COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 6, 2017 – Columbus veterinarian Dr. Linda Lord has been named the 2016 Veterinarian of the Year by the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA). The award, considered the Association’s highest honor, was presented by outgoing OVMA President Dr. Scott Pendleton during a special award ceremony at the annual Midwest Veterinary Conference.
A 1999 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine (OSU CVM), Dr. Lord is a professor and associate dean for professional programs at OSU CVM. Previously a small animal practitioner, she has conducted extensive research on animal overpopulation and is considered an authority on welfare and shelter issues. An active member of the veterinary community on a local, state and national level, Dr. Lord serves on the OVMA Board of Directors as the AVMA alternate delegate and past president, sits on the Board of Trustees for Capital Area Humane Society, and is a member of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians.
At the same ceremony, Dr. Tod Beckett of Dublin formally accepted the gavel of the OVMA president from his predecessor. He officially began his one-year term on March 1.
Dr. Beckett, a 1989 graduate of OSU CVM, has more than 25 years of experience in mixed, small animal, equine and emergency practice. He is currently the medical director at the VCA Mill Run and Sawmill Animal Hospitals in Columbus, where his primary focus is small animal orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. Prior to that, he co-founded a small animal and equine practice with his veterinarian father and was also the chief surgeon at a 24-hour critical care center. An active member of the veterinary community, Dr. Beckett has been an OVMA member since 1989 and is also an active member of The Ohio State University Advancement Board, the Columbus Academy of Veterinary Medicine, the Capital Area Humane Society Board of Directors, and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
An enthusiastic supporter of veterinary students, Dr. Beckett’s goal for his year as president is to increase support and scholarship funding to OSU CVM students. He will lead the OVMA’s 20-member Board of Directors, which guides the Association’s policies, resources and strategies.
Dr. Beckett lives in Dublin with his wife and three children. In his free time, he is an avid horseman with a special interest in breeding and raising Thoroughbreds.
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ABOUT THE OVMA
The Ohio Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) is a non-profit organization providing services to its members in the areas of continuing education, advocacy on public policy matters, and access to variety of professional resources. The OVMA represents more than 2,700 veterinarians practicing in various fields and specialties and 600 veterinary students. The OVMA’s principal purpose and mission is to foster life-long learning, stewardship, compassion and community in veterinary medicine.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Krysten Bennett, Communications Director
Ohio Veterinary Medical Association
kdb@ohiovma.org
