“The Future of State and National Level Auxiliaries: A Question of Gender and Generation”
By Carl Barnes, VP Publications
October 2008
For those of you who have read my TVMA auxiliary reports over the past year in the Texas Veterinarian and do not know me, I am the TVMA First Man—the spouse of the current TVMA president, Anmarie Macfarland. I am a 1987 graduate of Texas A&M University (where Anmarie and I met) and am employed fulltime by an Electric Utility Co. in the Texas Hill Country. I was asked to be involved with the Auxiliary and proudly volunteered to do so for the past several years. I have accepted the VP of Publications position for 2008 thru 2009.
I have attended numerous conventions and meetings with Anmarie since 2001 and often find myself at these meetings with lots of time on my hands. I have been lucky enough to find things to do or friends to visit to occupy my time in the particular convention destinations while Anmarie is in meetings or attending CE. Why is this?
I understand that all spouses of veterinarians are busy with family, careers and other miscellaneous activities. Unfortunately, not everyone can find time to attend conventions and therefore do not join the Auxiliary. With pre-planning, I have managed my career and family while attending numerous veterinary conventions over the past 7 years, and you can too. Your spouse would love your company and your support!
There are a great number of spouses and partners of veterinary professionals just like myself who accompany our loved ones to these events in support of their career and their passion. The Auxiliary to the TVMA is an organization that exists to combine the support and organize the efforts of others just like us. In theory, the Auxiliary is a spirited and effective group of likeminded individuals who campaign for the continued success of our loved ones and the profession they love; however, our group struggles from waning interest, comparably low levels of involvement and relatively poor membership numbers. In recruitment and retention of Auxiliary membership, myself and others wish to extend the invitation to be part of the Auxiliary, and would like to know how our group can appeal to an ever-changing and evolving community of veterinary spouses. How can we add to the Auxiliary’s many traditional gatherings and events to appeal to the growing number of husbands of veterinarians and spouses of recent veterinary graduates? Would activities such as sporting events, barbeques and family-friendly events attract the new generation and gender of Auxiliary membership?
The current veterinary gender graduation rate is approximately 75% female and 25% male. The gender changes of the veterinary profession did not happen overnight, and continue to evolve year after year. My wife’s graduating class of 1990 was the first year that TAMU-CVM graduated more females than males, and the trend has continued to what it is today. Of the 128 graduates in the TAMU-CVM Class of 2008, 96 were female.
I attended the AVMA annual convention in New Orleans this past July and was a Texas Delegate at the AVMA House of Delegates meeting. At that meeting, Beverly Richardson was installed as the 2008 President of the AVMA Auxiliary. Beverly addressed all of the delegates and distributed postcards which posed the following question: “If you were asked to be on a committee to organize a national veterinary spouse organization, what would it’s purpose be and how would you achieve that purpose? She asked each person in attendance to complete the card and return it to her by year’s end.
I am asking for your assistance and feedback in addressing this question. Please take a moment to think of our TVMA Auxiliary, what we currently do, and what we will be doing in the future. The possibilities and changes pending the results from this survey are limitless. In addition to changes in structure and function, the AVMA may actually rename their organization and remove the word “Auxiliary.” Please take some time to share your thoughts and ideas regarding this question and respond to me by sending an email to info@tvma.org.
As you may have assumed or noticed in previous Auxiliary photographs, I almost single-handedly represent the male gender of spouses in the TVMA Auxiliary. To my surprise and excitement, I was asked at the AVMA meeting in New Orleans by the current AVMA Auxiliary President, Beverly Richardson to complete the Officer and Committee Eligibility Form and return it. My intent is to fill out the form and submit it to AVMA to continue the quest for this gradual gender and generation change for both TVMA and AVMA Auxiliaries.
I encourage all spouses to join. All new 2008 TAMU-CVM graduates received both complementary one-year TVMA memberships for themselves and an Auxiliary membership for their spouse.
Dr.’s please encourage your spouses to continue their Auxiliary memberships and get involved. Stop by our Auxiliary booth at the next convention and feel free to make any comments or suggestions about what the Auxiliary could do better for you and/or the association. We are currently planning an Auxiliary activity for the TVMA Annual meeting in San Antonio this coming March. How about a sporting event, bowling, trip to the river walk or a bar-b-que lunch? Stay Tuned!
We must remember that the goal of the Auxiliary is funding for veterinary scholarships. No matter what future changes are ahead for all veterinary Auxiliaries, we must continue to concentrate on our goal of fundraising for vet student scholarships. As Anmarie’s continuing TVMA presidential message states, its “The Right Thing to Do.”
