INTRODUCTION
The NAVC is the major business enterprise of the Eastern States Veterinary Association (ESVA), a not for profit 501C3 corporation registered in the State of Florida in 1982. The ESVA was a vision of two University of Florida extension veterinarians, Dr. Tom Lane and the late Dr. Gene Cope, who had been to the Western States Veterinary Conference that year and dreamed of organizing an analogous meeting in the east. They co-opted a number of University of Florida faculty into the planning process, and th
eir dream became a reality when the first Eastern States Veterinary Conference was held at the Buena Vista Palace hotel in Orlando, Florida in January 1984. The Conference moved to the new Marriott Orlando World Center in 1986 and in 1992 changed its name to the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC). The NAVC has seen increased growth each year with a continually increasing international attendance. The Association expanded into other areas in 2001 when it held the inaugural North American Veterinary Post Graduate Institute. A journal “NAVC Clinicians Brief” began publication in November 2002. The conference expanded to the new Gaylord Palms Resort hotel for its 2003 meeting which allowed a tripling of our exhibit hall space. The laboratory portion of our program moved to the Caribe Royale that same year, allowing us to concentrate our programs into three closely linked hotels. The association purchased Dr. Bob Pensinger’s West Coast based “Veterinary Postgraduate Institute (VPI)” in November 2003. In 2005 we changed the name from VPI to NAVC Regional Institute. In 2004 we became an affiliate member of The World Small Animal Association (WSAVA). In April, 2005 we joined with The Spanish Small Animal Veterinary Association (AVEPA) to develop the “Southern Europe Veterinary Congress” to expand our visibility in Europe. The SEVC will be held in Barcelona every October beginning in 2007. At this same time we also lent our support to the newly created “Latin American Veterinary Conference” that will be held in Lima, Peru each October, begining in 2005.
The Association is based in Gainesville, Florida and moved into a new custom built office building in February 2003. The Association has 18 full-time and 3-part time staff as well as a large number of seasonal employees who help run the Conference.
The association is run by a volunteer board of directors headed by a president elected from among the board. The current president is Dr. Philippe Moreau; other officers include President Elect Dr. Don Harris, First Vice President Dr. Jorge Guerrero and Secretary Treasurer Dr. Earl Rippie. Appointed officers include the Executive Director, Dr. Colin Burrows, Conference Coordinator, Dr. David Senior, Director of Education, Dr. Rick DeBowes and NAVC Regional Director, Dr. Ralph Barrett. The staff report to the Executive Director, Dr. Colin Burrows and through him to the Board of Directors.
The conference is held in two co-host hotels in Orlando, the Marriott World Center and the Gaylord Palms Resort. These two hotels are about one mile apart in Kissimmee adjacent to the Disney complex. The more than 50 hands on laboratories each year are held at the nearby Caribe Royale Resort. The NAVC also has seven more overflow hotels in a range of prices.
WHAT ARE OUR KEY ACTIVITIES?
NAVC CONFERENCE
An annual international conference of veterinary professionals called the NAVC Conference is organized by the Association and is held every January in Orlando, Florida. The conference has the reputation of being one of the best conferences for veterinary professionals in the world. As such, In January 2006 it attracted 5,529 veterinarians, 1,651 technicians, 669 receptionists and practice managers, 740 students and more than 2,457 guests, 124 non-DVMs, 129 Press and PR professionals and 3,230 exhibitors from more than 60 countries. The quality of the conference has spread to all other NAVC related activities and the NAVC brand has thus developed a strong reputation for the excellence of its educational products.
NAVC INSTITUTE
Conceived by the Long Range Planning Committee in 1999, the Institute focuses on the provision of advanced in-depth focused continuing education courses and related educational opportunities. Week long courses are held each May or June in Orlando, FL.
NAVC REGIONAL
The NAVC purchased VPI from Dr. Bob Pensinger in 2003. The VPI is run by Dr. Ralph Barrett and consists of a series of single discipline interactive weekend short courses held around the country. It is now called The NAVC Regional and now also offers programs for veterinary technicians.
NAVC INSIDER
NAVC INSIDER is the official preconference news magazine of the NAVC. It is published once yearly in November or December. This contains conference news and notes, background information on the conference, the people behind the scenes and all promotional material.
NAVC CLINICIAN’S BRIEF
Clinician’s Brief is the official journal of the association. It is published monthly by Educational Concepts and contains NAVC Editorial, short practical articles and abstracts with commentary from the veterinary and human scientific literature.
SOUTHERN EUROPEAN VETERINARY CONGRESS
The NAVC joined with The Spanish Small Animal Veterinary Association (AVEPA) to develop the “Southern Europe Veterinary Congress” to expand our visibility in Europe.
LATIN AMERICAN VETERINARY CONFERENCE
In April 2005, we lent our support to the newly created Latin American Veterinary Conference that will be held in Lima, Peru each October, beginning in 2005.