For more info, contact:
Kim Ralston, MVMA Communications
573-636-8612
Email: kralston@movma.org
(February 4, 2026) – Over 600 veterinarians, veterinary technicians, practice staff and veterinary students attended the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association’s 134th Annual Convention on January 29-February 1, 2026 at the Wyndham Executive Center, Columbia, Mo. The convention offered over 60 continuing education lectures to participants.
Newly installed officers include:
Lynn Martin, DVM – President, Columbia, Mo.
Jason Nickell, DVM – President-Elect, Parkville, Mo.
Laura Moon, DVM – Vice President, Moberly, Mo.
Shelia Taylor, DVM – Secretary/Treasurer, Springfield, Mo.
David Wilson, DVM – Board Chair, Columbia, Mo.
Julie Braun, Jefferson City, Mo., serves as Executive Director
Awards included:
John Dodam, DVM, Columbia, Mo., was honored as the recipient of the coveted 2026 Veterinarian of the Year Award. Alison LaCarrubba, DVM, Wooldrige, Mo. and David Wilson, DVM, Columbia, Mo., presented the award to Dr. Dodam at the ceremony.
Dr. Dodam serves as professor and chair in the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. Dodam joined the faculty in 1995 and has received numerous teaching honors awarded by the college and has excelled in both clinical and didactic teaching. He has also thrived as a mentor of research trainees, clinical house officers and has mentored many faculty members through the promotion and tenure process over his time at Mizzou.
Previously serving the college as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Dodam made his mark by making continual improvements to the college’s curriculum and teaching methods. He currently balances teaching and service functions of the Veterinary Health Center, where he is simultaneously an on-duty clinician, administrator, lecturer, collaborative researcher. In addition to these roles, Dodam is the faculty advisor for the Mule Club.
The Missouri Veterinary Medical Association’s Veterinarian of the Year award is the premiere recognition bestowed by the association. The award winner is determined annually by the MVMA Board members, who represent over 1,700 veterinary members of the MVMA in Missouri. The recipient of this highest honor is chosen based on their impeccable reputation as a skilled and knowledgeable veterinarian, their dedication and service to their patients and clients, their service as an integral participant in their community, the engagement and leadership in organized veterinary medicine, their mentorship to our future veterinarians, the admiration and respect held for them among their peers, and the positive impact they have had on the lives they have touched.
The MVMA’s annual President’s Award is given to individuals who were instrumental to the President’s efforts to advance the veterinary profession for the betterment of animal health in the state.
David Wilson, DVM, Columbia, Mo., MVMA past president, presented this year’s award to, Kevin Keegan, DVM, Columbia, Mo. He is a professor of Equine Surgery at the University of Missouri (MU) College of Veterinary Medicine and a board-certified surgeon specializing in equine lameness. He is renowned for developing the Equinosis Q (Lameness Locator) system to objectively measure horse movement, aiding in the diagnosis of complex lameness issues
Abby Whiting, DVM, St. Louis, Mo., received the Richard D. Antweiler Servant Leadership Award. Dr. Ron Cott, Leawood, Ks. presented the award. The award is presented to someone within the MVMA who exudes servant leadership qualities. Servant leadership is defined as a leadership, philosophy built on the belief that the most effective leaders strive to serve others.
Dr. Whiting graduated from the University of Missouri CVM in 2011. She initially started her career in private general practice at Kirkwood Animal Hospital and later found a love of emergency and joined the team at Veterinary Specialty Services. Dr. Whiting serves as a full time ER DVM as well as medical director for the VSS West location and the “Chief of Heart, People, and Culture” for the VSS management team. Her special interests include the care of working dogs, the development of highly functioning veterinary teams, and the role the “soft skills” play in both personal and business success in veterinary medicine.
Erin Brockhaus, DVM, Greenwood, Mo., received the MVMA’s Ortu Stella Award. The award for early career leadership was presented to Dr. Brockhaus by Dr. Erica Nowlin, Blue Springs, Mo.
Dr. Brockhaus grew up a few miles away on her parents cow-calf operation in Warrensburg, Missouri. Her passion for Agriculture and food-animal medicine made her peruse her veterinarian career through the University of Missouri-Columbia. After graduating she headed south to begin her veterinary career and enjoy some Texas charm. However, she missed the Missouri weather and returned home with her newly adopted Texan, Mack. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and beating her husband at golf.
The Ortu Stella recipient must in some way shine brightly, aid comrades in navigating the veterinary profession, assist in illuminating the path for those around them, and/or demonstrate that they habitually strive to rise to the occasion.
The MVMA 2025 Legislative Leadership Award was presented to Chuck Barry, DVM, Warrensburg, Mo. The award is in recognition for legislative leadership consistent with the MVMA mission; the protection of animal health and welfare; the relief of animal suffering; the conservation of animal resources; and the advancement of public health.
Dr. Barry graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.S. in Agriculture in 1984 and his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1987. Aiming toward becoming a veterinarian since fifth grade, he has always had a gentle love for people and animals. In 1997, after a decade in private practice, he and his wife opened Lifetime Animal Center and began his mission of “caring for all God’s creatures.”
Lizzie Benke, Ashland, Mo., received the Distinguished Service Award from the Missouri Veterinary Medical Foundation (MVMF). Dr. Scott Fray, Boonville, Mo. presented the award to Mrs. Benke.
Lizzie Benke graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2020 with a degree in Hospitality Management, emphasizing event planning. She began her career at a winery near St. Louis, where she served as Manager and Event Coordinator, before returning closer to home in 2022. She then joined the MVMA part-time as a Digital Communications and Program Coordinator and was promoted to Program and Event Manager in 2024. In her personal time, Lizzie enjoys spending time with her husband, Luke, her son, Oliver, and their three cats – Yiruma, Gibby, and Bryan. She also enjoys live music, good food and drinks, and being with loved ones.
Tim Evans, DVM, Columbia, Mo., received the MVMA Academy Distinguished Service Award. The award was presented to Dr. Evans by Dr. Tim Snider, Columbia, Mo.
Dr. Evans is an Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology and the Diagnostic Toxicology/Analytical Chemistry Section Head at the MU Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. He received his DVM from the University of California, Davis in 1982 and an MS in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery in 1996 and a PhD in Veterinary Pathobiology in 2002, both from MU. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists (animal reproduction specialists) and the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology.
MVMA Academy Distinguished Service Award recipients are individuals who have rendered meritorious service to promoting and advancing continuing education in the veterinary profession.
2026 MVMA Academy officers include:
Erica Nowlin, DVM – President, Blue Springs, Mo.
Christina Nelson, DVM – Vice President, Lone Jack, Mo.
2026 Missouri Veterinary Medical Foundation officers include:
Philip R. Brown, DVM – Co-Chair, Springfield, Mo.
Scott Fray, DVM – Co-Chair, Boonville, Mo.
Marcy Hammerle, Vice-chair, St. Charles, Mo
Bruce Addison – Secretary/Treasurer, Fayette, Mo.
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The Missouri Veterinary Medical Association is the society for veterinarians in the state, dedicated to maintaining the highest standards for professionalism and ethics in animal healthcare in Missouri. The association was founded to help the veterinarian better serve the health and welfare of animals and their owners.
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