Building, land, practice and content $265,000
Contact:  Greg Angel 501-268-2445   Dalrymple Commercial Real Estate

It is with great pleasure that I announce the recipient of the 2012 Veterinarian of the Year, Dr. Harold Mike Beard.  Dr. Beard’s service and contributions to the veterinarian community, the academic community, and the local community in which he practices have proven his dedication to the practice of Veterinary Medicine. He is most certainly worthy of the distinction and honor of Veterinarian of the Year.  He is married to his wife Glenda and they have 2 children and one granddaughter.

Dr. Beard’s education began in 1977 when he attended Southern Arkansas University, graduating with a degree in Pre-Veterinarian Studies.  He then continued on to Louisiana State University, where in 1983 he obtained the degree of Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine. Dr. Beard began practicing in Hope, Arkansas, and over the next thirty years he’s served the communities of De Queen, Ashdown, Nashville, Hot Springs and Conway, Arkansas.  His practice history has included emergency care, large animal ambulatory service, and diagnostics for difficult and routine cases, surgery, dentistry, as well as serving as a consultant to area veterinarians.

Dr. Beard’s expertise in the field of Pain Management, has led to his being invited to give presentations locally and nationally to Drug Development advisory panels, Veterinary Medical Associations, and college Veterinary Technology classes. He also has contributed multiple articles for publication in Modern Veterinary Practice, and Veterinary Forum.  Dr. Beard has also been recruited by state and local Veterinarian Associations to give seminars on Small Animal Practice and Medical Records Management.

The leadership roles that Dr. Beard has served in the veterinarian community include:

•  Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association: District VIII Representative, 2003-2005; Vice President, 2005; President Elect, 2006; President, 2007; and Past President, 2008.

•  Advisory Board Member for: Arkansas State University (Beebe), Veterinary Technician Program; and Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Diagnostic Laboratory

•  Arkansas Veterinary Medical Foundation: Board of Directors

•  American Board of Veterinary Practitioners: Credentials Committee

•  Southwest Veterinary Symposium: Continuing Education Program Committee

Dr. Beard has also spent a great deal of time and energy involved in the betterment of his local community.  He was a member and officer of the Ashdown Arkansas Rotary Club, and has served and held offices in Ashdown, Arkansas’ Chamber of Commerce. While in Nashville, Arkansas, he was a member of the Rotary Club, and has served as a Cub Scout Leader in Conway, Arkansas.  Dr. Beard is also a member of New Life Church in Conway.

The AVMA members thank you, Dr. Beard, for the generous contributions of your time and expertise to the veterinarian communities and the civic communities you’ve provided over the course of your career.  In the words of Woodrow Wilson:

“You are not here merely to make a living

You are here in order to enable the world to live more

amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and

achievement. You are here to enrich the world,

and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”

Thank you for being such a dear friend to me and such an asset to the veterinary profession. Dr. Beard, you have served our world amply, and for that we honor you with the 2011 Veterinarian of the Year.

Dr. Mike Beard from Conway was awarded the 2011 Veterinarian of the Year. He was such a deserving winner. Dr. Beard has contributed to the veterinary profession in so many ways and continues to be the perfect example of what the veterinary profession is all about.  He is a mentor, a teacher, a caregiver and most importantly, a great husband, father and grandfather.   I have worked with him for many years as a District Rep,  Vice President, President Elect, President and Past President. He is a wonder Leader and has set a fantastic example for the future leaders. I am honored to call him my friend.

I hope you all have a great Spring and as Summer approaches, take time to smell the flowers. As always, if I can ever help you with anything, please don’t hesitate to call the office or send me an e-mail.

Sincerely,

Maggie Milligan

I graduated from LSU on May 19^th 1994 and I started work in Mountain Home on June 6^th of that year…I was ready to get started and have enjoyed it the whole time….oh we all have our days but when work doesn’t feel like work, I think we’ve made it, and I haven’t worked in several years.   I love medicine,  I love Arkansas, but I don’t always love the perceptions of our profession.   I tell my staff all the time that the public really has no idea what we really do, a few do, we call them our best clients.  Practicing fun and exciting medicine will be the difference in surviving coming years, and I pray we are all fulfilled financially and professionally in the years to come.

What a great winter meeting!  I’ve gotten lots of great feedback on it and I trust you all had a great time and learned lots of practical things that you could take back to practice. Maggie Milligan, our executive director always does a great job of organizing and making sure you get a great experience.  I think the Hot Springs venue is terrific and the whole thing is top notch for a state meeting of any size!

When I joined the ARVMA as a trustee a few years back I didn’t know much about what our association did  but I had a couple of ideas as to what it should be.  The ARVMA is there to promote the membership, in other words we are here for the Veterinarians unlike the examining board who exists to protect the public.  So I always thought the best way to do that was legislative oversight and making sure the memberships best interests are being protected.   I was a little surprised that the association did not have a full time lobbyist to get us apprised of matters of concern. The association was mainly providing CE as well as a few other matters of importance. The leadership at that time was already thankfully thinking along the same lines and thanks to them the association interviewed and employed Phillips Management to have oversight for us legislatively.  I believe this was and is extremely important service and maybe the best decision the association has made for the membership since I’ve been a part of the board. This year is an appropriations session in the legislature and there are no pending bills that would affect us in any way, next year will be more of a regular session and I expect more activity then and we will be there to do our best to keep Veterinarians best interest in the forefront. If you check other states and associations you will find the ARVMA a great value for its members…as we take more proactive steps for the membership, having the funds to act in our best interests become more important so I would ask each of you to keep your memberships current and attend meetings to help support the only organization in the state that is there for your protection and self interests. We have established a PAC fund to help our cause legislatively, as Bradley Phillips mentioned at the meeting, if every member contributed $50-$100 they could use that money to support candidates who support veterinarians.  Anyone wanting to contribute should send a check to ARVMA PAC to the association address. There will be many issues come up this year some will be foreseen and others won’t, but each of you have a trustee member on the board and I encourage you to get in touch with those individuals and voice concerns. Some of the districts have regular meetings and I hope to get into your area at least once to meet as many of you as possible.

To a prosperous new year,

Scott Smith

We are asking $5000.00 for it.  Anyone interested needs to call Dr. Doug Parker or Melissa Freeman at 479-273-1355 or email us at sugarcreekanimalhospital@hotmail.com

The 2012 membership dues are coming in daily. If you have not received your renewal form, please contact me. You can also download a membership form on the website. We need all veterinarians to be active in YOUR association. We need a strong voice when issues arise. As always, if you ever have questions, concerns, or ideas, please feel free to call me. I am always here for each of you.

Our leadership will change hands in February at the Winter Meeting. Dr. Damian Stroderd has done a great job leading our Association over the last year. It has been a pleasure to work with him. He has a couple of more months before passing the gavel to Dr. Scott Smith during the Winter Meeting.  I look forward to working with Dr. Smith as our association moves into 2012.  I look forward to seeing you all at the Winter Meeting!!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Fondly,

Maggie Milligan

Nationally we are still fighting against HR1406 Fairness to pet owner’s act this has not gone away yet. This bill would require Veterinarians write a prescription for every drug given or prescribed and also provide the owner with options for filling the medications. Of course all of this must be documented on the medical record. Please check it out the AVMA has recommended that we contact our congressman.

On the State level Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) has started the process in developing a Disaster Canine Search and Rescue (SAR) team, Arkansas Task Force 1. These teams are composed of specially trained dogs and their handlers. The team may respond to crime scenes, accidents, missing people and disasters. As part of this effort, the AR Task Force 1 team is looking for veterinarians throughout the state that may be interested in volunteering their services to help these dogs if they are injured or become ill during a search. There are some unique situations these dogs find themselves in that may need immediate veterinary care.

This has been a relatively active year for rabies, especially in the western part of the state. So far in 2011, the Arkansas Health Department has had 47 rabid skunks, 6 rabid bats and 1 rabid cat for a total of 54. Sebastian County alone had 26 rabid skunks, partly due to an epidemic there but also partly due to an increase in submission following publicity about the epidemic. We continue to struggle with citizens not having their pets vaccinated against rabies. Of the 82 dogs and cats that have been exposed to known rabid animals this year, only 25.6% have been current on their vaccinations. Of interest also are the two rabid bats found in Monroe Co. This is the first time we have documented a rabid animal there in more than 21 years. We recently had a rabid cat submitted from Pike Co. that became quite aggressive and viciously attacked the owner. Naturally this is an outside cat that had never been vaccinated against rabies.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer veterinarian for the Arkansas Taskforce 1 or would like information about Rabies cases please contact State Public Health Veterinarian, Susan Weinstein, DVM, MPH, (501) 280-4136 or Susan.Weinstein@Arkansas.gov

Sincerely,

Damian Stroderd, DVM

December 2011

I hope everyone is well and looking forward to a festive and happy holiday season! Hopefully, I will deliver this message in person to many of you.  I am almost finished with my deployment and plan to depart the area next week.

The holidays are the time of the year that we reflect upon the previous year and plan the next.  2011 was a busy year!  It seems like an eternity since I have been home.  I departed Arkansas in June and hope to be home to ring in the year with Jon and Chris. Deployments are often more difficult on the family members that are left at home.  The spouses, children, parents and colleagues left behind adjust their lives without the service member and keep doing what they would normally do like work, school, activities, church, and home.  I think the worry and fear is the worse emotion to be left to deal with.   I know my dear, sweet husband graciously accepted all the additional responsibilities left for him, like the clinic bills, household stuff, cat litter boxes, swimming pool patrol and stand in “mom” duties!  My son graciously accepted the daily school shuffle and the many nights of not being home to sleep in his own bed.  Grandparents gracefully stepped into “parent mode” to care for Chris.  The clinic continued on with Dr Woody and staff.  Needless to say, life continued back in Arkansas without me.  I am eternally grateful for your support and understanding during this deployment.  But my mission here is complete and time for me to come home.

I have had the honor to work with a stellar Agribusiness Development Team with the Nebraska Army National Guard.  Their leadership and security element has kept us safe.  I feel that I positively contributed to the team and to the people of Afghanistan.  Many of my projects provided improved veterinary care to numerous districts and thousands of livestock.  We provided invaluable training for many Afghan veterinarians and para-vets and improved their technical skills and ability to enhance their professional status and livelihoods.  We aided the Afghan Veterinary Assoc with a rabies vaccine and awareness campaign along with seasonal livestock vaccination clinics.   I have spent countless hours mentoring and training members of the Afghan government and worked with a Women’s Advocacy Group to improve the safety of women and to improve their access to schools and college. Just to name a few.   It is a very humbling experience to hear from an Afghan how much they appreciate what the “Americans do for us”.  Regardless of how much we try to put the Afghan face on our projects and efforts, that “US Army” nametag and flag is hard to ignore.  What will become of Afghanistan and my friends after I leave and the US forces depart the theater is still unknown…..all we can do is hope and pray they will stay safe and prosper.  I will miss my Afghan friends and Ag Team. My mission is complete here and it is time for me to come home.

I look forward to 2012.  I look forward to transforming back into my American roles of mom and wife and Dr Kate.  I look forward to spending time with the family and friends.  I cherish my clients and patients and can’t wait to get back to work at the clinic.

I have never been more proud to be an American…..we are the chosen ones and have so much to be thankful for.  Even with a tough economy and economic downfall, we are the most influential people around the globe….be proud of who we are, what we represent, and what we believe in.  Never forget that blood was shed to keep our country free, freedom is never free!  God bless you all and hope to see you soon.

Peace be with you,

Kate Williams, DVM
St. Francis Animal Hospital