The Guyana Veterinary Association has honoured ten of Guyana’s past and present veterinarians who have contributed positively to the profession and left an indelible mark on veterinary practice in Guyana.
Awards were also presented to five enterprises for their sterling contributions in furthering the practice of veterinary medicine in Guyana, according to a press release.
The veterinarians who were presented with awards at a gala occasion were Dr Lennox Applewaithe, Dr Benjamin Richmond, Dr Kenneth Sealy, and Dr Steve Surujbally.
Dr Iris Craig-Clarke, Dr Peter Fernandes, Dr Frank Mongul, Dr Patrick McKenzie, and Dr Herman Reid who are based overseas were also recognized for their contribution to veterinary science, the release said. And a special posthumous award was made to Dr Ptolemy Reid.
The enterprises and institutions which received awards are Bounty Farms Limited, International Pharmaceutical Agency, Guyana Animal Nutrition and Vet Products, Guyana Stockfeeds Limited, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Ministry of Agriculture.
The awards were presented at a fund raising dinner and guest lecture last Saturday at the Savannah Suite, Pegasus Hotel, under the theme ‘One Medicine, One Health’ to mark the celebration of 250 years of veterinary medicine worldwide.
The guest lecture was presented by Dr Cedric Lazarus, a Jamaican who is the Chief Veterinary Officer of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in the Caribbean.
Interspersed with amusing anecdotes, the release said that Dr Surujbally took his colleagues down three and a half decades of veterinary medicine memory lane.
Also giving brief remarks was Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture George Jervis, who spoke on behalf of Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, who was unavoidably absent.
The organization of the fundraising dinner and guest lecture received sponsorship from the FAO, IICA, GuyEnterprise, Pegasus Hotel (Guyana) and Meditron, the release said.
