Building The Specialty Symposium From Scratch

 

When a well-known local veterinary hospital was acquired, it took with it a beloved, free continuing education event that had drawn hundreds of veterinary professionals annually from across the region. Recognizing the real void this left in the veterinary community, my organization — alongside another specialty practice — stepped in to rebuild it from nothing. Leadership was clear: we'd have to fund and build the entire event ourselves.

As the primary person driving the event, I owned it from the ground up — securing industry sponsors, booking the venue, arranging speakers, coordinating food and AV logistics, handling registration, and building the event's brand. When COVID hit, I led the full transition to a virtual platform, rebuilding the experience for a national audience and scaling it into a program reaching veterinary professionals across 48 states and 44 countries.