Outstanding Service Award
The Outstanding Service Award is given to an individual who has made
extraordinary contributions to animals and/or the WSU College of Veterinary
Medicine.
Awards presented in 2009
Dr. James McBain & Dean
Slinker
James F. McBain
WSU DVM '68
2009 Distinguished Veterinary Alumnus Award for Outstanding
Service
Dr. James McBain is considered a pioneering
expert in marine mammal veterinary medicine. He has authored and
coauthored no fewer than 83 scientific papers, books and
presentations on marine mammals and is recognized worldwide for
his experience and expertise. Dr. McBain is seen by his peers as
having fundamentally altered the way in which marine mammal
medicine is practiced. For over 20 years he has worked for
SeaWorld/Busch Entertainment Corp. in San Diego where he served
as the Vice President of Corporate Veterinary Services,
overseeing five parks, and the largest collection of marine
mammals in the world. Given the unique nature of his specialty,
Dr. McBain also serves to mentor and train countless
veterinarians seeking his specialized knowledge. Among his
special goals, is a determination to educate us on the impacts
of human overpopulation on the world's wildlife.
It is this dedication to the profession we find
most admirable in awarding the 2009 Distinguished Veterinary
Alumnus Award for Outstanding Service.
Presented in 2008
Matthew Maberry
WSU
DVM '47
2008
Distinguished Veterinary Alumnus Award for Outstanding Service
Matthew Maberry has spent his entire career dedicated to zoo medicine. In
many respects he is seen as a pioneer in blazing a trail in the field of zoo
medicine. His work at the Zoological Gardens in
Portland dates back to 1958,
while practicing at the Seaside Aquarium for over three decades. His
hands on research has led to key zoo animal discoveries ranging from the use
of electro-cardiography in wild and marine animals, to safer uses of
tranquilizer techniques. In early 1962, Dr. Maberry's work to save the first
elephant born in the
US in nearly 50 years
became the focus of a major article in Life magazine. His lifetime of
service in this previously uncharted area of veterinary medicine is the
basis for this year's 2008 Washington State University College of
Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Alumnus Award for Outstanding Service.
(March 2011) Dr. Maberry recalls the
birth of the first elephant born in the United States in more than 40 years
in "Packy & Me: The Incredible Tale of Doc Maberry and the Baby Elephant Who
Made History." Maberry, 93, wrote the memoir with his wife, Patricia, and
Michelle Trappen, a former reporter for The Oregonian.
More
Presented in 2007
Valery Shean (DVM '88) for Outstanding Service (she is
unable to attend the banquet) - For the past 15 years, Dr. Shean has worked
in Uganda, with the Karamojong tribe, dedicating her veterinary talents to
those less fortunate. She cares and treats local animals, whiled developing
better food stocks with drought resistant crops, and even establishing a
program to feed widows and orphans using much of her own money. All this
within the confines of a remote area, often beset with the violence of civil
unrest.
Presented in 2006
Marc Mattix (WSU '83)
Marc Mattix (WSU '83) is a Colonel in the US Army Reserves,
and serves as the Assistant Chief of the US Army Veterinary Corps. His work
has long been in integrating animal and public health surveillance, along
with being engaged in emergency and terrorism preparedness from the local to
national level. His expertise as a Veterinary pathologist is apparent in the
over 200 publications and presentations he has produced that have had
significant impact in implementing safeguards for all of America. Currently,
he serves as a pathologist with the Montana Veterinary diagnostic
Laboratory. Dr. Mattix is the past President of the Montana Veterinary
Medical Association and serves on the Gallatin County Board of Health. He is
an Affiliate Professor at Montana State University and an Adjunct Professor
at Purdue University. Privately, friends say he is also an accomplished
fiddle player.
Doug Butchart (WSU '54)
Doug Butchart (WSU '54). Dr.
Butchart's distinguished includes serving as the
Agricultural Officer with the Agency for
International Development in Tunisia, North Africa
where he is credited with laying the foundation for
that country to improve and sustain its dairy
industry.
Instead of importing 40% of the country's
predicted milk, the country was self-sustaining some
18-years later. His work has extended to initiating
breeding programs in Morocco, enhancing food safety
and production in Pakistan during the Soviet
invasion of neighboring Afghanistan, and has
obtained the highest rank possible as a Foreign
Service Officer in a singular professional
achievement. His work also led to postings in
outposts such as two years in Ouagadougou, Upper
Volta (now called Burkina Faso), five years in
Tunisia, and three years in Pakistan.
In making his nomination, Dr. Bill Kelso writes the
value of (his) achievement should be viewed from the
thousands of beneficiaries who will have a more
sufficient supply of nutritious food. His vision of
what was needed for a sustained long term effort of
improvement shows his wisdom in program planning.
Dr. Butchart is also the recipient of the
Distinguished Diplomate Award by the American
College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.
Presented in 2001
Willard
Gregory Nelson (WSU "61) ("Greg") Greg Nelson has been described by
his colleagues as an advisor and a mentor. He is someone thought to have
integrity, insight, and a deep commitment to public service. Nelson had a
private veterinary practice from 1963-66, but after a leg fracture prevented
him from performing large animal practice, he made a career change to work
for the Idaho Department of Agriculture until 1978, when he began work at
the Bureau of Animal Health. He was appointed as Director of the Idaho
Department of Agriculture in 1990 and served until 1995. He also served as
mayor of Kuna, Idaho from 1983-2003 and again in 2011.
Nelson is credited with assisting in the improvement in the Idaho
Brucellosis Program after an outbreak of brucellosis in Idaho cattle herds.
His improved program led to a brucellosis free status in Idaho. He also
played a major role as a leader in disease control efforts toward the
eradication of Bovine Tuberculosis from Idaho in 1990. Nelson worked with
the cattle industry to develop and implement a Trichomoniasis Control
Program for the state of Idaho after the Trichomonas fetus
infection in cattle became a serious detriment to the economy of cattle
production. This program has been in effect since 1989 and since its
induction, the prevalence of the disease has been reduced by 82 percent.
In his free time, Greg Nelson enjoys rockhounding, painting, and playing
with his grandchildren. He is also a talented poet and writer.
Presented in 1994
Mary
Ellen Gorham (WSU '79) was the recipient of the first ever College
of Veterinary Medicine Outstanding Service Award in 1994. Gorham, a 1979 WSU
graduate, was the regular correspondent for animal issues for D.V.M.
magazine, the
Moscow-Pullman Daily News, the Columbian in Vancouver,
Wash., and the
Salt Lake City Tribune. Every week readers could enjoy the Gorham’s
lively writing as she combined her passions for journalism, business, and,
of course, animals. Gorham’s interest in animals first sparked in 1944 when
she married John Gorham, a research leader at the time for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture at the WSU College of Agriculture at the WSU
College of Veterinary Medicine. Mary Ellen’s career in writing about animals
started with a short stint at KWSU, the local National Public Radio
affiliate. Because John was a veterinarian, James Herriot, author of All
Creatures Great and Small, granted Mary Ellen an interview with him at
his home in Thirsk, England. Gorham loves to travel, and at last count in
1994 she had visited 56 countries!
