General Membership Meeting

Sept. 28, 2013

SWVS

San Antonio, TX

• Call to Order• Introduction of Officers• Membership Report• Treasurer’s Report• Board Election• Considered Bylaw Changes• Licensure Update• Open floor for questions• Close Meeting

Meeting Agenda

Executive Board• President – David Sessum, RVT

• President-Elect – Lori Vanvalkenburg, RVT

• Vice President – Cindy Dittmar, RVT

• Treasurer – Melanie Hollis, RVT

• Secretary – Marisa Rhyne, RVT VTS (ECC & SAIM)

• Associate Representative – Sandy Nunn

• Newsletter Editor – vacant

Reports• Membership Report Current Membership - 747 members *doesn’t include new members from this

convention

• Treasurer’s Report Current Balance – Approx. $2600

Board Election• Positions to be elected:

– President Elect– Vice President– Secretary– Treasurer– Associate RepresentativeDuties and terms can be found in the bylaws which are

posted on the first page of our website

Board Elections

• Taking nomination through Oct: 15th, 2013

• Voting will end on Nov. 30th, 2013

• New officers will be notified by Dec. 15th and will take over duties in conjunction with TVMA’s annual conference in 2014

Considered Bylaw Changes• Change in terms for President, President-Elect and Board Advisor

– currently each office has a 2 year term– Change to 1 year term

• Succession should President leave office early– Currently the Vice President steps into the office of president if

vacated early– Change to President-Elect filling early-vacated office of

president

Considered Bylaw ChangesAssociation Name Change• New Name is needed to reflect the goals of the

association• Along with the name change, we will need a new

logo

Considered Bylaw ChangesA 2/3 vote of the attending members at a general

membership is required to change by-laws • Suggested changes will be posted on the

association website and in the next newsletter• The vote will be taken at the TVMA annual

conference in 2014

LVTTBVME takes over the credentialing of

veterinary technicians in 2014• Application for licensure will be available on their

website by Dec. 15, 2013• The deadline for current RVTs to apply for

licensure under grand-father clause is Aug. 31, 2014

LVTTBVME is still working on the rules that will

govern LVT’s as concerns CE and general day-to-day governance

• David Sessum, RVT and Cindy Dittmar, RVT are on the advisory committee along with 4 veterinarians to ensure that rules meet the needs of LVTs and veterinarians

LVTTBVME is still working on the rules that will

govern LVT’s as concerns CE and general day-to-day governance

• New rules must go through a review within TBVME, a public comments period and then back to the TBVME Board before they are finalized

• The earliest they could be finalized is April 2014

LVTWhat does it mean:• Regulation by a government agency• Those not licensed in this state cannot present

themselves as LVTs • The law recognizes 3 groups and supervision

requirements depend on those groups

LVTLiability• The veterinarian is still liable for the actions of LVTs

• Liability insurance is not required to be carried by LVTs

• If an LVT instructs/allows and assistant to perform duties not allowed under law, the LVT is responsible

CVA’sThe legal recognition of CVA’s only extends to

those who are certified through TVMA

• TVMA and the colleges in Texas that offer veterinary assistant certification are working to see if they can get TVMA recognition of students from those colleges

LVTContinuing Education• 10 hours of CE yearly is required

• Current rules suggested:

6 hours must be face to face

only 2 hours may be office management

maximum of 4 hours online and 4 hours via correspondence

Discussion

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