Dr Renée Chalmers Hoynck van Papendrecht, a member of the WSAVA Executive Board for seven years, has just completed her term and reflects on her experience.
“I practice in the Netherlands and attended my first WSAVA World Congress as a delegate in Paris in 1986. I enjoyed it very much so attended every year after that. I took my daughters with me as it gave them a wonderful opportunity to visit different countries and for us to have a holiday while I caught up with my CE.”
Renee and her daughter Annemijn, in New Zealand
Renee and her daughter Boudewien, in Singapore
In 2007, WSAVA World Congress took place in Sydney. By that time, I was Member Representative for our Dutch member association, NACAM, a role I held for five years. I felt I had more to contribute to the WSAVA so I stood for election to the Executive Board and am honored to have served for three years as a Board Member and for four as Honorary Secretary.
My goal was to strengthen communication between the Executive Board, Member Representatives and our individual members. When I first became involved, the information flow was quite slow and our internal processes were quite complex. So much has changed in the last few years! We have created a professional Secretariat team which has improved our communication and administration beyond recognition, harnessing the latest technologies, including, of course social media.
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Singapore 2018
Cartagena, Colombia 2016
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Toronto, Canada 2019
Our processes and procedures are also much better. One result of this is that many more exceptional veterinarians are putting themselves forward to serve on our Committees and the Executive Board. In fact, we have now improved our communications and administrative support to the extent that we no longer need an Honorary Secretary on the Executive Board!
I would like to thank all of our members for the trust they put in me and my colleagues on the Executive Board for their hard work, support and friendship. Meeting colleagues from every corner of the world and making so many friends while helping to strengthen our global community has been a wonderful experience for me and my family. I look forward to continuing to attend Congress and to meet you all again face-to-face when we can do so safely.
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Bangkok, Thailand 2015
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Cartagena, Colombia 2016
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India 2019
“It is now the right time for me to step down from the Executive Board so that other members can have the opportunity to contribute and help to take our wonderful association forward.”
Siraya and Renee in Canada 2019
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Singapore 2018