We have a tremendous professional organization for education, advocacy, peer review, technical support, and fellowship. The AASV Annual meeting has been a constant motivator for me professionally and personally. I enjoy regular member connections through our committees, e-Letter, and journal. Hallway talk at the meetings and personal phone calls have led to some of my most meaningful professional growth. The strongest bonds of my professional network have been fostered through connections within the AASV.
It is an honor to be nominated for AASV vice president. I appreciate the calls of support and sincerely ask for your vote. My wife and I have raised two great kids. It has been my desire to see them get started in their own busy lives before I head back to any extended travel or time away from the practice. I also have been blessed with great business partners who are supportive of my desire to run for this office. I am confident the entire veterinary team in Carthage will continue to serve many roles in the AASV.
Mentorship opportunities started for me as an Illinois veterinary student, preparing notebooks for Dr Leroy Biehl as he organized Executive Veterinary Program classes. Introductions to additional AASV members offered me internships and production experiences necessary to begin forming goals and plans to choose a pathway to begin practice. I remember the AASV meeting theme “Standing on The Shoulders of Giants.” My early development in AASV was blessed with introductions, experiences, and mentorship from many wonderful AASV leaders, giants in our organization, and in their own communities.
I grew up in a small town in central Illinois with strong local 4-H and FFA programs. My high school ag instructor was the first person to push me to get involved in production agriculture and in leadership education. I served as the Illinois FFA president and later as National FFA vice president. Veterinary medicine was always my goal growing up. Food-animal medicine offered many opportunities for production experience. Even after travelling to several states for FFA and veterinary experiences, I returned to private veterinary practice within 40 miles of home. I have remained at the same private practice for 24 years. The AASV and our swine clients have allowed me to travel internationally and domestically. I appreciate both the need to protect our home base and learn from the needs of the greater global swine herd.
Veterinary practice introduced me to many challenging cases and client health needs. It has also been an excellent opportunity to participate in business ownership in our community. One exciting thing about veterinary medicine is the numerous avenues to put our education to work. The AASV has brought many of us together to share in client service, client education, product use, technical service, and much more. I believe it is up to us as AASV members to serve our clients by bringing together the best minds to solve problems. The AASV provides the framework to safely challenge the status quo while sharing successes and failures in the search for better patient care.
Service in organized veterinary medicine requires a significant amount of volunteer effort year after year. I have always believed in the value of doing your part to benefit the organization and the industry. I also realize a strong dose of patience is needed to struggle through some of the debates and committee processes required to make significant gains for any organization. I have benefitted from watching the good Dr David Madsen challenge those uninterested in the impact of poorly designed federal guidelines. I have also learned from our esteemed Dr Tom Burkgren the need to show up, speak up, and work hard to bring recognition to the needs of our profession. I have served on the AVMA House of Delegates for six years, the National Pork Board’s Swine Health Committee for six years, and most recently on the AASV Board of Directors for six years.
Many challenges lie ahead for our organization. The swine industry we serve has been under significant financial pressure for the last two years. The disease pressures from a growing global economy have led to risks we have not considered until recent years. My interest is to engage the membership in critical decisions.
Our organization holds a great deal of public and political respect. Given that advantageous starting position, it is up to us to advocate for our clients and to protect our clients with safe medical products, healthy farms, and a predictable regulatory environment. I welcome the opportunity to participate in the AASV executive team and build on the successful position we have grown to enjoy for our organization.
Please reach out to me if you have questions or concerns about me or the organization. As I mentioned previously, hallway talk and personal phone calls are some of my favorite things about the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.
To learn more about Bill, watch the video on Facebook: https://aasv.org/vp/bill.