2010 AVDS General Membership Meeting held at the Marriott Riverwalk,
San Antonio, TX, 9/30/2010
The meeting was called to order by President John Lewis at 3:3l PM.
President Lewis welcomed all members in attendance and introduced and acknowledged the
Board of Directors members who were present. Newly appointed member, MJ Redman was
introduced to the membership. MJ has replaced Diana Eubanks, who had announced her
resignation from the Board. AVDS Bylaws that specifically addressed term vacancies, Article III,
Section 4. Vacancies, was referenced and read to the audience by President Lewis. Notably,
the term expiration will be 2013.
Secretary:
President Lewis asked Carol Weldin, AVDS Secretary to read the minutes of the 2009 General
Membership Meeting. There being no additions, corrections or deletions, Coralee Eisner moved;
Clarence Sitzman seconded to accept minutes as read. Of note, member Mary Hernandez
requested future minutes be sent electronically prior to the on-site Annual Meeting in order to
move along the business of the Society. This was agreed upon and minutes will be sent 30 days
prior to all future General Membership Meetings.
BOD Nominations:
Nominations were announced by President Lewis as follows with a request for further
nominations from the floor:
Rod Salter
Alex Reiter
There being no further nominations, Barden Greenfield moved; Kris Bannon seconded to close
nominations. Motion carried. President Lewis asked nominees to give a short introductory
speech about themselves. Rod spoke about his accomplishments on the Board the past four
years. John Lewis spoke on behalf of Alex Reiter as he was unable to be present at the Meeting.
Treasurer:
Barden Greenfield, AVDS Treasurer reported that 2010, as of 7-31-10, has been a big year, with
$60,500 in cash. There are currently three accounts with Wells Fargo Bank with the following
balances in each account: $84,700; $69,800 and $59,500. Outstanding bills to be paid are
inclusive of the JVD 27-3 and 27-4 issues. Income from International members will be
forthcoming. Donations to the Student Chapters of the American Veterinary Dental Society
(SCAVDS) based on the previous model of $500 for first year and $250 for second year for each
new chapter and Veterinary Dental Educators (VDE) of $10,000/calendar year 2010-2011 will be
available. A cap of $2,500 for SCAVDS donations will be available for usage. AVDS support of
the Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry (F4VD) will be provided by volunteers who will set-up and
facilitate the Silent Auction to be held in the Exhibit Hall; this will result in income for the
Foundation. AVDS member Bert Gaddis and Barden as AVDS Treasurer, will co-chair this event.
Barden stated the need and request to recruit general members. President Lewis acknowledged
Barden for all his efforts.
AVDS Survey:
President Lewis summarized the results of the survey recently sent:
241 respondents (19% of AVDS members)
Five questions
Very enlightening and informative
Question 1: wooden plaques: 70.2% felt a paper certificate was an acceptable alternative;
however, comments differed. Specific comments were shared with the general membership.
John then asked for a show of hands as to how many would like to continue with wooden plaques
resulting in a favorable response. He indicated we will consider re-ordering wooden plaques.
Question 2: JVD available in digital in addition to print version
Question 3: JVD digital option available for purchase: 82% of respondents indicated “no” when
asked if they would purchase the digital version for an additional cost. Additional comments:
Would pay extra for print version.
Question 4: Availability of digitized version of back issues of JVD: John stated this now exists.
52% indicated they would be in favor of a DVD or USB thumb drive. The Journal Management
Committee is currently working on this, making certain all archives are updated and made
available. It was stated an index is an important aspect of the project.
Question 5: Perception of the cost of AVDS dues in relation to member benefits provided. 83% of
respondents felt they are just right; 13% felt too high; 3.8% felt too low.
Dues:
President Lewis stated this is an impressive project that can result in increased benefits.
Members’ perceived value of existing benefits:
# 1: JVD
# 2: Educational compendia (SBS and Foundations series)
# 3: Discounts ~ 10% on textbooks; VDF registration only (not inclusive of Labs, etc.); scrub
garments with the vendor reimbursing AVDS 7% of sales; monthly newsletter (thanks to Brett
Beckman) and the Student Chapters of the AVDS (SCAVDS).
A comment was made regarding an online glitch with ordering garments. Notably a member
roster is made available to the vendor; however, the Board will make certain a current roster will
is sent, eliminating non-renewals, as this is a member only benefit.
Compendia sales:
President Lewis stated SBS I is sold out; SBS II has 200 copies available for sale. John appealed
to the technicians asking them to continue to be involved and consider submitting Foundations
and SBS features. The topic of anesthesia-free dentistry is one example.
Membership Committee:
Kris Bannon, Membership Chair reported there are currently 1,264 active members, comprised
of: 1,100 US; approximately 82 Canadian; 50 International, inclusive of 11 Australian and other
parts of Europe and Asia)
Plans call to target technicians and private practice veterinarians. Key opinion leaders while
giving lectures at various conferences are encouraged to refer veterinarians to join the Society.
Kris reported membership booths were held at Western Veterinary and Central Veterinary
Conferences in 2009, resulting in two and one new member respectively. There are also twelve
new members, origin not stated. Kris requested any members who have suggestions as to
reaching out to recruit new members, please contact her and state that increasing membership
leads to increasing awareness which helps our overall community.
With regard to 2010 sales activity: The AVDS will be selling eggplant color scrub tops at
$30.00/each and matching bottoms at $20.00/each.
Social Committee:
Kevin Stepaniuk reported this year’s meeting will feature the annual Fun Run only; a decision has
been made to discontinue the Dental Millionaire game. The Fun Run with be held on Friday at
6:30 AM and all who are interested in participating are asked to meet downstairs at the River
Center.
Student Chapters of the American Veterinary Dental Society (SCAVDS):
Kevin reported there has been a successful sprint in the formation of these Chapters. Two years
ago the AVDS Board approved the formation, starting with three Chapters, 121 members; there
are currently eight Chapters, with 227 members and plans are to propose an additional nine
Chapters in 2010, resulting in seventeen Student Chapters, 400-450 members in just three years.
The goal is within the next two years, all schools have student chapter in the US. Kevin reported
that VDOG (Veterinary Dental Oversight Group) has voted to provide one student/school with free
registration. Students will have the option to convert their AVDS student membership to full
membership at a 50% reduction in fee for the first year.
Kevin would like to acknowledge the following generous vendors:
Virbac Animal Health: for sponsoring the Compendium
Pfizer: for sponsoring one student membership for a graduate at each university with an active
SCAVDS chapter
Journal Management Committee (JMC):
Barry Rathfon, Chair announced the JMC Meeting will be held on Friday morning. He
acknowledged Virbac for providing student chapters with copies of the Compendium and Butler
Schein for their $20,000 sponsorship level at the Forum including advertising in the JVD. A copy
of the SBS was shown to the audience, with Barry discussing number of copies available and
pricing for SBS and Foundations series publication.
Mention was made of a one page listing of obituaries in the JVD. There are ongoing discussions
regarding the availability of online JVD, with cost consideration and protection of marketing
memberships. The Clinicians Brief for NAVC (70-80,000 people distribution) will have a
reciprocal add in February and June, promoting AVDS and what the Society does.
Journal of Veterinary Dentistry (JVD) Editor’s Report:
Barry Rathfon reported for Mark Smith, Editor, indicating the publication of six JVDs per year
would be impossible without an increase in manuscripts submitted. Of the current manuscripts,
there were 25 originally submitted; six published; nine in the queue with four revisions. Barry
emphasized the need for technicians to submit manuscripts and stated there were more
International US submissions than US International this year. Two additional reviewers for
equine manuscripts have been added with a request for six more.
Kurt Peckman, Niche Pubs, will be offering copies of this year’s JVD to non-members as a
motivator to sign up for membership. Extra copies of current JVD issues will be available for
distribution to those who sign up on-site.
Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry (F4VD) Auction:
Barden Greenfield reported this is the four year of a fundraising event for the Foundation, with a
Live Auction and raffle being conducted in conjunction with the dinner. There will be two sets of
raffle tickets, priced at $5.00 and $20.00, with value of raffle items corresponding to raffle ticket
purchase price. Midmark has generously donated a Vet Pro 1000 unit, value $6,500, to be
auctioned off; Barden acknowledged Midmark and Butler Schein who will help to underwrite the
cost of the event. F4VD members will be selling tickets and he encouraged members to
participate as the Foundation has benefitted the AVDS. A booth will be set up in the exhibit hall,
displaying the auction items. President Lewis acknowledged and thanked Barden, along with
Bert Gaddis, for all their efforts in spearheading the fundraiser.
Veterinary Dental Oversight Group (VDOG) Update:
President Lewis explained this is the group that is responsible for the details of the Forum. Each
organization ~ the AVDS; AVD and AVDC has three representatives that serve on the VDOG
Committee. AVDS representatives are: Loic Legendre; Kevin Stepaniuk and John Lewis. John
acknowledged and thanked Don Ross for his service the past few years. Going forward and as
described in VDOG Bylaws, AVDS VDOG representation will be comprised of the AVDS
President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past-President.
Association of Veterinary Dental Technicians (AVDT) Report:
Mary Berg announced five potential VTS specialist candidates tested in 2010 with three passing
the exam. There are currently 31 VTS specialists; they will be testing 19 candidates in 2011 and
23 in 2012. She also emphasized the technicians want to become more involved with the
organization.
Electronic JVD Feasibility:
Susan Crowder, Chair reported they are in need of additional Committee volunteers, as there is
much activity surrounding this initiative. Barry Rathfon mentioned EBSCO, currently sells
journals worldwide, with $112 dollar royalty checks. This is currently only available to university
libraries and research facilities.
BOD Election:
President Lewis announced the re-election of Rod Salter to the AVDS Board. Rod will serve an
additional five-year term with term expiration 2015. Congratulations to Rod.
Announcement of Upcoming Meetings:
2011 World Veterinary Dental Congress with be held in Capetown, South Africa
2011 Veterinary Dental Forum ~ Westin Copley, Boston, MA
2012 Veterinary Dental Forum ~ Downtown Sheraton, Seattle, WA
2013 Veterinary Dental Forum ~ Sheraton, New Orleans, LA
There being no further business Clarence Sitzman moved; Barry Rathfon seconded to close the
meeting. Meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM.