As president of a national association, you depend a great deal on a dedicated staff, along with the goodwill and support of the members. Consequently, during your term in office, two of your biggest concerns are losing the executive director and raising membership dues. At the end of 2001, the CVMA faced both challenges.
As most of you know by now, our past executive director, Mr. Claude Paul Boivin, resigned at the end of 2001. The good news is that, with the able assistance of an executive search group, Executive was fortunate to find a very qualified successor in Mr. Jost am Rhyn. Jost comes to the CVMA with a strong business background and national association experience. Executive and Council welcome Jost and hope that many of you will be able to meet him in the coming months.
At the last CVMA Council meeting in November 2001, a motion was passed to recommend an increase in membership dues at the upcoming annual general meeting in July 2002. The reason for the recommendation is clear. Recent Association initiatives including its 2 Web sites, its series on well-managed practices, its very successful public policy advocacy seminar, its “reaching out” to veterinary students at the 4 colleges, and its other on-going projects, have created a situation whereat, for the first time in 10 years, it finds itself with a deficit. Unless the Association's dues are raised, new non-dues sources of revenue are sought, and non-priority expenses are cut, its reserve fund, carefully built up over the last 10 years, is projected to run out in less than 2 years.
What can members expect from a strong CVMA? On the business management side, the CVMA will be launching a national benchmarking program, in concert with the provincial veterinary associations and the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues, offspring of the megaproject in the United States, to help members gain valuable insight into their financial health.
On the marketing front, the Association's Web site for the public (animalhealthcare.ca) will continue to be an excellent source of factual information that will allow it to highlight veterinarians' contributions to animal health.
The CVMA will maintain its long term commitment to the welfare, humane treatment, and care of animals. Basing its animal welfare positions on science, the CVMA, in cooperation with other like-minded groups, will continue to play an advocacy role in establishing policies for animal owners, farmers, and industries.
The CVMA will press on with its public policy advocacy initiatives and will explore new ways of bringing the profession's views to government decision makers and public opinion leaders.
If the CVMA is to remain a unifying force, promoting and defending the interests of its members, while at the same time enhancing the profession's societal relevance, it is incumbent on all members to maintain the Association's priority programs and continue to fund new projects that will improve members' lives, those of their loved ones, and the lives of those who depend on veterinarians for their well-being.
