Happenings...
MVMA QUARTERLY - WINTER 2020
MVMA PEOPLE & EVENTS
In the Midst of the Winter Chill, Find a Little Warmth...
MVMA Plans for a 2021 Virtual Annual Convention Even though the leadership and staff of MVMA had worked hard to offer members an in-person MVMA Convention in 2021, circumstances have dictated otherwise. Health ramifications of our members were top of mind, but beyond that, the government mandated quarantine requirements could severely impact attendees financially who might have been exposed to the virus at our convention and would not be able to return to their clinic. The MVMA leadership did not want attendees’ allegiance to MVMA to result in these kinds of potential outcomes. But fear not, we are taking that lemon and Making Lemonade! All the great CE, as well as the live events you’ve come to expect from an MVMA annual convention, will be available online for a greatly reduced price that reflects cost-recovery for MVMA. And new this year: in addition to the low individual registration price, a full practice registration will be offered that includes access to all aspects of the convention for all DVMs, RVTs and Practice Staff in the practice for one price. The CE will be available on-demand, so it can be viewed, and CE earned, at any time of the day, not only over the course of the convention dates, but for months afterward. We anticipate there will be at least 50 hours of continuing education offered; more than we could ever fit in an in-person program. This will be almost all fresh, new CE, available on a new state-of-art platform that is user friendly and impressively presented. 2021 Convention CE will not be available on MVMA’s traditional education portal. Highlighting the CE is our featured speaker. MVMA welcomes Sarah Wooten, DVM. Dr. Wooten is a noted client communications expert, and has spoken nationally on client communications, leadership, personal development, and of course, pets and the people who love them. Her presentation style engages viewers, whether they are pet lovers, industry leaders, practice owners, veterinarians, or veterinary technicians. We also anticipate possible live Q&A forums with various presenters where, after attendees have had a chance to view certain presentations on demand at their convenience, they can pose questions and have interactive discussions among the speakers and fellow attendees. Other live virtual events will include the traditional Foundation Reception with drawing and silent auction. Follow the excitement online with your favorite beverage in the comfort of your home as the drawing unravels and you find out if you are possibly a $100, $150, $200, $1,000, or $10,000 winner! To be in the raffle, purchase your $10,000 drawing ticket on the registration form, or contact the MVMA office. The live virtual Membership Meeting will include installation of the 2021 MVMA Board, MVMA business and state of the profession presentations. We are excited to bring the traditional Annual Awards ceremony live, complete with surprises and all! 4
All committee and other meetings will be held virtually in the evenings or other convenient times on a pre-determined schedule. The Early Career Task Force will be hosting a virtual forum for recent graduates to network and share experiences with each other. Dr. Sarah Wooten will join in as the guest speaker and facilitator. You can also join the Dean and other MU-CVM representatives for a live virtual update on the college. All live virtual events will be recorded, so attendees can view them afterward in the on-demand format at their leisure. As usual, the continuing education will be presented in multiple tracks covering companion animal, food animal, equine, soft skills, special interest, and practice management. And of course, those popular MiniTopics, will be part of the mix. Best of all, in an on-demand environment, attendees are not forced to make choices between different presentations at the same time. All of the convention presentations are accessible to all attendees, anytime. You can see the list of continuing education programs in the convention registration booklet. Again this year, the registration booklet is inside this winter issue of the Missouri Veterinary Quarterly Magazine. Online convention information and online registration can be found at www. movmaconvention.com We are planning plenty of fun interactions with our Partners for Progress: Addison Biological Laboratory, Boehringer Ingerlheim, Hill’s, MWI Animal Health, ProPartners Wealth/AVMA LIFE, Simmons Veterinary Practice Sales & Appraisals, Stopp&VanHoy CPAs for Vets, Zoetis Animal Health, NXGEN Payment Services and TheSocialDVM. Stay tuned for the ways to win door prizes and a Mizzou Yeti cooler! The MVMA hopes you join us in this year of doing what we can, with what we have. Rest assured; future conventions will return to the in-person format. These are the challenging times when we do what we must, we all partake of the experience together, and we look back with our colleagues in the years to come and say, remember the 2021 convention? Remember what we did? Remember how we did, indeed, take a lemon of a situation, and we Made Lemonade!
