Getting to Know the PAC Team: Dr. Tom Edwards
Greetings! As I look out of my office window this morning in Kearney, Nebraska, I see the colors of the leaves changing and the outside temperature is a cool 40°.It’s a sober reminder that it will soon be time to pull out the long sleeve shirts, coveralls, and muck boots. Fall is my favorite season of the year. I grew up in the small town of Ainsworth, Nebraska, where my father had a thriving 3-man veterinary practice. I was blessed to spend a lot of time riding with him on farm calls. Typically on a farm call, I was busy chasing chickens, playing in the water tanks, and jumping out of the haymow. According to my mother, I was a holy terror! I don’t remember it quite that way, but I’m not going to argue the fact. Another good fortune was that my dad also practiced out of a Super Cub airplane, which covered more territory over the Sandhills. Not only did we make several calls in a day, we might also drop in and shoot a few unsuspecting ducks on the way home. In high school, my love of flying “took off ” on a completely new direction. I started flying lessons during my junior year of high school and soloed after just 8 hours, which isn’t even legal or possible anymore. On my first flight with my instructor Sam, he decided to scare me a little bit, and he did a great job of it by executing a stall maneuver! Let’s just say, it made more laundry for mom to do! I really enjoyed flying,so much so that after graduating Manhattan High School, I entered a trade school in Kansas City, Missouri, to achieve my Airframe & Powerplant License, (also known as an airplane mechanic.) I spent 6 years in the airline industry and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then it happened,I was stricken with the BUG! Walking into the hangar one day, a beautiful flight attendant named Debbie happened to catch my eye,and she still does after 30 years. We live in Kearney, Nebraska and have 2 sons. Kyle is a mechanical engineer on landing gear systems on a new generation fighter jet with Textron Aviation in Wichita, KS.Our other son Derek and his wife Lindsay also live in Wichita and are seeking employment at the university level following their graduations and wedding. I have many hobbies including hunting and fishing, and I am a classic car enthusiast. My sons and I have spent many hours of bonding while working on my ‘69 GTO. My official DVM career started in 1995 when I walked across the graduation stage and was hooded by my father. That was truly a blessing. I also had three other great DVMs from Oakland, Nebraska that provided a wealth of knowledge in my early career: Dr. James Unwin, Dr. Stewart Hartwell, and Dr. Kelly Lechtenberg. These three individ-
uals played a major role in my education and provided me with a solid foundation within the beef industry. I cannot thank them enough for the role they played in my education and getting me involved with various bovine organizations. I have practiced as a consulting veterinarian for 21 years and have learned that there is always more to achieve in our lives. My interests in feedlot cattle are focused on lameness, as it pertains to foot rot, toe abscesses, injuries, and digital dermatitis. I also have an interest in the use of reproductive ultrasound to determine pregnancy, fetal staging, and fetal sexing, as well as soft tissue evaluations. Respiratory disease remains the obvious focus in most feedyards, and as an industry we need to continue to strive to improve our animal well-being. I’m looking forward to working with this over-achieving group and expanding my education further, to better serve our clients, our industry, and our livelihood. We have many challenges ahead of us that will require our expertise to keep the food chain healthy.
Starting top left, clockwise: Drs Tom and Al Edwards; Dr. Tom and Deb; Kyle, Al and Tom taking flight; Deb, Tom, Derek and Lindsay at Derek and Lindsay’s wedding.
