A congressman and two former AVMA presidents were among nine veterinarians presented with awards from the American Veterinary Medical Association. Two non-veterinarians also were honored.
The annual awards and 11 recipients recognized during the AVMA convention in Washington, D.C., were:
- Advocacy Award: U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, DVM, for advancing the AVMA legislative agenda and advocating on behalf of the veterinary profession. Dr. Yoho, a Florida Republican, is serving his fourth term in Congress.
- AVMA Award: Roger K. Mahr, DVM, for contributions to the advancement of veterinary medicine in its organizational aspects. Dr. Mahr served as 2006-07 AVMA president and is credited with helping launch the One Health Commission.
- Meritorious Service Award: Mark Cox, DVM, for bringing honor and distinction to the veterinary profession through personal, professional or community service activities conducted outside the scope of organized veterinary medicine or research. Dr. Cox, founder of El Abrigado Animal Clinic in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, is a former president of the Southern New Mexico, El Paso and Texas veterinary medical associations. He also served in the AVMA House of Delegates and on AVMA committees.
- President’s Award: Mark Lutschaunig, DVM, director of the Government Relations Division; Joseph H. Kinnarney, DVM, an AVMA past president and current chairman of the AVMA Trust; and Isham R. Jones III, JD, a non-veterinarian and AVMA’s general counsel.
- Humane Award: Sonia Hernandez, project manager for the Fix.Adopt.Save. initiative in Maricopa County, Arizona. A non-veterinarian, Hernandez was recognized for advancing the welfare of animals.
- Animal Welfare Award: Joanne Paul-Murphy, DVM, Ph.D., DACZM, DACAW, for advancing the welfare of animals. Dr. Paul-Murphy is co-director of the Richard M. Schubot Parrot Wellness and Welfare Program at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.
- Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award: Karen Vernau, DVM, DACVIM, for preserving and protecting the human-animal bond. She is a clinical professor of neurology and neurosurgery at UC Davis and serves as a faculty mentor with the Fracture Program for Shelter Animals and for the Orphan Kitten Project.
- Public Service Award: Bret D. Marsh, DVM, for public service or contributions to public health and regulatory veterinary medicine. Dr. Marsh is the Indiana state veterinarian, a former AVMA treasurer and delegate, and past president of the Indiana VMA and the United States Animal Health Association.
- AVMA XIIth International Veterinary Congress Prize: Theresa Bernardo, DVM, for contributions to the international understanding of veterinary medicine. Dr. Bernardo is chair of emerging technologies and bond-centered animal health care at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College. “She started out working in health informatics for the United Nations and inter-American organizations in the Caribbean and Latin America,” the AVMA reported. “She developed trilingual software for global disease reporting and mapping.”