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Dr Ron Brodersen was installed as the President of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians at the association’s 46th Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. He succeeds Dr Michelle Sprague who is now immediate Past President. Dr George Charbonneau has ascended to President-Elect. The newly elected Vice President is Dr Alejandro “Alex” Ramirez.
AASV President Dr Ron Brodersen (ISU ’79) grew up on a livestock farm near Coleridge, Nebraska. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Iowa State University where he received a DVM degree, and also attended the University of Illinois EVP program. Dr Brodersen is the owner of Whole Hog Health Center at Hartington, Nebraska where he has been providing swine veterinary services since 1990. He was active on the Nebraska Pseudorabies Eradication Task Force in the 1990’s. Dr Brodersen has been active in the AASV serving on the Board of Directors, as well as the Pharmaceutical and Boar Stud committees. He has also served as Chairman of the AASV Foundation. The AASV recognized him as the Swine Practitioner of the Year in 2003.
When asked to comment on his thoughts about the future of AASV and his tenure as president, Dr Brodersen said, “I am anxiously looking forward to serving as president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. I plan to continue promoting our members as professional specialists of swine health and equal specialists of swine welfare. Also, our newly updated mission statement expands our role beyond educating veterinarians to include advocacy of swine industry issues. I expect this will be an interesting and exciting year!”
AASV President-Elect Dr George Charbonneau (ON ’81) grew up in Arnprior, Ontario. He obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Ontario Veterinary College and established a veterinary practice serving southwestern Ontario. George is currently a partner in South West Ontario Veterinary Services and is based in Stratford, Ontario. Dr Charbonneau has been very active in the Canadian swine industry. He has served as the President of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians, Ontario Association of Swine Veterinarians and the Ontario Pork Congress. He was involved in the formation of and served as the initial chairman of the Ontario Pork Industry Council. He also represented Canadian swine veterinarians as a District Representative on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. He was the 2012 recipient of the AASV Swine Practitioner of the Year award.
AASV Vice President Dr Alejandro “Alex” Ramirez (ISU ’93) grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. He obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Iowa State University (ISU) College of Veterinary Medicine and joined Valley Veterinary Center, a mixed animal practice, in Cherokee, IA. In 2004, Alex left practice and returned to ISU to pursue a teaching career. He earned a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Iowa and concluded a PhD at ISU in 2011.
Dr Ramirez joined AASV in 2002. He first served as a substitute judge for the student presentations at the AASV Annual Meeting. Shortly thereafter he was asked to co-chair the student oral competitions. He has also co-chaired the Collegiate Activities Committee for the past few years and has served on the Journal of Swine Health and Production Editorial Board since 2010. He has represented District 6 on the AASV Board of Directors since 2013. “It is an honor and a privilege to be able to serve our great association as Vice President. I am hopeful that I can continue providing the great leadership that has already been provided by all those officers whom I follow,” he noted following his election.
AASV Past President Dr Michelle Sprague (ISU ’05) grew up on a small farrow-to-finish and row crop farm in Glenwood, IA. Following graduation from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005, she joined the Audubon Manning Veterinary Clinic (AMVC) in Audubon, IA. She is currently a partner and director of sow health at AMVC. Her responsibilities include overseeing animal health, biosecurity, food safety and animal welfare on all the clinic’s managed sow farms.
March 11, 2015 - AASV
