Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians
Supporting Quality Veterinary CareAwards and Recognitions
Click here for 2011 Winners
Click here for 2010 Winners
- Do you know a CVT with EYE-CATCHING ENTHUSIASM? Or one who has MAGNIFICENT METHODS? How about someone who displays STELLAR PERFORMANCE? Then let's recognize this person!! If you know of a Certified Veterinary Technician who fits this criteria, the awards committee wishes to acknowledge this individual.
- This award is not based on technical skills but rather in the overall attitude that the person has while performing his/her job in a competent and professional manner. It's about loving what he/she does and showing it every day. It's about people skills and animal magnetism (literally).
- The applicant must be a CACVT member in good standing.
CACVT - - Veterinarian of the Year This award, given at the CACVT Spring Conference, goes to an outstanding veterinarian who recognizes and utilizes technicians. The criteria for nomination is based on (1) promotion of the technician field through proper utilization, (2) encouragement of technicians through CE / memberships and (3) acknowledgement of technicians' work through incentive/bonus programs.
If you know of an exceptional veterinarian, please send in your nomination. He/she should be a CVMA or DAVMS member. This will not be a limiting criteria, but will be highly valued.CACVT - - Volunteer of the Year - - NEWThe first award will be given at the CACVT Spring Conference April 9, 2011 in Denver.
The Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians (CACVT) wishes to acknowledge a CACVT member in good standing who has gone above and beyond in his/her volunteer work within the animal industry. This person has shown outstanding qualities as a volunteer, such as a high commitment level, extra time / effort towards the outcomes of the group, or exceptional abilities to work with humans and/or animals.
Eligible nominees are those who volunteer for a type of animal welfare group such as humane societies, animal shelters, veterinary associations, veterinary foundations, veterinary hospitals, animal facilities, or any other animal welfare-type program (does not include animal rights groups).
The individual(s) will be recognized at the annual CACVT Spring Conference each year.
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CVMA - - Technician of the Year This individual is chosen by CVMA. Nominations are sent to all CVMA members around July each year. The award is presented at the annual CVMA Convention during the CVMA general membership meeting.
CACVT - - Team of the Year - NEWTeamwork can be defined as the cooperative work done by a group of individuals, brought together for a common purpose or goal, where each person on the team puts aside his or her individual needs to work towards the larger group objective.
CACVT wishes to acknowledge a veterinary healthcare team which demonstrates exceptional teamwork.
Nominated teams must have at least one CACVT member in good standing and at least one current CVMA member. Eligible teams are those who work in the industry where the common purpose or goal is related to animal welfare. Examples include veterinary clinics / hospitals, boarding facilities, humane societies, animal shelters, veterinary associations or foundations, or other animal-related facilities.
If you know a veterinary team who exemplifies in teamwork, please send in an essay-style summary stating how this group embodies the quality of a team to the Awards Task Force, by e-mail, mail, or fax. Please, no longer than 1 page in length.
For the full presentation, click here for a PDF, including pictures.
2011 Awards presented by
CACVT at the Annual Spring Conference
April 9, 2011, Holiday Inn
Denver East, Stapleton, Denver, CO
Technician of the year
Nancy
Sheffield, Ed.M., CVT
Nancy has been a technician since 1979, and is currently an instructor at Colorado Mountain College (CMC). Her students enjoy her as a teacher as she really brings the joy of being a technician to them, yet provides the fundamentals required for them to become true professionals.
She joined CACVT's leadership in 2004 as the Ethics Committee Chair, a position she still holds today. She has attended State Board of Veterinary Medicine meetings, attends CACVT conferences and leadership programs, and has been one of the key individuals in the current licensure discussions.
Finally, she helped to solidify the CACVT student group membership for about 50 of the current CMC students and has been CACVT's main contact person for CMC. She actively promotes the association and the profession to her students and any others who will listen!
Nancy would be the last person to want an award recognizing her accomplishments as she is always giving credit to others. Thus, this is the exact reason why she is deserving of one, because of her pure and unselfishness giving to the profession.
Volunteer of the year
Susan Brauer, CVT and Peggy Bower, BS, CVT, LAT
For our first annual award, we actually have two people who are very equal in their volunteering that they tied in the votes!
Susan and Peggy are part of the strong foundation of CACVT. Their innumerable hours of volunteer work are a source of inspiration. Their enthusiasm and selfishness have been contagious to those who have the pleasure of volunteering with them. Both Susan and Peggy have advocated not only for CACVT but also for our profession since the early 1990s.
Veterinarian of the year
Lonny Haynes, BS, BA, DVM
The person who nominated Dr. Haynes noted that he was wonderful to work under as a Technician. I enjoyed doing surgery with Dr. Haynes and working with the patients and clients. I could always count on a fun, but productive day. Dr. Haynes is patient and knowledgeable.
Dr Haynes graduated from CSU veterinary program in 1987 and is licensed in both Colorado and New Mexico. In January 2001 he began his teaching career at Bel-Rea Institute. Dr. Haynes also trains students during their surgery rotation in Pre-Clinical, where they assist him with spay and neuter surgeries on local shelter animals up for adoption.
Dr. Haynes was one of the first people to purchase the CACVT logo pin. He was very proud of it and wears it often.
Holly with plaque
Technician of the Year award goes to Holly Cathleen Aubart.
Nominated by Dr. Jason Cordeiro, Veterinary Medical Director of the Feline Fix, a program of Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance, he had these words of praise.
After graduating Bel-Rea Institute in June of 2001, Holly began nearly a decade of work in the non-profit world of veterinary medicine, illustrating her devotion to animal welfare and caring for the animals that most need the help.
She worked at Denver Dumb Friends League (DDFL) for eight years and during her time there was responsible for planning, launching and operating the 'Meow Mobile,' DDFL's first and extremely successful mobile spay/neuter clinic which still operates to this day. At the same time, she became the lead technician for Divine Feline, another mobile spay/neuter clinic.
After leaving DDFL, she took her current position as Clinic Director at Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance, again focusing on feline spay/neuter but now with her efforts focused on the root of the problem: feral cat overpopulation. Once again, Holly single-handedly designed, implemented and continues to operate a second successful, high volume, low cost spay/neuter clinic, The Feline Fix. The Feline Fix has sterilized almost 3,000 cats since opening in July of 2009.
Holly is one of only a handful of technicians experienced and adept enough to run a high volume, high quality spay neuter clinic and certainly the only one capable of launching one (or two for that matter).
Holly is described as a hard-working, efficient technician, accomplishing the workload of three technicians. In addition, she volunteers for spay/neuter trips, twice to Mexico and once to Guam, all within the last 3 years. She also cares for over 10 feral cats and the steady stream of bottle babies and fosters she cares for and places in forever homes.
Holly manages to maintain an infectious enthusiasm for her work. Her love for her patients is evident in the way she handles and speaks to them and tailors her management of each as if it were her own. Dr. Cordeiro refers to her as a cat whisperer as she somehow manages to placate the most fractious cats as if she made a deal with the devil.
It is dedication such as this that makes Holly technician of the year.
Veterinarian of the Year award goes to Dr. Jed Rogers.
One of his long time technicians had these words of thanks for Dr. Rogers:
Dr. Rogers definitely recognizes the importance of the technician's role and offers technicians an environment to exercise their full potential. Continuing education classes are definitely encouraged and he has even provided free in-house CE on dentistry. Every year Firehouse pays for their technicians to addend a DAVMS lecture and CACVT dues are paid for full time employees.
Dr. Rogers is an amazing technician advocate. He treats all technicians with utmost respect and truly gets to know everyone. He is very personable and never hesitates to assure that the Firehouse technicians are educated to the fullest with any new information available. Firehouse is a great environment for technicians that strive to perform to their utmost potentials.
In addition to praise from his clinic, he has been dedicated to enhancing the profession through his diligence at CVMA. It has been a pleasure working with him through the associations and his understanding of the big picture of the veterinary profession truly makes him a wonderful candidate of this award.
CACVT - - Veterinary Advocate AwardStarted in September 2006 and retired September 2010, this award was presented annually during the CVMA general membership meeting at the CVMA Convention. The veterinarian was chosen by CACVT's leadership group and must be a CVMA member. Webster's definition of "advocate" is one who pleads the cause of another, or one who defends or maintains a cause This award was given to the veterinarian who demonstrates promotion of the technician profession.
2010 CACVT Veterinary Advocate Award Winner = Dr. Jon Aluise
Presented by Denise Mikita on September 25, 2010
Webster's definition of Advocate is one that pleads the cause of another, or one that defends or maintains a cause. Every year, CACVT's leadership selects a veterinarian who demonstrates, through his or her acts, promotion of the technician profession.
Our two associations are fortunate to be on the same team, working for the greater good of the veterinary profession. Although there are countless individuals within CVMA that support and encourage technicians, CACVT is excited to be able to recognize individuals that go above and beyond expectations.
This year's recipient was nominated by Michele Laughlin, CVT and current CACVT president-elect. She would have liked to have been here in person, except for a pesky knee surgery that she recently underwent.
Michele used to work at the Parker Center Animal Clinic where our recipient currently works. Michele comments that he truly respects the role of the CVT and he challenged us everyday to think and use our education.
He would ask us questions, ask us our opinions, and write questions on a white board for us to work through. He was always willing to answer our questions and talk to us about a case. He taught several in-house training sessions and would go above and beyond by providing us with numerous hand-outs, quizzes, etc.
Michele notes that she misses working with him tremendously as he would push the technicians to be the best they could be.
Now that Michele is CACVT's president-elect, perhaps someday soon she will be able to work with him again at the association level - hint, hint, wink, wink.
CACVT is proud to announce that this year's advocate award goes to Dr. Jon Aluise.
2009 Award Recipients
L to R Aimee, Becky, Jennifer, and Denise2009 Veterinary Advocate Award winner: Dr. Ted Cohn
Presented September 19, 2009
Presented by Denise Mikita and Aimee Potter
This year's recipient has shown amazing dedication to the profession at both the state and national level. He embraces what is good for one part of the team is good for the entire profession.
Multiple people express that any conversations with this individual have been very supportive and have been done with the utmost kindness and sincerity. He always asks how things are going in the technician world, and leaves the conversations with "let me know how I can help you."
As a national delegate, he understands the big picture relationship between AVMA and NAVTA and is willing to work for mutual benefiting relationships.
We all are very fortunate to have this person in our corner. The veterinary technician profession certainly has a wonderful ally in this year's advocate award winner, Dr. Ted Cohn.
I know Dr. Cohn will be disappointed that he couldn't accept the award at this time. Because of his dedication, he had to leave for another meeting as part of his AVMA duties. However, his wife Becky, and his daughter, Jen (here from LA) are present and we would like to present the award to them on his behalf.
Click here for Dr. Cohn's thank you letter to CACVT. He was very appreciative of the recognition!
Please click here for a PDF of the press release for the following awards:
CACVT Technician of the Year: Elizabeth "Liz" Peach, CVT
Liz is a Certified Veterinary Technician (CVT) at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley (www.boulderhumane.org). Liz's nominations included praise for her on-going service to under-served/developing countries helping animals, through her work with Animal Balance, a non-profit agency that organizes spay/neuter clinics in the Dominican Republic and Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. They also remarked about her exceptional skills, patience and clarity when speaking with concerned clients. She is an exceptional role model for the profession, and her dedication to making animals and people happier is evident.
CACVT Honorable Mention: Tina Bennett, CVT
Tina's co-workers at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital stated that not only is Tina a highly skilled technician, she is an advocate for the veterinary profession on every level - always raising the standard for patient care and client service. Tina believes strongly in the certification process as well as the advancement of technicians. She promotes veterinary technicians through teaching and mentoring and does so with a positive, encouraging attitude. She also provides compassionate, humane, and comprehensive care to our patients while providing superior service to our clients.
CACVT Veterinarian of the year: Dr. Don Ostwald, Jr
2008 Award Recipients 
Dr. Liz Whitney (R) with Aimee Potter (L)
CACVT Technician of the Year: Julie Burgess, CVT
CACVT Veterinarian of the year: Dr. Cristina Sharkey
CVMA Technician of the Year: Hilary Ward, CVT
CACVT Advocate Award: Liz Whitney, DVM
Click here for a PDF of all the award winners and their pictures.
2007 Award RecipientsCACVT Technician of the Year: Roxane Rocks, CVT
CACVT Veterinarian of the year: Robert Taylor, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, CCRP
Dr. Holt receives his award from Aimee Potter (left) and Rebecca Rose
CVMA Technician of the Year: Aimee Potter, CVT
CACVT Advocate Award: Tim Holt, DVM (see picture to the right)
2006 Award Recipients
CACVT Technician of the Year: Officer Samantha McPherren, CVT
CACVT Veterinarian of the year: Todd Towell, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM
CVMA Technician of the Year: Leslie Rockey, CVT 
Dr. Lavizzo
CACVT Advocate Award: Aubrey Lavizzo, DVM
Past Award Recipients CACVT Technicians of the Yea
Cheryl Spencer, CVT
Laura VanDyne, CVT
Gary Gentry, CVT
CACVT Veterinarian of the Year
Steve Benscheidt, DVM
CVMA Technicians of the Year
Sara Sharp, CVT, VTS (dentistry)
Susan Brauer, CVT
Kenneth Krump
Rebecca Rose, CVT
Marci Stille
Debra Wolfe