OVMA Presents 2007 Awards of Excellence
At ceremonies held during the recent Oregon Veterinary Conference in Corvallis, the OVMA honored four individuals for their service to the veterinary profession:
- Veterinarian of the Year: Dr. Jon Betts
- Practice/Office Manager of the Year: Lee Barg
- Technician of the Year: Gillian Cook CVT
- President's Award: Dr. Rich Holdren
Veterinarian of the Year: Dr. Jon Betts, Woodburn Veterinary Clinic, Woodburn
The Veterinarian of the Year Award is presented to a veterinarian who has made significant contributions to the profession and care of animals through service to local, state and/or national veterinarian associations. He or she garners the respect of his or her colleagues, and represents veterinary medicine in a positive fashion through civic endeavors.
For the past 27 years, Dr. Jon Betts has been a partner with Dr. Paul Jones at Woodburn Veterinary Clinic. A 1978 graduate of the veterinary program at the University of California at Davis, he is held in high regard among his peers as both a practitioner with good diagnostic ability and as an individual who has a keen sense of right and wrong.
Dr. Betts is president and chief executive officer of the practice, where he treats both large and small animals, and is in the process of leading an expansion of the practice. He is also president of All Creatures Investment Company.
Dr. Betts has been an active member of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association. During his tenure with the OVMA, he has participated on the Membership Services Committee, the Public Affairs Committee, and the Legislative Action Committee, among others. Additionally, he has been a member and long-time supporter of his constituent organization, the Marion-Polk Veterinary Association.
In 1998, Dr. Betts was appointed to a position on the Oregon Veterinary Medical Examining Board by then Gov. John Kitzhaber. Currently, he is concluding this service to the state and the veterinary profession, which has included a term as chairman of the board. In his capacity with the Veterinary Board, Dr. Betts also serves as a member of the National Board of Veterinary Examiners.
Dr. Betts and his wife, Debbie, have three children: Michael, who is a veterinarian in California; Katie, a Registered Nurse at Meridian Park Hospital in Oregon; and David, who is in college. He is deeply committed to his family and his profession, and is equally devoted to his community.
He has been an integral citizen in Woodburn, with representation on city council-appointed committees and through his participation on sundry committees at the local high school. For example, his dedication and energy were the driving force behind a new sports stadium at Woodburn High School. Dr. Betts has also represented his practice throughout the Woodburn community, ensuring that the clinic makes financial donations to various endeavors, supports community youth activities, high school clubs, and projects conducted by 4-H and Future Farmers of America.
Practice Manager of the Year: Lee Barg, Parkway Animal Hospital, Roseburg
Lee Barg, practice manager of Parkway Animal Hospital in Roseburg, received the Practice Manager of the Year award.
Barg has served in her capacity as practice manager for the past 11 years, where she provides direction and management for a team of 4 veterinarians and anywhere from 8 to 12 other employees in this growing American Animal Hospital Association-certified mixed animal practice.
Like many of her colleagues in practice management in Roseburg and around Oregon, Barg is enthusiastic and tirelessly dedicated to the practice and welfare of animals. This entails seeing that the protocols and efficiencies of the hospital are met and that the staff clearly understands their roles and responsibilities in providing both client and patient service and care. She goes out of her way to serve the client by doing things such as opening the practice on a late Sunday afternoon to release a hospitalized animal to a client or to get medications for a client’s sick animal. She also looks after the practice’s staff, making sure they have their fill of donuts while covering Saturday hours, baking pies for staff meetings, and picking up ice cream bars for the entire staff on hot summer afternoons.
In Roseburg, five veterinary practices share small animal on-call duties after hours and on weekends. This requires close coordination among the managers of these practices, and Lee has taken it upon herself to be the primary coordinator. Her efforts, both with the on-call duties and her role at Parkway Animal Hospital have not gone unnoticed by a local colleague. Rasha Van Beek, the practice manager for Companion Animal Clinic in town, co-nominated Lee for this award, praising Lee’s broad capabilities. “As a fellow manager,” Rasha says, “I have admired her efforts as a manager and respect her pleasant and non-competitive attitude.”
Outside of her position with Parkway Animal Hospital, Lee’s love and compassion for animals and the welfare of animals is evident. She is a longstanding and dedicated board member for the Umpqua Valley Humane Society, where she helps to coordinate the shelter’s spay-neuter programs, solicit for community donations, and organize various benefits—all for the care of animals.
Technician of the Year: Gillian Cook CVT, Reid Veterinary Hospital, Albany
Gillian Cook, technician at Reid Veterinary Hospital in Albany, was presented with the Technician of the Year award.
Cook’s roots in the veterinary profession go back to the 1960s and her upbringing in English countryside, where as a teenager she worked in a small mixed animal practice. When she came to the United States, she found work as a technician in Southern California, and then spent time with a dental specialty practice.
In Oregon, Cook worked as a technician for Ark Animal Hospital in Philomath for a number of years, before accepting a similar position as technician for Reid Veterinary Hospital in 1999. Within the practice she has been instrumental in developing patient care protocols for an animal’s stay during treatment, as well as post-operative care. An advocate of pain management, she also has implemented many of the hospital’s pain prevention protocols.
Each of the veterinarians who nominated Cook for this award say that her technical skills are exceptional, the best among any technician they have worked with. They are equally impressed with her ability to communicate warmly and effectively with clients as well as train and teach the other veterinary assistants and technicians at the practice. Here’s what her colleagues at Reid Veterinary Hospital have to say about Cook:
Dr. Andrea van de Wetering says, “Gill has trained many young veterinary assistants and technicians. Her gentle, patient teaching style has been an inspiration for many young people to better themselves in the field of veterinary nursing care. Gill’s compassion for every animal she comes in contact with is unsurpassed and appreciated by her dedicated client following.”
Dr. Diane Heider says, “Everyone in our practice holds Gill in high regards. I personally have much respect for Gill, and what she contributes to my approach to veterinary medicine…Gill has been an amazing resource for me.”
Erika Cartwright, a veterinary student at OSU and a former technician with Reid Veterinary Hospital: “Gill is a vital member of the veterinary community and should be recognized for her strength and commended for her continuing growth as a technician. She has positively shaped how I view myself as an upcoming veterinarian and has exemplified how important technicians are to any successful practice.”
President's Award: Dr. Rich Holdren
Outgoing OVMA president Dr. Linda Blythe selected Interim Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, Dr. Rich Holdren, to receive the President's Award. She thanked him for his support of the veterinary profession, the CVM, and the students during his tenure as Interim Dean. She presented Dr. Holdren, who is not a veterinarian, with a stethoscope in honor of his work on behalf of veterinary medicine.
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