News & Announcements

More Adventures in the Life of a New Executive Director

This past month was a HUGE month for me. You may recall from last month’s adventures that part of my job includes getting to meet some Very.Important.People. That was most definitely the case recently because TVMA just wrapped up some very successful meetings at the Southwest Veterinary Symposium (SWVS). TVMA’s Executive Committee, Board of Directors and VPAC all held meetings, as did several committees and our Leadership Academy. We also had a super fun Recent Grad & Student Mixer that apparently carried on well past 10 p.m. with post-party fun at Howl at the Moon. My “old” soul has an earlier bedtime, and I very much appreciate that our volunteer leadership carried the torch to keep the networking going.

We also had lots of fun at our VPAC event with Senator Pete Flores (District 24), who shared some great stories about his life as a Game Warden, including the time he was served a dinner of raccoon, with leg and fur still attached. 🤢 If you ever doubt the future of the veterinary profession, I invite you to hang out with our students, recent grads and future leaders. These people are going places and taking TVMA and the profession along with them. It is hard to not feel reinvigorated and hopeful after spending time with them.

One of the highlights for me—fangirl moment—was having USDA Undersecretary Dudley Hoskins and Rear Admiral Michael Schmoyer spend close to an hour with our Board of Directors discussing everything New World Screwworm (NWS). Ladies (gentlemen, keep scrolling), remember when you waited for the latest edition of Tiger Beat, Teen People or Seventeen magazine to read about your favorite rockstar or actor? Undersecretary Hoskins and RDML Schmoyer are the rockstars in the world of NWS. Dr. Schmoyer has been nicknamed “Maggot Mike,” a la Magic Mike. 🤩 I’m a nerd, and I own it.

I’ve been to almost every SWVS since its inception, always as a volunteer leader. But now that I’m staff, I get to go behind the curtain to see how things really happen. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that we didn’t just wave a magic wand and everything was set up and ready for meetings and the exhibit hall. Apparently, the magic wand is with the Texas Wagyu and champagne (see last month’s edition of The Source).

Team TVMA put in weeks of work organizing the schedule, creating agendas, supporting committee chairs for their meetings, setting up and manning the exhibit hall booth, recording material for upcoming podcasts, meeting with industry folks and pulling off TVMA-sponsored events. Did you know staff awakens before the rooster crows and are in the ballroom at 6 a.m. to set up for the Board of Directors meetings? Or that they stay up late to make sure everything is ready for the next day’s work? I thought for sure the staff office was going to be full of excitement as well. Ha! The staff office is where we store the printer, meeting supplies and snacks. Why snacks? Because lunch (or dinner) is not always an option. And there’s not a backroom to sneak a quick cuddle with the cute puppy or kitten as a respite for an introvert. But the staff office does provide a place to stress eat—Peanut M&Ms and Diet Coke, anyone? Or protein bar and energy drink? We have it all. Then come Sunday, everything gets packed up, loaded into the vans and returned to Austin. We will spend the next several weeks fulfilling staff directives and carrying out the resolutions passed by the Board of Directors.

Some of these things will be taken care of very quickly, and others will need to go through the Budget & Finance Committee for review and final approval. I very much appreciate the thoughtful deliberations and the dedication to our profession that everyone displayed during our meetings. These are the interactions that make my job worthwhile and keep the team dedicated to all things veterinary medicine. I said it last month, and I’ll say it again: I 💙 TVMA!