The 52nd Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), held December 2-6 in San Antonio, TX, set a new attendance record for the association’s flagship event, as 6,842 veterinary professionals, guests and exhibitors participated. The previous attendance record of 6,284 was set at the 2004 Annual Convention in Denver, CO.
"We were overwhelmed with the positive response to this year's convention. A fantastic and extremely practical program, coupled with a very popular convention city, set the stage to make this meeting our most successful ever,” said David L. Foley, AAEP Executive Director. “Our heartfelt thanks to all those involved for continuing to make the AAEP convention the best place for equine continuing education in the world."
Highlights from the convention include:
Installation of new officers and board members—The 2007 Executive Committee and new members of the board of directors took office on December 5. The members of the Executive Committee are Doug Corey, DVM, of Adams, OR, as president; Eleanor M. Green, DVM, of Gainesville, FL, as president-elect; Tom Brokken, DVM, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, as immediate past president; and R. Reynolds Cowles, Jr., DVM, of Free Union, VA, as treasurer.
New members of the board of directors are Jim Morehead, DVM, District IV; Dan Wilson, DVM, District V; Julie Wilson, DVM, District VI; Rustin Moore, DVM, Director at Large; and David Whitaker, PhD, Equine Industry Board Member.
Award winners—Several awards were presented during the President’s Luncheon on December 5. Honorees were Claude A. Ragle, DVM; Larry R. Bramlage, DVM, MS; and John E. Madigan, DVM, who received the Distinguished Service awards. J. Clyde Johnson, VMD, and Charles D. Vail, DVM, were named Distinguished Life Members; and Thomas J. Divers, DVM, received the Distinguished Educator Award.
Frank J. Milne State-of-the-Art Lecture—Distinguished colic researcher Nat A. White II, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, presented this year’s lecture, “Equine Colic: A Real Pain in the Gut.”
Healthy Horses Workshop—The seventh annual day of seminars for horse owners attracted 303 attendees. Selected presentations from "Healthy Horses" will be available on the AAEP’s horse health website at www.myHorseMatters.com.
Auctions raise funds for AAEP Foundation—The annual live and silent auctions held during the Foundation Celebration raised over $165,000 to benefit programs that help the horse.
The AAEP 53rd Annual Convention will be held in Orlando, FL, December 1–5, 2007. For more information, call the AAEP office at (859) 233-0147 or visit www.aaep.org.
~~~