Dr. Steve L. Erickson of Middleton – 2011

Dr. Steve L. Erickson of Middleton – WVMA President 2011

Steve L. Erickson, DVM

Photo:  Courtesy of Dr. Steve Erickson

Personal information

        I was born in Superior, WI, and my family had a small farm in rural Douglas County. My dad was also an owner-operator trucker. He hauled sand, gravel, and Ag-lime. I was very active in FFA while in high school and attended the state convention in Green Lake four to five times. While in FFA, I first became aware of veterinary medicine and decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian. I attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth and obtained a BS in Biology in 1981. During this time, I worked for a small animal practice in Duluth (Dr. Larry Anderson). Also, during this time there was much discussion of the UW starting a School of Veterinary Medicine, so I stayed in school (at UW-LaCrosse), obtained my MS in

Biology, applied to the UW-SVM, and became a member of its first class, graduating in 1987. While in veterinary school, I was active in SCAVMA and served as president my junior year. During my fourth year, my ambulatory rotation was at Mayville. Dr. Wes Elford brought me to my first WVMA convention.       

       My first job out of school was with Dr. Mike Peterson in Stoughton. It was a mixed animal practice, and during the four years I was there, I gravitated more to small animal medicine. In 1994, Dr. Mary Kraft and I started All Pets Veterinary Clinic, Inc. in Middleton, WI.

       I am married to Deb (28 years) and have 2 daughters, Lindsey and Libby.

WVMA involvement

       My first involvement was in the fall of 1987, when the WVMA was having a “drive” to get the new UW graduates to become members and attend the convention. Leslie Grendahl had just become the new Executive Director.

      I also served as the WVMA representative on the UW-SVM curriculum committee in the early 1990’s.

Involvement on the Executive Board

       I was elected to represent District 5 (Dane and Columbia counties) in 2007. I served on several committees including the Grievance, Veterinary Technician, and Legislative. During my time on the board, Leslie Grendahl resigned, we hired Kim Brown-Pokorny as our new Executive Director, and went through a strategic planning process to develop a roadmap for the future of our organization.

WVMA convention

       The Annual meeting was in October at the Monona Terrace. We tried something new and had the meeting in the late afternoon. Dr. Rene Carlson, WVMA member and AVMA President, was able to attend. Dr. Dave Rhoda was Veterinarian of the Year, and I gave the Presidential Award to Dr. Linda Sullivan for her work as a clinical pathology instructor at the UW-SVM. Our new logo was unveiled at the meeting.

      The highlight of the convention was our general session speaker, Dennis Snow, formerly of Disney. He spoke to everyone (DVM’s, technicians, practice managers, and staff) on how to provide exceptional customer service.

During my presidency

       My presidency was the second after the institution of our new strategic plan which also restructured our committees. Most of the committees were just coming into their own and ‘finding their voice’. Also, outgoing president Dr. Phil Johnson had established the Drug Residue Task Force. Total, we had 21 working committees and task forces, leading to a year of unprecedented committee meetings! Committees met over 40 times. The Drug Residue Task Force met 27 times. Kim and staff attended over 50 industry related meetings representing the WVMA. I appointed a logo task force, which developed a new look for our organization. We had great attendance at the Practice Management Institute and Winter Retreat. We hosted four informational meetings on the Dog Sellers and Breeders Act, and the Drug Residue Task Force held their first informational meetings.

       The biggest challenge/frustration of the year was with our meetings with the VEB, and the Department of Safety and Professional Services (formerly the Department of Regulation and Licensing). The WVMA staff spent significant time and resources working on the VE rule rewrites and the unlicensed practice issue, with little to show for it in the end.

      Hopefully, we are now a much more of a grass roots organization, with a large amount of member involvement, a good strategic plan, and a solid foundation for future growth.