stahl), and the Technical Services/Allied Industry Veterinarian of the Year Award (Dr Bob Thompson).

In addition, 13 AASV committees met during the annual meeting. The 2016 officers, Drs, George Charbonneau President; Alex Ramirez, President-elect; Scanlon Daniels, Vice President; and Ron Brodersen, Past President, were introduced during the Annual Business Meeting on Tuesday morning. The board also welcomed incoming representatives: District 3, Dr Monte Fuhrman and District 8, Dr Greg Cline.

The 2017 annual meeting will be held February 25 to February 28 in Denver, Colorado.