The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) House of Delegates (HOD) elected John de Jong, DVM, of Weston, Mass., as the organization’s president-elect. Dr. de Jong will assist the president and substitute for him as required, preside at all sessions of the HOD, and serve as a voting member of the AVMA Board of Directors. De Jong, who chaired the AVMA Board from 2015-2016 and was District I representative from 2010-2016, will assume the presidency in July 2018. According to de Jong, the AVMA must continue to protect, promote and advance the veterinary profession and focus on its members’ needs; to accomplish this, he plans to focus his attention on advocacy, education, and economics. De Jong looks forward to making the AVMA acronym known to most of the American public. “I want the public to have a greater understanding of, and respect for, the breadth of veterinary medicine,” said de Jong. De Jong said he considers his election one of the greatest moments of his life and intends to use his energy, enthusiasm, and passion for veterinary medicine to be a credible face and voice for the AVMA and the profession, both nationally and internationally. De Jong is a companion animal veterinarian and experienced veterinary surgeon, and owns the Boston Mobile Veterinary Clinic and Newton Animal Hospital. He founded and is former chief surgeon of the low-cost spay/neuter clinic at the Merwin Memorial Clinic. During his AVMA HOD tenure, he chaired the AVMA’s House Advisory Committee, the Governance Performance Review Committee, and the Political Action Committee Policy Board. He also acted as the AVMA Congressional Advocacy Network state legislative coordinator and served on the Long Range Planning Committee. De Jong is a past president of the Massachusetts and New England Veterinary Medical Associations, as well as of the American Association of Housecall Veterinarians. He is on the board of trustees at Tufts University and serves on the board of advisors for the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. His honors include the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association’s Distinguished Service Award, Boston’s Best Veterinarian designations by Boston Magazine and the Improper Bostonian, the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Tufts University Veterinary Alumni Association, and recognition as one of Boston’s Outstanding Young Leaders. He received his veterinary degree from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
