Award Recipients Honored at 2012 AASV Annual Meeting

March 21, 2012 — 

The AASV honored five members for their contributions to the association and the swine industry. Dr. Kerry Keffaber, 2008 AASV president, presented the awards at the association’s annual meeting March 12 in Denver, Colo.

Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year Award

The Young Swine Veterinarian of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Deborah Murray. It is given annually to an AASV member five or less years post-graduation who has demonstrated the ideals of exemplary service and proficiency early in his or her career.

Dr. Murray is a 2006 graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and received the Swine Certificate at graduation. She grew up on a farm in southwest Minnesota with her parents, Robert and Nancy Smith, and two brothers, Dean and Doug.

Following graduation, she joined Marcus/Remsen Vet Clinics, a mixed animal veterinary practice in northwest Iowa. In 2007, she “landed her dream job” at New Fashion Pork headquartered in Jackson, MN. At NFP, she is an integral part of a production management team responsible for producing 1.2 million market hogs per year. Dr. Murray works side by side with the sow and grow-finish production managers to ensure that the company’s Standard Operating Procedures are properly implemented and executed.

She has also earned the respect of her veterinary colleagues and has spoken several times at the Leman Swine Conference, the AASV Annual meeting and, most recently, at the 2011 Iowa State University Swine Disease Conference. She has been an AASV member since 2002.

When asked to comment on receiving the award, Dr. Murray replied, “I am very honored and humbled to receive this award. There are many deserving young veterinarians that work very hard every day and contribute a great deal to the swine industry and I am very proud to be a part of this group, as well as a member of the AASV. I am also very blessed to have such a supportive family and to work for a great company.”

Dr. Murray resides in Jackson, MN with her husband Will and son Weston.

Technical Services/Allied Industry Veterinarian of the Year Award

Dr. Brad Gramm received the 2012 Technical Services/Allied Industry Veterinarian of the Year Award. Established in 2008, the award recognizes swine industry veterinarians who have demonstrated an unusual degree of proficiency and effectiveness in delivery of veterinary service to their companies and their clients as well as given tirelessly in service to the AASV and the swine industry.

Dr. Gramm was recognized posthumously for his years of service as the Senior Technical Services Veterinarian for Phibro Animal Health. In his position, Dr. Gramm’s responsibilities included providing technical support for Phibro products and the sales force in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Those that knew him and worked with him, however, related that his real strength was his ability to interact with customers and his incredible sense of humor with co-workers. He always had a positive attitude toward the swine industry. He was scheduled to present at the 2011 AASV Annual meeting in Phoenix but was unable to travel due to his illness. He worked diligently preparing Dr. Doug Weiss to give the presentation and was thrilled when it was arranged to have a speaker phone available so he could listen in and be a part of the presentation.

Dr. Gramm joined the technical team at Phibro in 2001. He held a similar position with Pfizer Animal Health from 1988 until 2000 with a break from 1993 until 1997 when he served as the Cattle Marketing Manager for Pfizer. Dr. Gramm received his DVM (1983) from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. He also completed the Executive Veterinary Program (EVP) in Swine Health Management at the University of Illinois CVM in 2000.

Accepting the award for her husband, LuAnn Gramm said, “Brad enjoyed his career as a DVM and the relationships he developed over the years. Although his life on earth ended too soon, Brad’s legacy lives on in the relationships he established and the tireless efforts he put forth to promote the swine industry. I am so grateful to the AASV for selecting Brad as the winner of this prestigious award. Our children can reflect proudly on the comments shared about their dad and know that his colleagues thought so highly of him. Brad was a great man who lived out his Christian faith in all that he did. “

Dr. Gramm and his wife LuAnn have three children, Ashlyn and Reid, living with their mom in Bloomington, IL, and Alec currently attending Illinois State University.

Howard Dunne Memorial Award

Dr. Tom Stein received the 2012 Howard Dunne Memorial Award that recognizes an AASV member who has made important contributions and provided outstanding service to the association and the swine industry.

Dr. Stein is regarded as one of the world's leading authorities on information systems, reporting and analysis for pork production. He has served as the CEO of MetaFarms since its inception in 2000. A native of Illinois, Dr. Stein received his undergraduate degree in Animal Science from Purdue University, and earned his DVM degree from the University of Illinois. He completed a Master's Degree in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota and went on to earn a PhD in Clinical Epidemiology and Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Stein’s PhD thesis project at the University of Minnesota focused on the design and development of the PigCHAMP record-keeping system. In 1990, Dr. Stein founded Knowledgeworks, Inc., a management consulting and software development firm. Knowledgeworks was acquired by MetaFarms in late 1999. Metafarms provides a suite of online software, known as i-Production, using the software-as-a-service model. Their software integrates production, financial, and marketing data into a seamless, manageable, and useable set of reporting and analysis tools. These services enable pork production companies to manage their businesses more profitably and participate in synchronized supply chains. MetaFarms is located in Burnsville, Minnesota and its software is used by pork producers around the world. Dr. Stein lives with his wife Deb in Bloomington, MN. They have 4 children residing in the Minneapolis area.

Meritorious Service Award

Dr. Morgan Morrow was named the 2012 recipient of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians’ Meritorious Service Award. The award recognizes individuals who have provided outstanding service to the AASV.

Dr. Morrow studied Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland, Australia. Following graduation, he joined the Commonwealth Government Department of Primary Industry. He subsequently went to work for PIC Australia which ultimately resulted in a move to Franklin, KY. He completed a masters and PhD at the University of Minnesota with Dr. Al Leman. He is currently a professor in the Department of Animal Science at North Carolina State University.

Dr. Morrow is very likely responsible for initiating, overseeing, and expanding more AASV membership benefits than any other single individual. AASV Webmaster Dave Brown noted that, “Morgan was very likely the first member to try to log-in to the members-only area of the very new AASV Web site in 1997. In addition, he served as one of the primary moderators for the SWINE-L discussion list that preceded the AASV-L members-only list (which he was also instrumental in establishing).”

“It is truly an honor to receive this award,” noted Dr. Morrow. “I have always enjoyed working in the communications area and am particularly pleased to see the way the podcast program has been embraced by the veterinary students. This competitive program enables students to interview speakers at our annual conference on the topic of their presentations. This program gives students an opportunity to develop a working relationship with the speaker and by researching the issues they better understand the topics. AASV members benefit by being able to listen to the interview as they drive from farm to farm.”

Dr. Morrow served as a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Swine Health and Production, beginning in 1993, the first year of the journal’s existence. His more than ten years of service on the Editorial Board include late 1993 through 1996, and 2004 through 2010. He served as chair of the Communications Committee from at least 1998 until 2010, and many of his contributions to the AASV are a result of his dedicated leadership of the committee.

From 1997 through 2002, Dr. Morrow facilitated a number of workshops on communications topics at the AASV Annual Meeting, designed to enhance members’ interpersonal communication and negotiation skills.

In 2000, Dr. Morrow oversaw a proposal to enhance and expand the AASV Web site. After receiving approval for this project from the Board of Directors, he worked closely with webmaster Dave Brown to implement several new Web-based benefits for AASV members including the weekly e-Letter.

Dr. Morrow and his wife Sjaan reside in Raleigh, NC and have three children Sophie, Tim and Emily.

Swine Practitioner of the Year

Dr. George Charbonneau was named 2012 Swine Practitioner of the Year by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. The award is given to the swine practitioner who has demonstrated an unusual degree of proficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of veterinary service to clients.

Dr. Charbonneau grew up in Arnprior, Ontario. He obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1981 and established a veterinary practice serving southwestern Ontario. His current practice, South West Ontario Veterinary Services, is located in Stratford, Ontario and is restricted to swine health and production management.

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 currently serves in the leadership of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians and as a District Representative on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.

Dr. Charbonneau has received numerous awards from the Canadian swine industry as well as the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, Outstanding Veterinarian Award in 2008.

“It is with great appreciation that I accept the AASV Swine Practitioner of the Year award,” Dr. Charbonneau commented. “I am very honored to be in the company of the practitioners that have received this award in the past. I have enjoyed the challenges offered by swine practice and the opportunities that it provides. Participation in the AASV has been a great benefit over the years and I very much appreciate the sense of “community” that is a great part of being an AASV member. I would like to thank the AASV for this recognition. I would also like to thank my wife and children for the support that they have given to me as I pursued a career in swine practice.”

Dr. Charbonneau and his wife, Ann Coyle, currently reside in Stratford, Ontario. They have a daughter, Amy, and son, Matt.