02.28.05
Raleigh, NC - The North Carolina State Animal Response Team (SART) Annual Awards will be held Wednesday, May 25, 2005 at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina. The awards will recognize the volunteers who contributed most to SART this past year. The featured speaker will be Gary A. Vroegindewey, Colonel, United States Army –Veterinary Corps. Col. Vroegindewey will present the talk “Homeland to Farmland Security.”
Col. Vroegindewey is the Assistant Chief, U.S. Army Veterinary Corps and Corps Specific Branch Proponent Officer, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He serves as the DODVSA Subject Matter Expert on Veterinary Disaster Operations and Director; Veterinary Programs for Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, Uniform Services University of Health Sciences. Col. Vroegindewey attended the University of Missouri earning his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1978. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and holds a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the Army War College.
An expert panel will follow Col. Vroegindewey on North Carolina’s readiness to animal and agricultural security threats. Scheduled to speak are: Dean Warwick Arden, NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Leonard S. Bull, NC State University; Dr. Steven Cline, NC Division of Public Health; Dr. David Marshall. NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Dr. Tom McGinn, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Dr. Ken Taylor, NC Division of Emergency Management.
The SART awards scheduled to be made include Partner of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, CART Volunteers and Team of the Year, and the SART Leadership Award. The program will begin at 1:00 PM and the award ceremony will be followed by a reception at 5:30 PM recognizing this year’s winners. The registration fee is $25 per person. The awards are sponsored in part by the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine.
SART was founded in 2001 in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd. Today, SART is a public-private partnership that coordinates the efforts of government agencies, veterinary organizations, animal industry and humane groups to provide prevention, response, and recovery for animal emergencies. SART is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Raleigh, NC. For registration information visit the SART website www.sartusa.org, or contact SART at infonc@sartusa.org.
