To members of the JVMS,
Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to serve as President of the Jacksonville Veterinary Medical Society. It is truly an honor to be a member of a diverse and accomplished community of veterinarians in the Jacksonville area.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Ann Silverness, Natalie Hashey, Cindy Miller, and all the committee members and chairs for their dedicated service this past year. I certainly learned a great amount from all involved and I am confident our current officers will continue with the same level of commitment. I also want to send a thank you out to Rick Sutliff and Russ Snyder for guiding me through the history and inner workings of the JVMS.
For those who were unable to attend the annual business meeting, it was a great success. There were a number of topics of discussion and the new officers were approved.
Grant McMillian will be serving as the President-elect, Laura Kelsey will be the secretary, and Heidi Chupp will be serving as treasurer. If there are any suggestions for the holiday party, please contact Nicole Hardie or Steve Hart as they will be serving as the holiday party committee chairs. The quarterly continuing education meetings have been a huge success and very well attended. Direct any suggestions for topics and/or speakers for the CE meetings to Mitch Crystal. He will be coordinating these meetings. All of the officers along with their phone numbers and email addresses can be found on the JVMS website. We are also updating the JVMS member list, so please contact Laura Kelsey or Cindy Miller if you have a change of contact information. Future meeting announcements and any other information will be sent via email so please provide us with an updated email address.
Dr. Silverness, Dr. Snyder, and Dr. Crystal have worked to put together a very nice history of the JVMS, which is posted on the website. The JVMS has a long history and has served as a model for other local veterinary organizations. We should be proud of this fact. We should also commend the veterinarians who have helped establish and maintain the integrity of our society. Active participation in the society will help us continue this legacy.
After having been involved with the JVMS over the past 3 years, I have observed a gradual reduction in the number of attendees at the business meetings. Your participation is vital in keeping the JVMS strong and relevant. I understand that it may be difficult to attend meetings due to family or work obligations, traffic, and cost of the dinner, but I strongly encourage you to stay involved. These meetings are designed to keep all of us informed of issues that may affect us as veterinarians. It is a good time to offer opinions and participate in discussions. Further, it helps us maintain a strong network and develop camaraderie among our colleagues. My goal for future business meetings is to stimulate a dialogue on a wide range of topics and current events. These topics can be political or medical and be at the local, state, or national level. Please contact me or one of the other officers if there is a specific topic you would like to discuss at the meetings.
I will be working with Dr. Kelsey to secure future meeting sites. We are investigating different venues that would be accommodating to all. Please contact me or Dr. Kelsey if you have any restaurants or other venues that you think may be a good meeting site. We usually try to find a restaurant with a separate or private banquet room. This is quite challenging so your help with this is much appreciated.
Finally, my proverbial door is always open so please contact me if you need to discuss anything regarding the JVMS or any other issues or problems that may be affecting you or your practice. If I don’t know, then I will do my best to find the answer or a resolution to the problem. I am easily contacted through email. You can also contact me at my office or cell phone. My contact information is listed below.
Thank you all again and I look forward to seeing you at future JVMS meetings.
Sincerely,
Jay Erne, DVM
President
Jacksonville Veterinary Medical Society
Office: (904) 646-1287
Cell: (904) 894-5749
Email: jayerne@hotmail.com
Dr. Jay Erne