Welcome

The GAVMS welcomes you to its web site.  We are in the process of merging the GVMA.  The following letter explains the merger.

As a member of the Greater Atlanta Veterinary Medical Society (GAVMS), you have come to value and expect the type of quality, unbiased, inexpensive continuing education the GAVMS provides for Atlanta veterinarians. The enhancement of veterinary medicine through first-class education has been, and continues to be the mission of the GAVMS.

However, a number of factors have made this an increasingly difficult goal. These issues include:

Dwindling membership – the GAVMS has gone from more than 300 members to 85 members in the past five years.

Increasing costs – a number of economic factors have raised the costs of producing meetings.

Fewer sponsorships – faced with decreasing profits, many veterinary industry groups have had to cut the amount they spend on marketing – money the GAVMS relies on to help subsidize meetings.

Lack of volunteers – the GAVMS has always been a volunteer driven organization, but the demands of those volunteers has become overwhelming as fewer people have the time to devote.

The GAVMS leadership has looked long and hard at ways to continue it mission despite its challenges. In this process, it came to our attention that a majority of GAVMS members are also members of the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association (GVMA). With this knowledge, GAVMS leaders approached the GVMA on ways the two groups can collaborate. The results of these negotiations include:

Free CE – the GAVMS schedule of no cost CE for Atlanta area veterinarians will continue in 2010 with the support of the GVMA’s full time staff of professionals.

Dog Jog – the GVMA will assist with the annual fundraiser, and the additional resources the GVMA offers should make this great event more successful than ever.

Improved resources – the GAVMS will remain a constituent organization of the GVMA, with the goal of enhancing collegiality among Atlanta area veterinarians.

Cost savings – for the large majority of GAVMS members who were also members of the GVMA, you will no longer have to pay fees to both groups to receive all the benefits. For those few who were not GVMA members before, I’m sure you will find that the resources offered by the GVMA more than pay for the cost of membership, while enhancing your ability to practice quality veterinary medicine.

The GVMA has been advocating exclusively for Georgia veterinarians since 1906, and its membership has never been larger. Despite the challenges seen by the GAVMS, the opportunities for professional advancement for Atlanta area veterinarians have never been greater.

We will be sending out information on the February meeting very soon. 

If you are having trouble with this site and need assistance, please contact Duffy Jones at djones@peachtreehillsvet.com