Awards

This award is presented annually to an outstanding Diplomate of the College for contributions in the service of the AVDC and also to further the field of veterinary dentistry. Those contributions may include academic efforts, scientific presentations, research endeavors, book chapters and books, other publications, involvement in organized veterinary dentistry and the veterinary medical community, civic involvement, and the general promotion of veterinary dentistry. St. Jon VRx initially agreed to sponsor this award in recognition of Dr. Emily’s contributions to veterinary dentistry. Following a corporate merger, Virbac Animal Health continues to sponsor this award.

Past Emily Award Recipients: Dr. Chuck Williams (1992), Dr. Colin Harvey (1993), Dr. Bob Wiggs (1994), Dr. Gary Beard (1995), Dr. Ben Colmery (1996), Dr. Sandra Manfra Marretta (1997), Dr. Donald L. Ross (1998), Dr. Tom Mulligan (1999), Dr. T. Keith Grove (2000), Dr. Steve Holmstrom (2001), Dr. Heidi Lobprise (2002), Dr. Frank Verstraete (2003), Dr. Edward Eisner (2004), Dr. Mark Smith (2005), Dr. Ken Lyon (2006), Dr. Gregg DuPont (2007), Dr. Michael Peak (2008), Dr. Pat Frost-Fitch (2009), Dr. Jan Bellows (2010), Dr. Gary Goldstein (2011), Dr. Paul Mitchell (2012), Dr. Jennifer Rawlinson (2013), Dr. Bill Gengler (2014), Dr. Ira Luskin (2015), Dr. Barden Greenfield (2016), Dr. Chris Snyder (2017), Dr. Curt Coffman (2018), Dr. Bonnie Shope (2019), Dr. David Clarke (2021), Dr. Susan Crowder (2022), Dr. Maria Soltero-Rivera (2023), Dr. Nadine Fiani (2024).

This is an award given annually to an outstanding veterinarian on successful completion of an approved training program. This award is given to honor Dr. Robert Wiggs, who contributed selflessly to the AVDC and veterinary dentistry in general. Nominees must have successfully completed the Credentials process of the AVDC within the past three years, and either has not yet completed the examination process or are recent Diplomates of the College. Letters of support from Mentors or Residency Directors are evaluated and criteria may include presentations, seminars, publications, research, promotion of veterinary dentistry, and contributions to veterinary dentistry in general. The awards committee welcomes the nomination of candidates whose pathway to board certification has been unusual. Financial sponsorship of this award has been made by St. Jons/VRx (1992-1996), Pharmacia & Upjohn (1997-2003), Pfizer Animal Health (2004-2013) and Virbac (2014-current).

Past Wiggs Award Recipients: Dr. Linda DeBowes (1994), Dr. Gregg DuPont (1995), Dr. Don DeForge (1996), Dr. Mark Smith (1997), Dr. Randi Brannan (1998), Dr. Milinda Lommer (1999), Dr. R. Michael Peak (2000), Dr. Krista Mendoza (2001), Dr. Gary Lantz (2002), Dr. Cindy Charlier (2003) Dr. John Lewis (2004), Dr. Anson Tsugawa (2005), Dr. Jennifer Rawlinson (2006), Dr. Stephen Juriga (2007), Dr. William Krug (2008), Dr. Kendall Taney (2009), Dr. Kris Bannon (2010), Dr. Lee Blazejewski (2011), Dr. Boaz Arzi (2012), Dr. Ana Nemec (2013), Dr. Amy Fulton Scanlan (2014), Dr. Jerzy Gawor (2015), Dr. Travis Henry (2016), Dr. Stephanie Goldschmidt (2017), Dr. Kristina Feigin (2018), Dr. Kevin Ng (2019), Dr. Jenna Winer (2021), Dr. Caroline Washington (2022), Dr. Ching Ching Shirley Kot (2023), Dr. Suzanna Hatunen (2024).

This new award was created in 2015 to recognize those rare people who have exhibited an exceptional sense of duty. Those that have taken the precious resources entrusted to them, have cared for, expanded and improved upon these resources. It goes beyond service and sacrifice and is best described as stewardship. They have redefined their roles within the organization and we are grateful for their extreme dedication.

The development of the 3 inch medallion was made possible in part due to a generous donation from an anonymous donor. In addition to the medallion, the awardee also receives a gold lapel pin.

The selection is currently made solely at the discretion of the President of the AVDC.

The first four recipients of The Presidential Medal for Stewardship in 2015 are: Drs. Curtis Stiles, Gary Goldstein, Mark Smith, and Steve Holmstrom. 2016 Awardees: Dr. Colin Harvey, Ms. Linda Pappalardo, and Dr. Don Ross.  2017 Awardees: Drs. Sandra Manfra-Marretta, and Bill Gengler.  2018 Awardees: Dr. Jan Bellows, Ms. Carol Weldin, and Ms. Danielle Heberle. 2019 Awardee: Dr. Kevin Stepaniuk. 2020 Awardee: Dr. Barden Greenfield. 2021 Awardees: Dr. Lisa Fink, Dr. Emily Edstrom, Dr. Naomi Hoyer, Dr. Kristin Scott, Dr. Stephanie Goldschmidt, Dr. Ian Haws, Dr. Mary Buelow, Dr. Larry Kimberlin, Dr. Kate Block, Dr. Scott MacGee, Dr. Travis Henry and Dr. Molly Rice. 2022 Awardees: Dr. Jack Easley, and Dr. John Lewis. 2023 Awardee: Dr. Jennifer Rawlinson. 2024 Awardees: Dr. Chris Smithson, and Dr. Milinda Lommer.

Previously known as the AVDS Research and Education Award and the Hills Research and Education Award, this award was renamed in 2018 to reflect the sponsorship of the Peter Emily International Veterinary Dental Foundation and to honor the many contributions of Dr. Peter Emily.  This is an award given annually to an outstanding person who has contributed greatly through research and/or education of veterinary dentistry in either small or wild animals.  Letters of support are evaluated and criteria may include presentations, seminars, publications, research, promotion of veterinary dentistry, and contributions to veterinary dentistry in general.

Past Jaguar (Hills/AVDS) Award recipients: Dr. Terry Bowersork (1994), Dr. Colin Harvey (1995), Dr. Steve Holmstrom (1996), Dr. Peter Emily (1997), Dr. Bob Wiggs (1998), Dr. Sandra Manfra (1999), Dr. Ben Colmery (2000), Dr. Ed Eisner (2001), Dr. John Hefferren (2002), Dr. Mark Smith (2003), Dr. Ira Luskin (2004), Dr. Loic Legendre (2005), Dr. Alex Reiter (2006), Dr. Don Ross (2007), Dr. Gary Lantz (2008), Dr. Bill Gengler (2009), Dr. Fraser Hale (2010), Dr. Philippe Hennett (2011), Dr. John Lewis (2012), Dr. Rich Meadows (2013), Dr. Frank Verstraete (2014), Dr. Jason Soukup (2015), Dr. Bonnie Miller (2016), Dr. Boaz Arzi (2017), Dr. Santiago Peralta (2018), Dr. Nadine Fiani (2019), Dr. Cindy Bell (2021), Dr. Jennifer Rawlinson (2022), Dr. Jamie Anderson (2023), Dr. Randi Brannan (2024).

This award is sponsored by Virbac and is presented annually to a recently board-certified veterinary dentist who has show exception drives and promise is the advancement of veterinary dentistry.

Past Up and Comer Award recipients: Dr. Donnell Hanson (2017), Dr. Kate Block (2018), Dr. Stephanie Goldschmidt (2019), Dr. Naomi Hoyer (2021), Dr. Brian Hewitt (2022), Dr. Alex Geddes (2023), Dr. Angela Briggs (2024).

This is an inactive award, previously sponsored by Hu-Friedy, then Miltex.

Previous awardees:  Steve Holmstrom (1996), Colin Harvey (1998), Bob Wiggs (2001), Peter Emily (2002), Ken Lyon (2004), Brett Beckman (2006), Clarence Sitzman (2009), Ed Eisner (2011) and Brett Beckman (2013).