Alumni Relations

Class Notes

This page was last updated May 17, 2010

Wayland F. "Buddy" Hogan (DVM '55) is retiring after 50 years as founder and owner of South Ocala (Fla.) Animal Clinic. Hogan is the founder of Project PUP (Pets Uplifting People), an organization of volunteers who share friendly pets with people in convalescent centers, hospitals and Hospice. His clinic has also become known for its sense of humor, wherein first-time clients receive a small collection of "Dog Haiku."

James Peeples (DVM '61) of Hickory, NC, has retired from mixed animal practice after 45 years as owner and operator of Viewmont Animal Clinic. His advice for future veterinary students: You must have a love for animals and compassion, a good work ethic, and make good grades. "It's hard to get into veterinary colleges."

Jimmy Gates (DVM '66) of Farmville, Va., placed fifth in his age bracket at the Richmond Marathon last fall, finishing with a time of 2:03:16—which is 9 min., 24 sec./mile!

Terry Noble (DVM '70) has published a book, "Starting at Sea Level" (Foggy River Books, 2007) about how his childhood experiences shaped his ambitions for a veterinary career and life. Noble is retired from 12 years of veterinary practice in Colorado and Maryland and from an animal vaccine research company he founded on 1985. He and his wife have lived on a ranch in Montana since he sold the company in 1997.

Tracy Land (DVM '87) of Dawson County, Ga., was selected as a finalist in Animal Planet's 2008 Hero of the Year. Land has dedicated her life to prevent cruelty, neglect, and needless deaths by fighting overpopulation through spaying and neutering pets. Since 1996 she has operated Project Spay/Neuter to provide low-cost sterilization for low-income families, performing more than 55,000 spays and neuters at or below cost.

Mark Lloyd (DVM '89) of Watkinsville, Ga., was appointed last year as Medical Director of the Emergency Services division of the Humane Society of the U.S. He also is a private consultant in wildlife, management and medicine, as well as in strategic planning for husbandry, health and institutional disaster planning.

Laura Smallwood, who completed her residency in internal medicine at UGA in 1989, has opened Saint Francis Animal Care Center of Decatur (Ga.), a clinic that serves patients with serious chronic or terminal illnesses. Dr. Jenifer Trimble Newton (DVM '92) is on staff at the clinic as a board-certified veterinary surgeon. Dr. Clarence Rawlings, UGA CVM professor emeritus, served as consultant on the new facility.

Laura Ann Yetzina (DVM '06) and James Daniel Holmes were married April 4, 2008, in Kona, Hawaii. A Hawaiian lei ceremony was performed prior to the wedding vows. Yetzina is a veterinarian at Royston (Ga.) Animal Hospital.

Dean A. Campbell (DVM '06) opened a veterinary clinic, Heart of Georgia Animal Care, in Milledgeville, Ga., in June 2008. The 1941 building was refurbished to include 4,000 square feet of hospital space, plus an addition on the back will provide 3,370 square feet for an ICU, cages and enclosed runs.

Banfield, The Pet Hospital®, the nation's largest private veterinary practice, hired ten graduates from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Banfield employs more than 1,000 veterinarians nationwide. Among the UGA graduates hired are Ken Mullis (DVM '76) in Southlake, Ga.; Ava Lambert (DVM '82) in Kennesaw, Ga.; Melissa Butts (DVM '92) in Frederick, Md.; Kimberly Dusza, (DVM '94) in Bradenton, Fla.; Jeff Conrad (DVM '01) in Mill Creek, Ga.; Christine Sineath (DVM '07) in Bluffton, SC; Ian Scholer (DVM '07) in Lawrenceville, Ga.; Cecily Haught (DVM '08) in Suwanee, Ga.; Stephanie Smith (DVM '08) in Jacksonville, NC; and Latoya Hannon (DVM '08) in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Laura Hanson (DVM '81) opened Mill Creek Veterinary Hospital in downtown Clarkesville, Ga., in January 2009.
http://www.thenortheastgeorgian.com/articles/2008/01/17/news/business/01business.txt

Dr. Ben Griffiths (DVM '56) is mentioned in an Athens Banner-Herald column by Loren Smith, January 27, 2009.
http://onlineathens.com/stories/012809/liv_382238875.shtml

Dr. Jim McClearen (DVM '74), president of the GVMA, joined the Lake Chatuge Animal Hospital in Young Harris, Ga.
http://www.cherokeesentinel.com/news/2009/0121/local_news/021.html

Dr. Michelle Tilghman (DVM '82) has been selected to serve on the Petpop.com panel of Health Experts, formed to address member questions about their pet's health. She is on the faculty of IVAS and has taught across North America and Europe.
http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/27505/

Dr. Leslie Lathem, DVM '86, is profiled in the Covington News: "Local veterinarian also a lover of the arts, environment."
http://newmedia.covnews.com/news/article/5624/

Joseph Bartges, former UGA Professor and current Professor of Medicine and Nutrition at the University of Tennessee, was awarded a UT National Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award. He currently holds the Acree Family Chair in Small Animal Research.

Henry E. Bohn (DVM '62) was recently appointed to the State Board of Veterinary Medicine by Governor Sonny Perdue. Bohn is an associate and veterinarian at the East Cobb Veterinary Clinic in Marietta, Ga.

Karen Bradley (DVM '96) of Montpelier, Vt., was elected as the 2007-2008 AVMA alternate delegate for the Vermont VMA.

Steve Bowen (DVM '71) of El Centro, Calif., was featured in the Eagleteer, the Journal of the National Eagle Scout Association, as a trail veterinarian for the 35th Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race held in Alaska last year. Bowen is an Eagle Scout who, along with entire team of veterinarians, cared for 1,132 dogs along the 1,100-mile race from Anchorage to Nome.

Kathleen Carr (DVM '85) recently retired from active duty in the Army and has relocated to a farm in Sharpsburg, Md., adjacent to Antietam Battlefield.

Christina Bobek Chambreau (DVM '80) of Sparks Glencoe, Md., spent last fall traveling and lecturing on homeopathic medicine to the World Small Animal Veterinary Congress in Prague, Czech Republic, and for the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy's annual conference in Monterey, Ca. She also spoke on holistic farming for the Weston A. Price conference in Virginia.

Charles Deriso (DVM '02) of Albany, Ga., joined Security Bank as an advisory director.

Louise Dufour-Zavala (MAM '89) of Oakwood, Ga., has been named Executive Director of the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network. Dr. Dufour-Zavala, who served as interim director, came to the Lab in 1997 as Chief Veterinarian and Head of the Clinical Services Department. She is a Diplomate with the American College of Poultry Veterinarians.

Whitney Eure (DVM '95) of Asheville, N.C., was selected by the AVMA as the 2007-2008 AVMA Congressional Science and Executive Branch Fellows. He has been a small animal practitioner in the public and corporate arenas and has also worked with endangered species within the U.S. and abroad. He is a member of the International Sea Turtle Society and the North Carolina VMA.

Jose Feneque (DVM '96) of Conyers, Ga., is co-owner of Veterinary Medical Center of Clayton.

Kelly Fleming (DVM '03) of Athens, Ga., was recently named Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). Dr. Fleming currently is a faculty member in UGA's College of Veterinary Medicine Large Animal Teaching Hospital.

Christopher Hall (MS '93, PhD '00) of Acworth, Ga., was promoted to associate professor with tenure at Berry College.

Charles Hamner (DVM '60) of Chapel Hill, N.C., was featured in the July 2007 issue of Business Leader for his work in connection with the CIIT in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, which was recently renamed the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences. "The Hamner" is an independent, non-profit organization that unites academia, the private sector, and government to conduct translational research for improved human risk assessment and the development of new and safer medicines.

Fred Hopkins (DVM '70) of Sevierville, Tenn., received the Excellence in Extension Award from Gamma Sigma Delta. The agriculture honor society presents the award to an extension staff member who has made an outstanding contribution, either directly or indirectly related, to agriculture and related disciplines. Hopkins is a University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine professor and Extension Veterinarian with the Department of Animal Science. He is also a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists.

John S. Howland (DVM '97) opened White Oak Veterinary Hospital last year in Fletcher, N.C., a suburb of Asheville.

Stephen Jones (DVM '85) of Moncks Corner, S.C., has been named the 2008 South Carolina Veterinarian of the Year presented by the SCVMA. He also was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Heartworm Society in 2007.

Kathy Jordan (DVM '06) of Piedmont, SC, is now practicing at the Cornelia Veterinary Clinic.

James Kay (DVM '69) of Douglasville, Ga., was named to the state's Consumer Advisory Board by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Gwynne Kinley (DVM '95) of Sandwich, Mass., recently married Captain Shannon Todd Way, U.S. Army, in January 2007 and had a baby in September. She also started a 3-year veterinary pathology residency at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and was featured in Clemson World for her work with the all-women team to improve the livestock in Yemen. Her programs as a U.S. Army veterinarian in the Horn of Africa from 2006-2007 have also been featured on PBS.

Robert Melvin Kuhn (DVM '52) of Stuart, Fla., was recognized with the 2006 Florida Veterinary Medical Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Kuhn owned and operated a mixed animal practice in Stuart for 26 years before retiring in 1986. He also was the veterinarian for the Ivan Tors Movie Studio which filmed the "Gentle Ben" series in South Florida; he cared for a wide variety of animals, including bears, lions, tigers, ostriches, alligators, and other wild animals. He served as the Deputy District Governor, founder and past president of the Treasure Coast Veterinary Association, and served three years on the FVMA Executive Board. He also was involved in a virus research program with Cornell University, as well as cattle vaccine research. Dr. Kuhn has been a generous supporter to the College through the many years of his distinguished career.

Julia M. Lee (PhD '62) was recently appointed to the State Board of Veterinary Medicine by Governor Perdue. Lee is the associate dean of the Dewar College of Education and a professor of special education at Valdosta State University.

Brett Levitzke (DVM '00) of Veterinary Emergency & Referral Group in New York was profiled in the Brooklyn Heights Press & Cobble Hill News.

Margaret Linnell (DVM '00) of Berwick, Maine, bought a veterinary practice, South Berwick Veterinary Hospital. Linnell has been in small-animal practice for eight years since she graduated summa sum laude from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She's practiced in Lawrence, Mass., and most recently in northern Vermont.

Eugene Maddox (DVM '59) of Cairo, Ga., was named the 2006 Veterinarian of the Year by the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association.

Billy Manning (DVM '75) was featured in the Wilson Times in Wilson, NC, for his career and recent expansion to his animal clinic, For the Love of Dogs, that will include a new surgical area, a post-op area and a state-of-the-art radiography equipment. Manning also recently held a fund-raiser at his facility and raised $14,000 for the dog rescue and adoption organization in Wilson, N.C.

Gordon Miller (DVM '63) of Wilkesboro, N.C., retired from his position as senior vice president of veterinary services with Tyson Foods in 2004 and was recently inducted into the North Carolina Poultry Federation Hall of Fame.

Holly Mims (DVM '03) of Graham, N.C., accepted a position as Internal Medicine Doctor for the Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas. Mims will be responsible for treating referral patients from area veterinarians who have diseases of the endocrine, intestinal, renal and respiratory systems. She now works at both the Cary and Raleigh facilities.

Lee Myers (DVM '84) of Good Hope, Ga., is serving as the first USDA State-Federal Liaison for the National Veterinary Stockpile stationed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Her principal responsibilities will be to work with State agriculture officials to help plan, train, and exercises their ability to respond to animal health emergencies and to coordinate actions and serve as the principle point of contact with the Human Strategic National Stockpile at CDC. She was formerly Georgia's State Veterinarian.

Ed Neal (DVM '88) of Woodruff, S.C., has been deployed to Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo as a U.S. Army veterinarian. Dr. Neal proudly serves as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Lisa Nolan (DVM '88) of Ames, Iowa, joined the Iowa State University faculty in 2003. She is the executive chair of the College of Veterinary Medicine, as well as professor and chair of the college's Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine. She and her laboratory group study bacterial diseases that affect production animals, placing special emphasis on E. coli.

Lauren E. Reid (DVM '05) of Raleigh, N.C., was hired by The Veterinary Specialty Hospital of the Carolinas to provide surgical, emergency, and critical care services.

Poag Reid (DVM '71) of Anderson, S.C., received a full-length feature article in the Independent Mail for his extensive and accomplished career in equine veterinary medicine. Dr. Reid and his practice, Creek Run Veterinary Clinic on the banks of Three & Twenty Creek in the foothills of northern Anderson County, are known nationally for treating and breeding horses.

Les Sales (DVM '73) of Crawfordville, Ga., was awarded the Commercial Cattleman of the Year by the Wilkes County Cattlemen's Association. Sales is active in the Georgia Veterinary Society, the Wild Turkey Federation, and "has been a driving force in the upkeep of the McGill-Woodruff Ag Center."

Leigh Sheridan (DVM '02) has been studying Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine and is working as a veterinary acupuncturist in Columbia, S.C., with a special interest in cats. Sheridan's blog featuring her work is at http://integratedcatmed.blogspot.com.

Shannon Sturkie Bennett (DVM '06) has been practicing behavior medicine and soft tissue surgery in Atlanta for the last year.

Laura Vaughn (PhD '07), who received her doctor of philosophy degree in medical microbiology, is currently employed by the USDA in Athens.

Lawrence Wienges, Jr. (DVM '79) of Orangeburg, S.C., gave a presentation of the devastation created by Hurricane Katrina to the Rotary Club of St. Matthews. He and 66 members of Trinity Presbyterian Church spent a week in the devastated Mississippi area, where they built three houses.

Obituaries

January 2009

Kenneth Fortson, (DVM '76), Social Circle, Ga.

December 2008

D. John Williams III (DVM '53), Watkinsville, Ga.

November 2008

Harry Lee Kemp (DVM '78), Camilla, Ga.

October 2008

Benjamin R. Page Jr. (DVM '52), Young Harris, Ga.

September 2008

David L. Brown, Jr. (DVM '55), Lake City, S.C.

Diedrich O. Beusse (DVM '58), Lakemont, Ga.

August 2008

Julian Lamar Veatch (DVM '53), Louisville, Ga.

July 2008

Stephen P. Maxwell (DVM '78), Prince George, Va.

John Thomas Bell (DVM '52), Starkville, Miss.

June 2008

Millard V. Morrison (DVM '54), Broadway, Va.

May 2008

William E. Pace (DVM '51), Tallahassee, Fla.

Verlin A. Krabill (DVM '53), Frederick, Md.

January 2008

Charles V. Steiner Jr. (DVM '78), Melbourne, Fla.

December 2007

Ollie M. Dodgen (DVM '50), Marietta, Ga.

Leicester L. Landon (DVM '51), Baton Rouge, La.

October 2007

William "Doc" Barker (DVM '54), Glen Allen, Va.

Richard B. Davis (DVM '57), Athens, Ga.

September 2007

"Bill" Lazenby (DVM '76), Fort Lawn, S.C.

Clarence Little (DVM '59), Easton, Md.

James O. May (DVM '63), Lingleville, Tex.

William David Vaughan (DVM '57), Cartersville, Ga.

January 2007

Frank Robert Enloe (DVM '63), Waynesville, N.C.

November 2006

Earl Bearden (DVM '52), Madison, Ga.

March 2006

John Murray Hetrick, Jr. (DVM '62), Baltimore, Md.