The AASV Foundation has increased the number of student debt-relief scholarships to be awarded in 2021. Three $5000 scholarships will be provided to early-career swine practitioners through the “Dr Conrad and Judy Schmidt Family Student Debt Relief Endowment,” which was renamed to honor the donors who established the scholarship program.

The scholarships are available to AASV members engaged in private practice who are between 2 and 5 years post graduation from veterinary school (2016-2018) and who carry a significant student debt burden.

The scholarship program was initiated two years ago with a $110,000 contribution to the foundation by the Conrad Schmidt and Family Endowment. Dr Schmidt, a charter member of AASV, explained, “Together, Judy and I noticed that many new DVM graduates interested in swine medicine begin their professional life with heavy educational debt obligations. It is our desire to help AASV members who have dedicated their professional skills to swine herd health and production.”

Since then, the number of applicants for the scholarship demonstrated a need to expand the program to support more early-career swine veterinarians who are carrying a heavy student debt load.

Applications are being accepted through January 31 for the scholarships to be awarded during the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting. The application form is available at aasv.org/foundation/debtrelief.php. The following criteria will be used to select the scholarship recipients:

1. Joined AASV as a student enrolled in an AVMA-recognized college of veterinary medicine
2. Attended the AASV Annual Meeting as a student
3. Maintained continuous membership in AASV since graduation from veterinary school
4. Is at least 2 years and at most 5 years post graduation from veterinary school (2016, 2017, 2018 DVM/VMD graduates)
5. Has been engaged in private veterinary practice, 50% or more devoted to swine, providing on-farm service directly to independent pork producers. Veterinarians who work for production companies, pharmaceutical companies, or universities are not eligible for the scholarship.
6. Has a significant student debt burden

Previous recipients of the scholarship are not eligible to reapply. For more information, contact the AASV Foundation: aasv@aasv.org, 515-465-5255.

$5000 scholarships available to second- and third-year veterinary students

For the sixth year, the AASV Foundation and Merck Animal Health are pleased to offer the AASVF-Merck Animal Health Veterinary Student Scholarship Program. Ten $5000 scholarships will be awarded to sophomore and junior veterinary students in 2021. The program seeks to identify future swine veterinarians and assist with their educational expenses. Applications are due December 31, 2020 for scholarships that will be announced during the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting.

Second- and third-year veterinary students enrolled in AVMA-accredited or -recognized colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, or the Caribbean Islands are eligible to apply. All applicants must be current (2020-2021) student members of AASV. Students who have previously been awarded one of the scholarships from AASV or the American Association of Bovine Practitioners are not eligible to apply.

To apply, students submit a resume and the name of a faculty member or AASV member to serve as a reference, along with written answers to four essay questions. The application and instructions are available at aasv.org/foundation/2021/AASVF-MerckScholarships.php.

A committee of four conducts the selection process. Two AASV Foundation board members and two AASV members-at-large rank the applicants by scoring their past and current activities, level of interest in swine veterinary medicine, future career plans, and financial need. The scholarship recipients will be announced during the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting, and the scholarship funds will be disbursed after the conference.

The AASVF-Merck Animal Health Veterinary Student Scholarship Program is part of how Merck Animal Health and the AASV Foundation fulfill a shared mission of “supporting the development and scholarship of students and veterinarians.” For more information on scholarships and other AASV Foundation programs, see aasv.org/foundation.

Golfers support AASV Foundation, raise $13,850

A beautiful day greeted golfers at the 2020 AASV Foundation Golf Outing, held August 20 at Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames, Iowa. Despite changes necessitated by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the event benefited from an excellent turnout of golfers and strong support from sponsors, raising $13,850 for the foundation. The winning team, hosted by Pharmgate Animal Health, included two members of last year’s top team: Jeff Okones and Matt Sexton, who were joined this year by Ralph Wilson and Tim Henry. Their overall team score for the best-ball format was 15 under par, 6 strokes ahead of the runners-up: Mark Weaver, Ross Brown, Chris Rademacher, and Chris Sparks, hosted by Cambridge Technologies. The third-place team consisted of 3 individual registrants: Daryl Hammer, Dan Rosener, and Rick Sibbel, who combined their efforts to come in 7 strokes under par.

A total of 56 golfers on 15 teams tested their skills against the challenging course. The golfers also enjoyed a variety of games, contests, and giveaways hosted at the golf holes by sponsors Aurora Pharmaceutical, GVL, Huvepharma, Insight Wealth Group, Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health,  National Pork Producers Council, Pharmgate Animal Health, Phibro Animal Health, and Topigs Norsvin USA.

Box lunches accompanied by sleeves of golf balls were provided by APC and beverages were sponsored by Zoetis. Although COVID-19 restrictions prevented holding the traditional awards dinner to conclude the event, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health graciously maintained their financial support to benefit the foundation.

Golfers were able to enter scores and monitor the event leaderboard on their phones throughout the afternoon using scrolf.com. After the event, the foundation announced team and individual contest winners by email, and prizes were mailed to the winners.

Sincere thanks are extended to coordinator Dr Josh Ellingson for his work to ensure a fun outing for participants and a successful fundraiser for the foundation. Proceeds from the event support a variety of foundation programs, including scholarships, research grants, travel stipends for veterinary students to attend the annual meeting, swine externship grants, and more.

And the winners are:

First flight

First place team, hosted by Pharmgate Animal Health: Tim Henry, Jeff Okones, Matt Sexton, and Ralph Wilson

Second place team, hosted by Cambridge Technologies: Ross Brown, Chris Rademacher, Chris Sparks, and Mark Weaver

Third place team, individual registrants: Daryl Hammer, Dan Rosener, and Rick Sibbel

Second flight

First place team, hosted by Zoetis: Josh Ellingson, Trey Kellner, Steve Schmitz, and Nick Weis

Second place team, hosted by National Pork Producers Council: Tyler Bettin, Tom Floy, Doug Fricke, and Derrick Sleezer

Third place team, hosted by Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory: Justin Brown, Eric Burrough, and Drew Magstadt

Third flight

First place team, hosted by Topigs Norsvin USA: Mitch Christensen, Trevor Schwartz, Ethan Spronk, and Amber Stricker

Second place team, hosted by Fast Genetics: Darrell Neuberger, Kent Schwartz, Steve Sornsen, and Jeff Zimmerman

Third place team, hosted by Pharmacosmos: Daniel Boykin, Christine Mainquist-Whigham, and Chris Olsen

Individual contests

Hole #1, Longest drive: Austin Putz

Hole #2, Chip-in raffle (sponsored by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health): Darrell Neuberger, Jeff Okones, and Rick Sibbel

Hole #5, Closest to the pin, 2nd shot: Drew Magstadt

Hole #7, Closest to the target drive (sponsored by Topigs Norsvin USA): Rick Sibbel

Hole #9, Longest putt (sponsored by Aurora Pharmaceutical): Mark Weaver

Hole #11, Closest to the pin (sponsored by Huvepharma): Matt Sexton

Hole #15, Closest to the target drive: Christine Mainquist-Whigham

Hole #15, Bottle opener putting contest (sponsored by National Pork Producers Council): Keith Bretey

Hole #18, Longest putt: Grant Weaver

Hole #18, Raffle winner (sponsored by Pharmgate Animal Health): Amber Stricker

AASV Foundation increases research funding to $100,000

In recognition of the value and need for research with direct application to the swine veterinary profession, the AASV Foundation has increased the amount of funding available for research proposals in 2021 from $60,000 to $100,000.

Proposals are now being accepted. They are due by 12:00 pm Central Time on January 15, 2021 and may request a maximum of $30,000 (US$) per project. The announcement of projects selected for funding will take place during the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting.

Proposed research should fit one of the five action areas stated in the AASV Foundation mission statement (see sidebar).

The instructions for submitting proposals are available on the AASV Foundation website at www.aasv.org/foundation/2021/research.php. A panel of AASV members will evaluate and select proposals for funding, based on the following scoring system:

• Potential benefit to swine veterinarians/swine industry (40 points)
• Probability of success within timeline (35 points)
• Scientific/investigative quality (15 points)
• Budget justification (5 points)
• Originality (5 points)

A summary of the research funded by the foundation over the past 14 years is available at aasv.org/foundation/research.htm.

For more information, or to submit a proposal: AASV Foundation, 830 26^th Street Perry, IA 50220-2328, 515-465-5255, aasv@aasv.org

Navigating the future … together!

The events since the last AASV Annual Meeting, themed “2020: A Vision for the Future,” demonstrated how quickly the future we envision can turn into something we never could have imagined! Yet those same events have shown us how connected we are, and how much we can accomplish when we work together, even – and perhaps especially – when the future is uncertain. It is fitting that the theme for the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting, and the AASV Foundation fundraising auction, is “Navigating the Future … Together.”

The AASV Foundation was established in 1988 with a clear “vision for the future.” Our predecessors with a vision saw the need and worked together to set aside funds for the future – not only for the issues they were aware of in 1988, but also to address the issues of 2020 that they never could have imagined.

Since then, the effort to fulfill the mission of the foundation has continued to expand as we strive to Ensure our future … Create a legacy. Here is just a partial list of how our foundation is currently benefiting those engaged in the swine veterinary profession.

The AASV Foundation:

• Administers endowments for the Howard Dunne and Alex Hogg Memorial Lectures
• Administers the Hogg Scholarship for deserving AASV member veterinarians to pursue advanced degrees
• Administers funding for veterinary student scholarships
• Provides funding for AASV members pursuing board certification in the American College of Animal Welfare
• Cosponsors travel stipends for veterinary students to attend the AASV Annual Meeting
• Provides grants to supplement veterinary student swine-related externships
• Administers funding for important research with direct application and benefits to our profession and swine health
• Provides support for the awesome Heritage videos
• Provides tuition support for veterinary students to attend the Swine Medicine Education Center
• Administers and supports the Dr Conrad and Judy Schmidt Family Student Debt Relief Scholarships

While the foundation’s level of total endowed funds has grown each year, the ongoing use of funds for our many annual investments in fulfilling the mission requires that we continue to encourage annual gifts. A great way for all members to contribute has been through the live and silent auctions held during the AASV Annual Meeting. The auctions are an integral part of the meeting, thanks to the many donors and, of course, to all of you, the bidders!

Donate auction items by December 1

The Auction Committee is reaching out to potential donors to solicit auction items or cash donations for this year’s auction, but don’t wait - please contact a member of the committee if you are interested in supporting the auction this year. To ask questions or discuss possibilities, contact one of the committee members listed at aasv.org/foundation/2021/auctioninfo.php.

To donate, download the donation form at aasv.org/foundation/2021/Donationform.pdf and submit a description and image of your item(s) by December 1. Your contribution will be recognized in the auction catalog as well as on the auction website, and your name will appear in the JSHAP full-page spread recognizing our auction item donors. Plus, there is a good chance you may read about your donation in the AASV e-Letter!

Working together, we can navigate the future … whatever it looks like!

Hogg Scholarship offers support to practitioners pursuing a graduate degree

The American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation is pleased to offer the Hogg Scholarship, established to honor the memory of longtime AASV member and swine industry leader Dr Alex Hogg.

The intent of the scholarship is to assist a swine veterinarian in his or her efforts to return to school for graduate education (resulting in a master’s degree or higher) in an academic field of study related to swine health and production. Twelve swine practitioners, recognized at aasv.org/foundation/hoggscholars.htm, have been awarded this prestigious scholarship since it was established in 2008.

Applications for the $10,000 scholarship will be accepted until January 31, 2021, and the scholarship recipient will be announced Sunday, February 28 during the 2021 AASV Annual Meeting.

Dr Alex Hogg’s career serves as the ideal model for successful applicants. After twenty years in mixed animal practice, Dr Hogg pursued a master’s degree in veterinary pathology. He subsequently became Nebraska swine extension veterinarian and professor at the University of Nebraska. Upon “retirement,” Dr Hogg capped off his career with his work for MVP Laboratories. Always an enthusiastic learner, at age 75 he graduated from the Executive Veterinary Program offered at the University of Illinois.

The scholarship application requirements are outlined below, and on the AASV website at http://www.aasv.org/foundation/hoggscholarship.htm.

Hogg Scholarship Application Requirements

An applicant for the Hogg Scholarship shall have:

1. Three or more years of experience as a swine veterinarian, either in a private practice or in an integrated production setting
2. Five or more years of continuous membership in the American Association of Swine Veterinarians

Applicants are required to submit the following for consideration as a Hogg Scholar:

1. Current curriculum vitae
2. Letter of intent detailing his or her plans for graduate education and future plans for participation and employment within the swine industry
3. Two letters of reference from AASV members attesting to the applicant’s qualifications to be a Hogg Scholar

Applications and requests for information may be addressed to: AASV Foundation 830 26^th Street, Perry, IA 50220, Tel: 515-465-5255, aasv@aasv.org.