Thankful Thursday: Showing Your Support

September 23, 2021

September comes with a lot of transitions. We love seeing all the support from the VetCor family as we navigate into a new season.  

Read on to be inspired by September’s shout outs from the VetCor family:

Chad Harris, DVM from Vet Leader Team, wants to recognize Brian Kimla - SVP for Acquisitions: "BK is always such a great person to catch up with.  I've known him my entire career with VetCor and have really enjoyed watching the company grow with him.  I always enjoy the conversations!"

Keri Garland from Animal Hospital of Gordon County, Calhoun, GA, wants to recognize Kacee Cochran-Vet Assistant: "Kacee started working with us the week before we went curbside because of Covid-19.  The past year she has learned so much and is always eager to learn more. She is always on time, helps when needed, and very compassionate about her job.  She has been a wonderful addition to our team.  I hope she continues to grow with us for many years to come."

Nicole Goelz from Goosepond Animal Hospital, Monroe, NY, wants to recognize Emily Davies, Assistant Manager: "Emily has been with Goosepond Animal Hospital a long time. She has always been such a versatile employee who could go from Assistant to CSR in a second. She has also helped me as an Administrative Assistant for years. Emily had taken over the task of ordering our prescription diets a few years back and has recently taken on the challenge of being our Inventory Manager. She has been amazing in this role, really dedicated to revamping our system and making Avimark work for us! I am so proud of her for that accomplishment and grateful for the ways it will help us control our spending. Most recently, Emily has stepped up to help me co-manage the practice which has allowed me the time to explore other areas of our business. I'm truly thankful for all she does for me and for our practice!"

Tamara Sloan from Cat Care of Rochester Hills, Rochester Hills, MI, wants to recognize Tina Fye, Regional Manager: "I've been without an HM since early June, and Tina has had my back the whole time!  She's taken over much of the "little stuff" that keeps the doors open and the lights on.  Tina has also kept me sane as I juggle multiple roles- she's the best!"

Christine Ward from Norwell Veterinary Hospital, Norwell, MA, wants to recognize the entire CCS Team: "The professionalism, dedication, and commitment each member of this team gives on a daily basis, to our clients, and to each other, is beyond exemplary. They do it with such patience and class, and are surely the best around! Kudos to Norwell Vets CCS team, working with you has been an honor "

Erin Leder from Columbus Central Veterinary Hospital, Columbus, New Jersey, wants to recognize LaToya (Heaven) Williams: "Heaven radiates positivity, no matter the day or situation. She sends everyone good vibes and is a very strong team player, always bringing great thoughts and ideas to the table."

Sue-Anne Gentry from the OPS team wants to recognize Samantha Graber: "Sam has been with us a short time, but oh my she has shown how much she cares for her staff, her Dr's and her leadership teammates.  She is always smiling, even when she is not feeling too "fine", and she is willing to work with suggestions from all of our Regional HM's, as well as me.  VetCor is very thankful to have you join our team Sam, and I am very grateful for your poise and grace when presented with a problem.  I am looking forward to a long and happy association with you and A Country Vet!"

Sue-Anne would also like to recognize Bailey Perryman: "I feel like there is someone hiding behind a camera somewhere ready to shout "Gotcha" with the caliber of the HM's I have added to my team lately.  Bailey is another one that smiles (sometimes that nervous, OMG! laugh we all do, but mostly just smiling) all the time.  She is willing and ready to ask people that have been doing this a little longer than her for advice and then sifting through that to find an answer that works well for her team.  She obviously cares deeply for her team and for their success.  Again, I look forward to working with her for a long time and seeing her grow and enjoying that new understanding of her role.  You deserve every bit of this shout-out Bailey, Thank you!"

As well as her Regional HM's, along with some GA HM's: "This team is amazing!  They work together to figure out problems, they work together to celebrate successes, and we try to work together on our calls to have some fun.  They are a diverse bunch and that helps us all to be able to have a voice at different times, along with value at all times.  This has been a hard year for them (not just Covid), and they have helped me BEYOND MEASURE during this year, and I wanted to have everyone see just how much they each mean to me and each other.  I only ever get to hear them brag on one another, and I can't ask for more than that!  I am blessed and beyond lucky to have worked with some (GA), and to continue to work with others."

Finally, she wants to recognize Cindi Boatright: "Cindi is happy to help wherever she can in VetCor and does an amazing job with the inventory at this clinic.  When we put out the new Controlled Substance sheets a couple of weeks ago, she was quick to get in touch and let me know of a mistake on one of them.  She is kind and professional when she does this, and that is becoming a rare commodity.  Thank you, Cindi, for reaching out, and thank you for looking out for all of us.  You are greatly appreciated."

Lindsay Fidder from Bellwood Animal Hospital, Rockford, Illinois, wants to recognize EVERY SINGLE PERSON at Bellwood Animal Hospital: "Kudos to everyone at BAH for keeping their heads held high and supporting each other over the past year and a half.  We have survived mentally and physically through the current pandemic and have gone through many changes and additions to the team.  We truly appreciate everyone for staying positive and helping each other out.  We couldn't have kept afloat if it wasn't for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU."

Amy Klotz, RVT from Douds Veterinary Hospital, Oberlin, Ohio, wants to recognize Destiny Silva - CSR: "Destiny has been a breath of fresh air since joining our team in the last few months! Always willing to jump in and learn the next task and tackle anything that heads her way with a smile on her face!"

Amy Klotz RVT from Douds Veterinary Hospital, Oberlin, OH, wants to recognize Dr. Michelle Balas, Dr. Melissa Marmaduke, and Dr. Emily Nicely: "We recently had a Covid situation that resulted in all of our tech staff and the majority of all of our other staff being out for 10 days. The doctors helped one another with appointments and kept things afloat- great teamwork!"

Dava Hunt from Cozy Cat Veterinary Hospital, Raleigh, North Carolina, wants to recognize Tracy Knight: "Tracy Knight has been our part-time Saturday receptionist with Cozy Cat for 18 years.  She loves greeting clients and seeing the cats when they come in.  During the last 5 months, she has been going thru some health issues and has had to take a step back from Cozy Cat.  We miss her and want to wish her all our support and love and hopefully will be back with us soon.  She is a bright spot to our Saturdays."

Jodi Smoley from Primary Pet Care, Stow, Ohio, wants to recognize Mikayla, Audrey, and Ashley: "For staying positive and going along for the crazy ride August has been! We can't wait for you to be a part of big things!!!"

Joyce Boston from Countryside Pet Hospital, Conover, NC, wants to recognize Zoie Henry, Veterinary Assistant, and Veterinary Technician Student: "Zoie has taken it upon herself to create a nice keepsake for our clients who have had to euthanize a beloved pet. She takes a hair clipping, bottles it, adds a paw print charm, the pet's name, and also puts it in a small gift bag. She does this all at her own expense. She is such a caring person, and our clients are certainly blessed by her thoughtfulness and creativity."

Marilyn Lear from Beach Park Animal Hospital, Beach Park, Illinois, wants to recognize Dr. Makofski and Dr. Abraham: "They both go above and beyond. They are amazing with the staff, pets and clients. I have never seen any vet care for their patients like both of them do. I would love to personally clone both Dr's."

Marilyn Lear from Beach Park Animal Hospital, Beach Park, Illinois, wants to recognize Rachel Domka: "Rachel took it upon herself to come back early from maternity leave to help in kennel. She is amazing and I couldn't be more thankful for her to do that. THANK YOU RACHEL."

Marilyn Lear from Beach Park Animal Hospital, Beach Park, Illinois, wants to recognize Samantha Markowicz: "Sam is getting married very very soon and still comes to work and completes her surgery tasks. Great surgery tech and couldn't appreciate her more."

Marilyn Lear from Beach Park Animal Hospital, Beach Park, Illinois, wants to recognize Mariana Luna: "Mary comes to work every day ready and willing to help where needed. She is able to hold down the front desk by herself and gets everything done. Mary is a huge asset to our team."

Kaleigh Weaver from South Bend Animal Clinic, South Bend, IN, wants to recognize Laura Tomkiewicz: "We want to thank Laura for all of her hard work and dedication she has to our clients and our practice. She always makes the afternoons fun with jokes and laughter."

Nicole King from Brackett Street Veterinary Clinic, Portland, Maine, wants to recognize Rachel Poth, Regional Manager: "I like to think of her as "Resource Rachel", if we need help with ANYTHING, she either knows the answer or can get us pointed to the right direction. She puts up with just about a million questions every week, and makes our jobs infinitely more manageable. Plus, she always brings a smile (under the mask of course!). Thank you for all you do and all you are RP!"

Terina Dobson from Poland Animal Hospital, Poland, ME, wants to recognize Reilly Hussey, Veterinary Assistant: "I would love to send a huge shout out to our new(ish) Veterinary Assistant, Reilly! Reilly joined us a few months ago. She did not have prior experience working in a veterinary hospital, but she really stood out among the candidates that applied for our open position. I loved her enthusiasm and wanted to give her a chance. She is currently taking the Veterinary Assistant course through Penn Foster (thank you, VetCor for the CE allowance!) while working full time.  She is quick to learn and takes direction well. She is always available to step up and cover where needed, whether it's coming in on her day off or staying late to help clean up at the end of the day. She has been such a wonderful addition to our team and gets along with everyone. We are so grateful to have her!"

Kathleen Koprowicz from Highland Veterinary Hospital, Highland, MI, wants to recognize Tina Fye: "She has gone above and beyond helping all of us here at Highland. We would not be able to get through the weeks without her."

Liz Hall from OPS Team, Midwest, IL, wants to recognize Karen Laurinas, Senior RM, and Sean Sornsin, VP of Operations: "I want to thank them for amazing leadership and always leading by example."

Meg Connelly from Willard Veterinary Clinic, Quincy, Massachusetts, wants to recognize the following co-workers (I have a lot of people that are doing a lot, Covid has us stretched super thin):

"Cindy Bishop - Well organized, stepping up and showing real leadership skills mature beyond her years.

Cassidy Roberts - Always cheerful, loves to work as a team, collaborates Very special Unicorn.

Pam Daly - Incredibly hard worker, self-sacrificing, infectious laughter, doesn't always look it but is well organized.

Lynn Bartlett - Unsung hero, keep surgery and all our equipment, running smoothly, self-motivated, lifetime learner.

Ashley Catizone - Quietly competent, hard worker, thoughtful and always smiling under her mask.

Angela Tipton - Don't know where we would be without her.  Good teacher, Best Customer service, needs no supervision, delightful.

Lynn Hawes - Well organized. Empathetic and competent, hard worker doesn't like the lime light Passionate about dog training.

Dawn Wilburn - Super Power: Knowledge of every aspect of a veterinary hospital, empathetic with clients and can really explain the situations to them. Makes all our jobs run better.

Sheila Doucette - Fast and accurate, organized, every job done right the first time. Makes things look easy even when they are not.

Megan Kervick - Compassionate, hard worker and great customer service and very pleasant speaking voice, growing better every day.

Hannah Hodges - Quietly learning more day by day, gently holding pets well and excellent customer service, real pet lover.

Dr. Martine Gravelle - Unsung hero, well organized and fast, empathetic and passionate reliable so I don't want her to take for granted, as she quietly does a great job.

Dr. Emily Peterson - Graduate for one year and running with the big dogs. compassionate and empathetic of her colleagues, lifelong learner passionate dog lover.

Dr. Jamie McVicker - One of our most valued employees. Amazing clinician. competent and thorough. Leaves no stone unturned while being fun-loving, warm, and compassionate."

F. Alexa Warburton from Countryside Veterinary Hospital, Chelmsford, MA, wants to recognize Aimee Powers, Hospital Manager: "Aimee Powers is an approachable, straightforward, unbiased leader at Countryside Veterinary Hospital. She only wants the best for the hospital and puts her heart and soul into creating an efficient, compassionate, patient-centric hospital. In times of need she has been found cleaning kennel cages, picking up calls to help the client relations staff and drawing blood as a technician.  She is a rockstar and deserves to know how loved and appreciated she is as our hospital leader. Thank you, Aimee!"

Harley Robinson, DVM, COS from Laughery Valley Veterinary Hospital, Dillsboro, IN, wants to recognize Tammy Campbell, RVT, HM: "I'm thankful to have Tammy as our hospital manager. She is on top of every hospital issue and leads our daily staff huddles to keep us informed about Vetcor info, scheduling matters, COVID strategies, etc. Tammy does this and much more with a smile and sense of humor. She never fails to brighten my day!"

Kyra Ressler from Lawrence Animal Hospital, Princeton, New Jersey, wants to recognize the IT Department! Dawn, Terry, and everyone!: "The IT department has just been amazing, we had a really rough week and I felt like I was putting in multiple tickets on a daily basis. I just wanted to do a shout-out and big thank you for all you do!"

Barbara McCullough from Russell Veterinary Hospital, Russell, PA, wants to recognize the entire team: "I am retiring at the end of September after 44 years (31 years at my present location) and I just want the entire team to know how much I have appreciated everything they have done over the years. Whether it was staying late to help a co-worker, spending some extra time with a grieving pet owner, or providing some extra TLC to our patients, you all are committed to your jobs 110%. These past 1 1/2 years have been a real struggle, but you still come to work with smiles on your faces ready to face another crazy day. A lot has changed over the years, but a very caring and dedicated team has never changed. It has always been the backbone of our practice. It is time for me to move on, and I am so very thankful I have worked with such a great group of people over the years."

Beth Knutson from Bellwood Animal Hospital, Rockford, Illinois, wants to recognize Caitlin Yeoman, CVT: "Caitlin comes to work with a smile every day.  She is quiet, but a joy to have a conversation with.  She never complains and is always willing to help her coworkers.  Along with all of her amazing feats and skills, she has continued to manage our social media pages and our lobby's marketing tools.  We would be lost without her, as she is so important to our team."

Brie Richardson from North East Animal Hospital, North East, PA, wants to recognize Dr. Sue Burkhart, COS @ Animal Medical Center of Ontario in OH, Jennifer Weitzel, RM and their entire medical team: "I recently acquired a super sweet French Bulldog puppy at a software conversion at one of our sister clinics in NY. Poor little girl came to me with an open hard and soft palate with a few other concerns. Knowing she would need surgery, Jennifer, Dr Sue and their team welcomed us with open arms to help repair her palates. Last week I made the 6-hour drive round trip to drop her off to them and hopefully can have her home by this weekend. Between the care they've provided, the daily updates and text message pictures I know she is in wonderful hands. It's certainly an odd experience to be on the "other end of the phone" or the client side but they have been so wonderful to her and help to put my mind at ease. A HUGE THANK YOU to all at the Animal Medical Center of Ontario. <3 <3"

Alannah Labesky from Twinbrook Veterinary Hospital, Erie, PA, wants to recognize Jennifer Weitzel, Regional Manager: "Having me join for another fun Avimark Conversion in Ohio! It’s been a pleasure learning and growing from you and meeting another one of your fantastic practices."

Kara Peck from Northern Michigan Veterinary Hospital, Williamsburg, MI, wants to recognize Terry: "I would like to recognize Terry, "Dr. of IT" for literally bringing our internet router back from the dead.  Our hospital was without phone lines for a day and internet for 2 days after a neighboring business that is under construction destroyed the cable box that feeds our telephone and internet.  Spectrum Business made the appropriate repairs, but our internet router was not responding to the signal, and we were told there is NOTHING they could do about it.  The "Dr. of IT", Terry, came to our rescue but it was not going to be an easy diagnosis or repair.  While on facetime Terry directed me to perform various diagnostic tests to see where the issue coming from.  When Terry instructed me to access the scary "black box" on our computer system (the DOS) I knew we were in it for the long haul and that it would be a miracle if we would actually get things working again.  Terry NEVER gave up even though our router was in a "Code Red", and at one point she was being attacked by her hungry cat that needed to be fed before she could proceed with the final stages of the router revival.  I am so thankful to Terry that she was about to help us, even from halfway across the country. Terry is truly a miracle worker and we are so lucky to have her part of our team!"