AASV Foundation History

It started as an idea at a gathering of Midwest swine vets more than 30 years ago. So many of our swine vets today weren’t even born in 1987. Do you need to remind us of that? Do you remember KT when we met in the basement of that smelly old building in Des Moines? Uh, vaguely. Yeah. Uh, the idea that came out was at a group meeting where we used to have the Minnesota veterinarians get together, and at that time, Chuck and, um, the gentleman, people from the Fairmont Clinic, the Worthington Clinic, uh, Pipestone, those people got together and started talking. And then it migrated to the Association, Nurtured by a few dedicated swine vets, and passed along to an organization still finding its own way forward. The Foundation was planted with a bit of seed money to let the idea take root. And if I recall correctly, it was the Association board of directors that really gave it, uh, its initial funding to try to create, uh, what can we say, KT excitement. Uh, well, I think AASV Board of Directors, and I should remember, I think I was on the board at the time, but I think we contributed a little seed money you did, uh, to, uh, get the ground, uh, get up, up off the ground and running. It wasn’t any one person’s, uh, project as much as it was a joint effort. And, uh, as I recall, I think Gary Dial was probably president of the, uh, AASV at that time. And, uh, Chuck Christensen was the, the, uh, primary impetus behind the formation. Al Leman was somewhat involved. He was a real progressive, uh, all for swine guy, and Al lived off information that practitioners gave him, and if he liked what practitioners gave him, then things move forward From that humble start. The AASV Foundation has grown into a multi-million dollar enterprise, growing alongside the AASV into a continuing and ever-growing support system for swine veterinarians. A foundation committed to encouraging the practice and study of swine medicine and husbandry through funded research, continuing education for those in the field, and financial support for the next generation still in school. Basically, uh, we opened our mouths and we got involved in the leadership of the Foundation, and I can remember one person that I have to mention, we were struggling for identity and purpose, and Roy Schultz, bless his heart, we invited him to come into the meeting he gave us, he gave us holy heck, just because he believed in it, and he gave us some tremendous ideas. What can I do to, to, uh, either help one, you know, with the, the situation I’m in, or, uh, how can I change it or adapt to something else that will, will, will really come smelling hot roses. You know, After that meeting, he had us jacked up that we got together and we decided we’re gonna make this something. Once the initial framework of the foundation was set down by the AASV board, keeping the foundation going, fell back on the dedicated few who first put forth the idea working from scratch to generate the interest and the funds needed to make the Foundation’s goals a reality. Uh, I was the president for a couple years of the foundation, KT followed for a couple years, and we got industry involved. We got our partners involved, we got people involved, and we came up with some great, what would you call it, kt Great, uh, ideas As interest in the programs being generated, grew. AASV members became a willing source for the manpower and money needed. A lot of our, uh, Foundation funding was done through Leman Fellowship, which was a, a fellowship that, uh, what a thousand dollars was the entry level position. If you donated a thousand dollars to the, uh, foundation, you became a Leman fellow, and there was a, a pen associated with it. Then from there, we, uh, we moved up and we set our sites higher, uh, at the foundation, and we developed a Heritage Fellowship, which was a $5,000 minimal entry. And, uh, that went on for a number of years, and both Connie and I solicited numerous Heritage Fellows through various, uh, methods. Then, oh, what, 10 years ago or so, the, the Legacy Fellowship was created, and that’s an entry level of $50,000. And I don’t, can’t tell you right offhand how many there are, I know there are at least two because we’re seated here in front of you. That team effort that allowed the foundation to flourish was led by a few stalwarts that not only wanted the Foundation to survive, but to continue growing, even if it meant venturing into unfamiliar financial waters. The transition, I think, really happened when, um, KT became the chairman of what I’d call our investment committee for AASV funds. KT and I sort of huddled and I told him I would enjoy helping him out. And what we decided for the foundation to be successful is that we had to have good stewardship of the funds with that KT put this group together, and I would say that we just had ideas and, uh, we were blessed that, um, what was it? Dogs of the Dow. That was our initial investment. Yeah. And, uh, and KT led that effort, and I sh I really helped him with it as much as I could. So it was sort of a dual deal When The board came to us and said that you guys are gonna manage our reserves, uh, the first thing we asked was, uh, well, tell us what you have. Well, at that time, the, uh, the Foundation had around $80,000. Uh, the association had around $200,000 in reserves, totally invested in CDs. So when I came home from, after being appointed, the first thing I called was the University of Illinois Foundation, Western Illinois University Foundation, several other foundations, and discovered that practically all of these run a 60 40 mix between equity and fixed income. And so, uh, we went back to the board probably at the fall meeting, I don’t remember, but we said, you guys are way, way too conservative. If and when inflation comes along, it’s going to eat you alive. You need a, an equity position here. So the board, after struggling, I think a little said, okay, guys, we’ll give you $25,000 to invest in an equity position. And, uh, with the, uh, input from both Connie and I, we bought a, a unit trust, uh, put together by Merrill Lynch entitled The Dogs of the Dow. And the Dogs of the Dow are the 10 highest yielding, Uh, Stocks. And the Dow Generals 30 industrial average, and a year went by and we, the luck would have it that we got in just at the right time. That $25,000 turned into $50,000, and the board of directors looked at that and said, Hey, you guys did pretty well. Here’s a few more bucks. Those early days of investing weren’t without growing pains. Times changed when we were making those decisions back, you wouldn’t make the same decisions. Today, I would say this, the market goes up and the market goes down. Our first time KT would remember this is that our first time in a down market was at ’08 , ’08, I believe. Uh, we got slammed. Everybody got slammed. We thought the earth was going to heck. And, and at that time, the two two of us sat there and said, guys, this is long-term. We’ve invested for long-term health. Those people that were beating on our chest because the market was going down. We just had to say, well, we appreciate the input, but we’re not changing our strategy. Despite that big stock market setback, taking the long view paid off along with inventive ideas and hard work from the membership, You couldn’t go wrong with what KT came up with, with the Dogs of the Dow and Darrel Olsen with his audacious goal was fantastic. Darrell Olsen was the prime mover and shaker behind our auction. I got two, not 25 3, not 5 4 45, 5 45 5. He and Nancy worked that, uh, soliciting corporate donations as well as, uh, uh, articles that could be auctioned off silently. As the years passed and the auction expanded, new Heritage Fellows joined, and the foundation continued its growth. Uh, AASV board of Directors said, Schmidt and Wright, you guys are getting a little long in the tooth. We’re gonna send you some younger blood. And that individual was Rodney Johnson and I, my reply to the board was that Rodney Johnson has more gray hair than Connie and I put together half, which was true. But then, uh, um, Rodney came on board and we were getting up to, uh, the, in the, the, uh, numbers had six figures after them, and we thought maybe it was the time to seek professional management and our role as reserve management committee members, uh, Connie Rodney and I, we, uh, we turned our attention towards attempting to manage the managers. Connie and I both sit on that board as, uh, uh, Emeriti members. I guess they, they, uh, 20 years ago, they told us they thought we were getting a little old, but yet we’re still there. As the 20th century became the 21st, the Foundation increased its support for the next generation of swine vets and encouraging their participation in the AASV through an ever increasing stipend to attend annual conferences, research grants, access to continuing education, and an increasing number of scholarships, including the Alex Hogg Scholarship to fund post-doc work for veterinarians already in the field. Dr. Krista Irwin, the first selected hog scholar in 2008. I can’t tell you the exact number, but I am just so impressed the way scholarships for the students. Uh, the way we’ve improved our ability to get young people involved in our association is that, uh, it’s, it’s very gratifying. Uh, I think Connie alluded to this a little in the encouraging student members. I remember, I think I was on the board of the foundation at the time, and Larry Firkins brought forth the proposal that maybe we include a check for a hundred dollars in every student’s registration packet. And I said, Firkins, I think we can do better than that. I think we can include a check for $200, Always looking to the future, but honoring the past. The foundation took strides to celebrate the voices of those who’ve come before the Heritage Interview recording program initiated in 2007. And by 2012, additional efforts were made to produce and publish more heritage videos. What advice would I have for a young veterinarian today? The thing I would tell students is take advantage of dumb luck. I grew up in er, Indiana, on a pig farm of all things. Well, AASV is just met a lot, met just great people, great people. I mean, those early mentors that the, the older generation that met colleagues or contemporaries formed really lifelong friendships. Y you need to realize that, uh, the, the animals are not here for your benefit. You’re here to benefit the animals. Uh, keep that in mind at all times. Never forget, uh, continuing education. Just staying contemporaries in swine medicine is a challenge With forward-looking leaders, dedicated volunteers, a supportive membership, and a little luck in the stock market. The AASV Foundation has gone from a shared idea in a Des Moines basement to being a major part of the AASV mission, The Foundation’s assets, and a lot of hard work from a lot of members. Uh, and, and we are now in a, uh, position where we’re able to, to fund significant resources and research. And that’s what I like about how the Foundation Board does things, is that they take a look at their various programs, which are too many, and I’ll be honest, it’s so big now. I couldn’t tell you everything that they do, but they’re doing everything. And I just think that people that want to give you can earmark where it wants to go. So we’ve set up endowed funds, uh, where those endowed gifts are supported. They’re perpetual. Money will always be there. The same gifts will be given every year. Uh, new people every year will get rewarded. How other members have stepped forward. I think the biggest key for the foundation is, is that people know that we have got a team of responsible, uh, uh, leaders that are looking at the best way to continue to support the need. And that’s a big task. How we try to raise additional funds with what we have and endowed funds and other funds too, to meet the goals and objectives. Yeah, we pulled some arms early on to get it going, but now people can see the benefits. They’ll pay the price of entry. It’s segmented into what I call different waves. Uh, we had waves of the old guard. KT and I are sitting here now. Okay. We’re gonna continue to support the foundation, okay. We have what I would call the next generation of leaders that’s coming on. They’re just basically learning more and more, and they’ll be our future givers and the students, uh, what we need to do as we help them and we bring them into the associations, we’ve gotta let them know that they’re part of the legacy. And the legacy is to help those coming up behind you From an idea to a multimillion dollar enterprise. The AASV Foundation has a legacy of advancement in education research, and most importantly, in the people and animals it serves.