The Social Media Workshop Express

I’m sitting with Brenda Tassava, CVPM and author of Social Media for the Veterinary Professional, having coffee, reflecting on three whirl wind days of education in Social Media.

For those of you that did not attend, this workshop was an intensive learning session. Our speakers, Brenda, Phillip Barnes and Brie Messier, both of North Star VETS gave all students a thorough immersion into the world of Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Blogging.

The BAVMA group listening to Brenda Tassava's Key Note Speech

Aliza Dubois, Phillip Barnes, Brie Messier and Dr. Jen Tsung

Dr Sally Haddock of St. Mark's Veterinary listens in

Each session was part of a partnership with a State’s practice management association.  In New York we coupled with the Big Apple Veterinary Managers Association a group that boast some 60 interested members, though it is still under one year old.  We met at Pace University’s modern Small Business Development Center, next to the quickly rising Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan.  In New Jersey, we were at Northstar VETS, a truly remarkable veterinary facility and winner of the 2012 Veterinary Economic Best Referral/Emergency Practice Award.  Here we collaborated with the New Jersey Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, a group  I started some 4 years ago and which has grown robustly since.  Some 160 practice managers in the State of New Jersey are now associated with this dynamic organization and attend its quarterly state-wide meetings.

Lee Coudrai of Winslow Animal Hospital, Dan McCann of Marne and Lisa Brezecki all the way from Pa and Newtown Veterinary!

Jerry Rouvrais of Middletown Veterinary and Candi Pisano of  Seagirt

Lastly, we dropped by the Ron and Carlos Hodges’ practice, Valley Central Veterinary Referral in Whitehall, Pa.  Anyone who has not had the pleasure of meeting these two gifted and caring veterinarians needs to make a pilgrimage soon.  They both embody sincere, loving care of animals and a great, happy regard for all of their clients.  They, along with their tireless Administrator, Allyson Tolliver, are a paradigm of what all of us strive to be in this profession.

The good folks of Bloomsburg and Whitehaven Veterinary enjoy coffee before the start of the lecture

Charlene Wandzilak and Christine Britton of the PVMA take notes and listen in

The discussion Brenda and I share is about the education we provided, about the success of each round table, about the prospects of doing another class… but mostly it is about the joy we had in learning this material with all of the attendees…the fun they had…the laughs…the total satisfaction of working with each other to figure something out, making friends along the way and turning a day of work, into an extremely fun (albeit exhausting!) productive day of education.

Charlene Wandzilak, executive director of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, was on hand to discuss the new non-dvm membership category of their prestigious organization.  During the lunch break, all of us hung out with Charlene and talked about her ‘sky’s the limit’ vision for the PVMA…no longer just an association of doctors, but of all veterinary team members… doctors, technicians, client care reps, assistants, kennel attendees and groomers… eager to lift the entire profession to higher and higher levels.  Here’s to all of you who pushed us a little closer to Charlene’s vision.  Here’s hoping that you and Halow Consulting can make many more of these great opportunities happen soon.  Thank you NYC, NJ and PA for a great three days!  You’re Tweet…(sorry)