Gerard has been an active VHMA member since 1999. Gerard graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Christian Brothers University in Business Management and Marketing and has earned the Certified Manager designation. In 1985 he received a Wildlife Restoration Certificate of Education from Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks and assists that division with wildlife management projects.

Gerard had a 14 year career in the management consulting and training field before he had the “calling” to the veterinary profession. For the past thirteen years he has served as the Hospital Administrator and co-owner for Collierville Animal Clinic, P.C. The six-doctor small animal and exotic practice has been in operation since 1955 and he is involved in every aspect of the practice. He enjoys the day-to-day challenges the clinic produces and develops strategic plans for the future growth of the business.

Gerard has served the VHMA in various positions since becoming a member including: State Representative for Tennessee (2000-2002), Area Director in (2002-2003), Treasurer (2003-2005), Vice-President (2005-2009), and Interim-President (2009), President (2010). He is currently the Chairman of the Industry Liaison Committee. Gerard is also an active member of the Mentor Program and enjoys sharing information with other clinic managers. In 2009 he was voted “Hospital Manager of the Year” by the local Veterinary Medical Association.

Other organizations that he has active memberships include: AVMA, TVMA, MSCVMA, CPMA, AMA, local veterinary managers association, and the Collierville Chamber of Commerce.

Tom began working in the veterinary field in 1997 as the co-founder of Lincoln Village Animal Hospital, the first AAHA accredited hospital in Waterloo, ON. His diversified career path has enriched his ability to contribute to his veterinary practice. Tom graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours-Marine Biology) from the University of Guelph. After completing the Canadian Securities Course, he was hired by the investment arm of Toronto Dominion (TD) Bank where he worked as an Investment Representative and an Equity and Options Trader for five years. Concurrently, Tom studied human resources and small business management at Seneca College in Toronto preparing for the eventual opening of a brand new companion animal hospital with his wife, Tracy, who is a veterinarian.

Tom played a major role in formulating the design and service concept of their hospital. In 2002 he completed AAHA’s Veterinary Management Institute (Purdue University, Krannert Graduate School of Management) certificate program, he fulfills his role of Hospital Administrator by overseeing the needs of the hospital in the areas of financial and marketing management, human resources, and strategic planning. Tom is a member of the AAHA, the OVMA, and has been a VHMA member since 2001.

While serving on the VHMA Board the past five years, Tom has enjoyed facilitating the sharing of ideas with other managers. In 2006 he assisted in creating the Ontario Veterinary Managers Group (OVMG), serving the Southern Ontario region. He obtained the designation of Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) in 2007 and is the Chair of the VHMA Ethics Committee.

Tom’s home life is enhanced by his pets; a Siberian Husky, a black German Shepherd, two cats, a turtle, two iguanas, three birds, and Japanese koi.

Like many managers, Jim started his leadership career a long way from veterinary medicine. He served as a Warrant Officer and Aviator during Desert Storm where he flew OH-58 Scout helicopters in an armored cavalry squadron. Jim believes that being a good leader is about being a great team member first.  He also feels that the loyalty, dedication, and commitment that he learned in the military are the fundamental transferable skills that lead to success.

After completing his military service, he attended the University of Florida where he completed a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in three years. He then began working in the human healthcare field as a reimbursement analyst. After four months, he was offered a management position at a new Patient Account Service Center being opened in Jacksonville, FL. In this role, Jim had the opportunity to learn about all aspects of hospital business operations including: billing, collections, insurance contracting, reimbursement, and patient service. He decided to pursue his goal of a graduate degree while working for HCA and earned his Masters in Healthcare Administration through an executive program at the University of Florida.

After graduation, he and his family moved to Colorado where he was the liaison between the Patient Account Service Center in Denver and hospital administration of a Level 1 trauma center. Even though he loved living in Colorado, he began to feel stagnant with HCA and decided to make a change. This was the catalyst for his transition to veterinary medicine. He accepted a position as the Hospital Administrator at Community Pet Hospital, a five-DVM general practice.

Over the next four years, he helped grow and develop Community Pet Hospital into a ten-DVM, 24-hour, three location, general, and emergency hospital.

In addition to leading Community Pet Hospital, he is a part-time consultant and successfully completed the Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) process in 2008. A member of VHMA since 2004, Jim has served on the VHMA Board of Directors as a Director for the last year. Jim and his wife also realized their dream of practice ownership. They live in Thornton, CO, with their three children, Jacob, Ainsley, and Annalise and share their home with two dogs, Cammie and Finn. They enjoy camping, hiking, and spending time outdoors with their family.

Susan graduated from Portland Community College, became a Certified Veterinary Technician in 1981 and earned her Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) designation in 2004. She is currently the Practice Manager for a small animal clinic in Clermont, Florida. It is at the Clermont Animal Hospital that she decided to pursue the career of Practice Manager and she has been achieving that for the last eight years. She has also been an adjunct instructor in Office Procedures and Animal Nursing at Brevard Community College since 1998. She currently serves on the Veterinary Technician Career Development Committee for the Florida Veterinary Medical Association (FVMA). She has presented for the FVMA in both regional and local meetings on subjects of Office Procedures and Radiographic Technique, as well as, writes articles for the FVMA advocate on proper utilization of the paraprofessional in the veterinary hospital. Susan is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration  from the University of Florida’s Warrington School of Business online program and hopes to graduate in May of 2009.  Susan has been a member of the VHMA since 2000 and was first elected to the VHMA Board of Directors to serve as a Director in 2004.  Sue currently serves as the VHMA Membership Committee Chair.

Raised on a working horse ranch, Cassy began working in the veterinary field at the age of 15 as an assistant. From 1993 to 2000, she worked as an emergency and day-time veterinary technician.  Since 2000, she has served a four hospital group as the Practice Administrator in Tampa, Florida. Cassy graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from the University of South Florida in 1998.  Residing in Tampa, Florida, Cassy shares her home with her five cats and her dog. Her interests are client advocacy, team building, physical rehabilitation, communication, and compliance.  Cassy’s hobbies include reading, outdoor activities and teaching. Cassy has been a member of the VHMA since 2001. Cassy earned her Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) designation in 2005 and her Certified Canine Rehabilitation Assistant (CCRA) designation in 2008. Cassy co-chairs the Bay Area Managers Network Group in Tampa.

Brian Conrad has served as the Practice Manager for Meadow Hills Veterinary Center in Kennewick, WA since 1999. During his tenure at Meadow Hills, the clinic has received awards for the Hospital Design of the Year in 2001 from Veterinary Economics magazine and the 2004 Mid-Columbia Small Business of the Year. Brian lectures on a wide variety of topics challenging the veterinary industry using practice and “real-life” examples that keep the audiences engaged and enthused. Brian has been a frequent contributor to Firstline magazine and was recently featured in the follow up film to “Give ‘em the Pickle,” the #1 selling customer service training video by Bob Farrell. Brian has been a member of the VHMA since 2002 and earned his CVPM designation in 2003.

Jon received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in business from the California State University system before joining the veterinary profession in 1994. He served as Hospital Administrator for a three-doctor, AAHA accredited practice in Chico, California from 1994 until 2000 and was instrumental in developing an upscale feline boarding facility. In 2000 he joined Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic as its first full-time Hospital Administrator. Loomis Basin, located about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento, is an AAHA accredited, 24/7 practice with more than 20 doctors and about 110 support staff. They offer general, emergency, and specialty services including internal medicine, oncology, radiology, behavior, soft tissue and orthopedic surgery, and CT scan.  In 2001 Loomis Basin was named a Practice of Excellence by Pfizer Animal Health and the publisher of Veterinary Economics magazine.

A VHMA member since 2000, Jon earned the distinction of CVPM in 2005. He has written articles for the association newsletter and is currently serving on its Board of Directors.  His involvement includes chairing the Financial Audit Task Force  and  Innovation Committee and serving on the Program Committee.  In addition to his work with the VHMA, Jon collaborates with managers in his region through the Bay Area Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Managers Group and the Sacramento Valley Veterinary Practice Managers Group.  Whenever opportunity arises, Jon enjoys speaking on various topics including general management, financial performance indicators, and compensation/benefits.  This passion, which continues with him to this day, was given wings when Jon was on the faculty at the CSU, Chico College of Business from 1992-2000 where he taught communications, marketing, management, and strategic management courses.

In 1997 Jon began working on a part-time ad hoc basis with Jim Remillard, MPA, CPC, CVPM, a veterinary practice management consultant and president of Remillard Management Associates, Inc. While Jon’s availability is limited, he does enjoy assisting Mr. Remillard with practice valuations and other projects as often as opportunity and time permit.  Jon and his wife, Becky, have one daughter, Emily. Their home includes a spoiled border collie and two mischievous cats.

Debbie Hill, CVPM entered the veterinary field as a receptionist at a small animal clinic in Denver in 1989. Good people skills and a desire to solve problems made up for a total lack of experience.

Debbie was fortunate over the next few years to attend a wide variety of management courses through the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), including Veterinary Management Development School and the Veterinary Management Institute at Purdue. Attending AAHA, NAVC, and VHMA management conferences annually kept the idea of becoming a certified veterinary practice manager in front of her. After sending for the application, she took a course at the local college to get her feet wet. Marketing 101 proved to be a turning point in her decision to pursue certification. “Taking courses that are relevant to your everyday work made it much more interesting.”

In 2005, she sat for the CVPM examination and passed.  Debbie’s advice to others considering certification is “you will be surprised at what you can do and the amount of encouragement that is out there in this field and especially in this association.” Debbie is a frequent speaker with the VHMA, an adjunct instructor for Webster Management University, and a full-time hospital administrator for three small animal practices in Florida. She is a mixed media artist (anything with paper and ink) and Bible class teacher who enjoys time with her husband of 36 year, their three daughters, two son in-laws, two schnauzers, two grandchildren, and Maggie, the grand dachshund. It’s a juggling act most days, but a great life.

Mathieu has been involved in veterinary practice management since 2001 when he was hired to manage a 15-doctor companion animal practice as the Hospital Administrator, right after completing his graduate studies. Three years later, he founded his consulting business with the intention to help as many veterinary practices as possible achieve better results in all aspects of their business. He is currently involved on a day-to-day basis with eight different practices, as well as consulting with 30 veterinary practice owners. He has gained experience in various environments ranging from Referral and Emergency Hospitals with over 150 employees to Exotic animal clinics, as well as one-and-a-half doctor general practices.

Trained as a lawyer, his undergraduate studies complement his business training in improving the legal compliance of veterinary practices in Human Resources, ownership transitions, corporate structures, and contracts. His past experience in the field of computer business development has recently led him to collaborate closely with practice management software developers throughout Eastern Canada in order to disseminate management and operations best practices faster and more efficiently. 

Mathieu has been a VHMA member since 2003 and earned the CVPM designation in 2006.He balances his professional involvement with an intense family life, raising four children and helping taking care of the family's numerous pets (a dog, lizards, geckos, and fishes)
while scuba diving every chance he gets.

Stutly comes from an accounting and management background, working in large trust companies for eleven years before entering the veterinary profession. In 1993, Stutly started a project consulting company which continues today. As the president, he helps small businesses, primarily veterinary hospitals, completing various projects that they lack the time or experience to manage. In 1996, he co-founded Veterinary Alternatives Inc., which was formed to provide Canadian veterinarians with alternative products "that work" and that can be easily incorporated into the conventional practice. In 2003, Stutly formed BRITT Enterprises with his daughter. It provides "state of the art" technological electronic products to veterinarians. In 2004, he started another company called Moase Business Solutions which specifically deals with marketing and accounting of veterinary hospitals. SDI a web based company was started in 2006 to meet the demand for off site back up and other on line services. Stutly joined the VHMA in 1994, when he became the hospital manager of Guelph Animal Hospital, in Guelph, Ontario. In six years, he was able to relocate the hospital, open a "cats only" hospital called Guelph Cat Clinic, and create a customer marketing approach which has been reviewed in Canadian articles, training videos, and CD’s. As the Past President of OVHMG (Ontario Veterinary Hospital Managers Group), he helps create monthly round-table meetings to enable local hospital managers to discuss various issues and market changes. Stutly currently serves as the Hospital Administrator to two hospitals in Toronto, Ontario.  Stutly has served on the VHMA Board since 2001 as Vice President and President Elect prior to becoming President in 2007.

Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, Inc.
PO Box 2280 Alachua, FL 32616-2280
Phone: (877) 599-2707 | (518) 433-8911 | Fax: (888) 795-4520
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