attend. Insurance companies are a very valuable part of the
equine industry and it is imperative that we, as vets, recognize
that. Having clients whose horses are insured allows us to
perform procedures that the client may not otherwise be able
to afford. It is in our best interests to promote insurance and
have a good working relationship with the companies. Thank
you to Angelo Nichas and everyone else involved in putting
this together.
Another outstanding speech, which was not part of the
scientific program, was Professor James Gilkerson’s after-
dinner speech at the Robin Rous dinner. He spoke about
the inevitability of change and embracing it, a topic more
pertinent than ever before. We felt that it would be worth
including a copy of his speech in this issue of EHU, especially
as he makes reference to a number of equine veterinarians
we all know so well. James who holds the post of Professor
of Veterinary Microbiology at the University of Melbourne
also received the Spirit of SAEVA award for his work on African
Horse Sickness and export protocols.
SAEVA asked the Australian Equine Veterinary Association
how we could be of help during their bush fires. A number of
CCS vets volunteered to fly to Australia to assist but we were
told that it would not be practical due to registration red tape.
They requested any financial aid, so we raised funds through
donations, a raffle and an auction ably run by Bennie van der
Merwe at the gala dinner. SAEVA alone raised R 47 500.
Next years congress is scheduled for the 18 – 21 February in
the Western Cape. Speakers will be confirmed in the next EHU.
The task of planning the congress is historically the job of the
chairman-elect. Camilla Weyers has been promoted to this
position and I am sure she will do a sterling job. Thank you,
Camilla, for accepting this position.
This year was the end of the two-year term for members on the
FEDCO and nominations were submitted for new members.
Some positions remained the same due to people being
prepared to stand for another term and no new nominations.
The following positions have new chairs: Albertus Coetzee
is now the chairman of the Sport Horse Committee, Bennie
van der Merwe chairs the Stud Health Committee after
Martin Schulman resigned, and Zarah Vermeulen chairs the
YMG. Johnny Cave remains the chairman of Communications
however it was decided that the Policies and Procedures
subcommittee should form part of the Communications
Committee. He will be assisted by Elza Hollenbach and Graham
Piketh.
The elected regional representatives are: Gauteng – Diane
Fisher, KZN – Sean Miller, Mpumalanga – Willem Engelbrecht,
Western Cape – Pia Randleff-Rasmussen, Eastern Cape – Ashley
Parker, Central Provinces – Gavin Rous.
The Board of Directors is composed of the Chairman, past-
Chairman, Chairman-elect, Treasurer, Secretary, two elected
committee chairs (Albertus Coetzee and Johnny Cave) and
two elected regional representatives (Diane Fisher and Sean
Miller), making up a total of nine members. Please find the full
Federal Council listed on the SAEVA website.
The minutes of the FEDCO meeting held at congress and
the minutes of the AGM can also be found on the members
section of the website.
I wish everyone who is part of the FEDCO team a productive and
pleasurable term, and I am honoured to have the opportunity
to work with you all in furthering the best interests of the
horse and the equine veterinary industry as a whole.
On a more somber note, we will dearly miss Dr. Joseph van
Heerden who passed away earlier this year. He was a credit
to our profession, highly intelligent, always enthusiastic,
principled, ethical and helpful, something we should all strive
toward.
I wish all our members a productive and prosperous 2020
under trying circumstances, and may we embrace change as
it comes our way.
We can only help if we remain healthy.
Kind regards
Angela
• Volume 22 Issue 01 | March 2020 •
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