The American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) honored five members for their contributions to the association and the swine industry. Dr Paul Ruen, 2010 AASV president, presented the awards at the association’s annual meeting March 3 in Dallas, TX.
Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year Award
The American Association of Swine Veterinarian’s Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Aaron Lower. It is given annually to an AASV member five or less years post-graduation who has demonstrated the ideals of exemplary service and proficiency early in his or her career.
Dr Lower is a 2009 graduate of the University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine. Raised in Lanark, IL on a livestock farm, this background heavily influenced his desire to work with livestock producers. Following graduation, Lower joined Carthage Veterinary Service, Ltd. in Carthage, IL. This swine practice allows him to provide health, diagnostic, production, and research support to his clients throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri.
He is a member of AASV, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association. He has been active within the AASV association, as he won the Best Student Presentation Award at the 2007 AASV Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL and served as the first Student Delegate to the AASV Board of Directors that same year. He has also served on the AASV Student Recruitment and Influenza Committees.
He has given a number of presentations at national meetings including AASV, the ISU Swine Disease Conference and the Leman Swine Conference. He is in partnership with his family in livestock production at home, while also maintaining his role as a partner in Carthage Veterinary practice. He is noted for his emphasis on client communications and expanding his international consulting opportunities with clients in Asia.
At acceptance of the award, Dr Lower noted, “the swine industry and specifically AASV have provided abundant opportunities and mentors to develop the key skills needed in swine veterinary medicine. I am extremely grateful and appreciative of these influences on my life and career.”
Dr Lower resides in White Heath, IL with his wife Roberta.
Technical Services/Allied Industry Veterinarian of the Year Award
Dr Darrell Neuberger received the American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ Technical Services/Allied Industry Veterinarian of the Year Award. Established in 2008, the award recognizes swine industry veterinarians who have demonstrated an unusual degree of proficiency and effectiveness in delivery of veterinary service to their companies and their clients as well as given tirelessly in service to the AASV and the swine industry.
Dr Neuberger was recognized for his years in technical service first as a Swine Health Management Veterinarian for Fort Dodge Animal Health and his current role with Zoetis. In his position, Dr Neuberger’s responsibilities include providing technical product expertise and supporting the company’s sales force. Swine producers he works with commented on his skill at mentoring recent veterinary graduates and he currently mentors a select group of veterinary students who have a swine focus.
Dr Neuberger received his DVM (1977) from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He later completed the Executive Veterinary Program in Swine Health Management at the University of Illinois in 2000. Following graduation he joined the Garner-Ventura Vet Clinic in Garner, Iowa, a mixed animal practice, before joining Fort Dodge Animal Health in 1997.
Elected by his peers, Dr Neuberger, served as President of the Iowa Veterinary Medicine Association from 2005-2006. In 2013, he was recognized as a member of the President’s Circle by his current employer, Zoetis. Darrell has been a mentor for the past four years to a select group of veterinary students from numerous veterinary colleges across the US. Along with teaching and working together with these students, Darrell always enjoys grilling pork loins for the students. Darrell is also currently involved in Operation Main Street, where he talks with Pre-Veterinary students at ISU.
When asked to comment on what the award meant to him, Dr Neuberger said, “I am very fortunate to be able to work with veterinarians and people in the swine industry on a daily basis. I have been able to interact with high quality veterinary students who have a swine interest. I am part of a great group of technical services veterinarians at Zoetis. They are all fantastic people. To be recognized by them and receive this award is a truly great honor.”
Dr Neuberger and his wife, Diane, reside in Garner, IA. They have three daughters; Melissa and her husband William, and their three children live in Manassas, VA; Kristin, who lives in Plymouth, MN; and Erin and her husband, Nick and their son who live in Davie, Florida.
Howard Dunne Memorial Award
Dr Locke Karriker received the American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ 2014 Howard Dunne Memorial Award during the association’s 45th Annual Meeting March 3 in Dallas, TX. The award recognizes an AASV member who has made important contributions and provided outstanding service to the association and the swine industry.
Dr Karriker received his DVM (1999) and MS in Veterinary Science (2000) from Mississippi State University. He completed board certification and became a Diplomate in the College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine in 2006 and completed the Executive Veterinary Program in Swine Health Management at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. He is currently Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine and serves as the Director of the Swine Medicine Education Center at the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine.
In addition to being a prolific researcher, Dr Karriker is dedicated to mentoring students. He is currently instructor-in-charge of multiple swine-oriented classes at the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition, he teaches courses at Kansas State University and the University of Wisconsin. The student-team-driven, case-based problem solving format that he pioneered and now uses in the Advanced Swine Production Medicine course is highly effective and now this approach is being adopted in the dairy and beef courses as well. Dr Karriker has authored numerous refereed publications in addition to serving as an editor for the 10th edition of “Diseases of Swine.”
He is highly respected by students and colleagues alike. He is the recipient of the 2011 Dr. William O. Reece Award for Outstanding Academic Advising from the ISU-CVM. In one of the many letters of nomination we received, Dr. Pat Halbur described Karriker as “a franchise player in academia…a triple threat… a world class clinical instructor, a highly valued resource on evidence based medicine for practitioners and swine producers, and a highly regarded applied researcher.”
Says Karriker, "I sincerely appreciate the many teachers, mentors and colleagues that have provided guidance and opportunities to me throughout my career. I’m very proud of our students and the high standards they achieve and would like to thank them for making my role very rewarding. The accomplishments of the previous awardees create an intense respect for the award and I am thankful for the opportunity to work hard and be an adequate custodian of the standards they have demonstrated. I am proud to be swine veterinarian, a teacher, and a member of this organization.”
Dr. Karriker lives with his wife, Rachael, in Ames, IA. They are expecting their first child in September.
Meritorious Service Award
Dr. Harry Snelson was named the 2014 recipient of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ Meritorious Service Award. The award recognizes individuals who have provided outstanding service to the AASV.
Dr. Snelson received his DVM from the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1990. Following completion of the inaugural Swine Medicine Internship at NCSU-CVM, he accepted a position as the swine veterinarian for Carroll’s Foods in Warsaw, NC. He left Carroll’s in 2000 to join the swine technical services team at Schering-Plough Animal Health as Manager of Swine Tech Services. In 2003, he accepted a unique opportunity as the Director of Science and Technology with the National Pork Producers Council in Washington, DC. Then, in 2005, what he calls “the opportunity of a lifetime” presented itself with the formation of his current position as AASV Director of Communications. He completed the Executive Veterinary Program at the University of Illinois in 2009.
Dr. Snelson has been a member of AASV since 1988, joining while still a student. He was trained as a Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostician at Plum Island in 2000 and participated in foreign animal disease eradication programs in Mexico and the UK. He has been active in AASV committees and chaired the Foreign Animal Disease committee. He also represented District #2 on the Board of Directors 1999 – 2004.
He was very honored, and quite surprised, to receive the award noting, “it’s very special to be recognized for doing something you really enjoy. Having the opportunity to work with Tom and Sue has been a great learning experience for me. Although I’m ‘on staff,’ I still consider myself a member of AASV and appreciate the camaraderie and family-like feel that permeates our association. It’s an honor to be able to work with our members, leadership and staff, and to advocate for issues of importance to our profession.”
Harry and Jan reside in Burgaw, NC.
Swine Practitioner of the Year
Dr Matthew Turner was named 2014 Swine Practitioner of the Year by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. The award is given to the swine practitioner who has demonstrated an unusual degree of proficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of veterinary service to clients.
Dr Turner obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. Following graduation, he accepted the position of Staff Veterinarian at Prestage Farms in Clinton, NC. He completed the Executive Veterinary Program at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 2009.
Dr Turner has represented District 2 on the AASV Board of Directors and is a member of the AVMA and the NC Veterinary Medical Association. He was selected as the NCVMA’s Young Veterinarian of the Year in 2004 and was named to Pfizer Animal Health’s “10 Under 40” list of young veterinarians making contributions in swine medicine. He was also the focus of a "Veterinarians on Call" video on swine health and food safety produced by Zoetis. In addition to practice, he also serves as an Adjunct faculty at NCSU-CVM and has been recognized for his dedication to mentoring students. According to previous students he has mentored, he tries to focus on what the student needs and stresses key issues such as food safety, animal welfare, and communication.
Asked to comment about receiving this award, Dr Turner replied, “I have been extremely fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful people in my life. This award is a tremendous honor and a reflection of the quality of individuals that have helped mentor me, including co-workers and students.”
Dr Turner and his wife, Dr Beth Turner, currently reside in Faison, NC with their son, Christopher.