O n June 21, I had the honor of being installed as the 2013- 2014 CVMA president. I look forward to another exciting year of service to the CVMA, albeit in a much different role than in the past. I am proud to be the spokesperson of the association, which has enriched me in so many ways. My goal, in short, is to accurately represent and communicate the positions of the board of governors. I will be surrounded by hard- working staff at the CVMA office and several dedicated colleagues at the board, house and committee levels. Thank you all for placing your trust in me. For those who don’t know me, I am a Nebraska native, growing up in Omaha. My grandfather, Henry O. Kelpe, received a dental degree from St. Louis Veterinary College in 1906 and then attended Kansas City Veterinary College. Upon receiving his D.V.S. degree in 1909, he was employed by the Bureau of Animal Industry and spent four years on the rangelands of New Mexico and Arizona performing contagious disease surveillance, treatment and eradication. Sheep scabies and foot and mouth disease were his main areas of concern. This first Dr. Kelpe was then given the role of meat inspector and stockyards veterinarian at one of the nation’s largest cattle processing centers, located in South Omaha. In his free time, he treated neighborhood pets in the basement of the house that I grew up in. My father did not inherit the same passion for animals. Perhaps as a result of being reluctantly pressed into anesthesiology monitoring as a young boy, he was not keen on the idea of family pets. Nevertheless, my brother, sister and I always managed to populate the house with stray cats that we rescued. (To this day, I’m very intrigued with cats and have a strong respect for their independence.) Although I lived in the city, frequent trips to my uncle’s farm in Iowa introduced me to cattle, pigs, chickens and horses. Combining this developing animal empathy with a strong scientific curiosity, I became more interested in animal medicine. A career- defining moment came for me when I was in junior high school and one of those rescued cats had become lethargic and stopped eating. I was absolutely amazed that the veterinarian could just put his hands on him and tell us what was wrong! It was like he had mystical and magical powers. The cat could not talk, yet was diagnosed and healed by this caring doctor. It was then that I decided this was the path for me. Meet the President – 24 | California Veterinarian
Transcript
On June 21, I had the honor of being installed as the 2013-2014 CVMA president. I look forward to another exciting year
of service to the CVMA, albeit in a much different role than in the past. I am proud to be the spokesperson of the association, which has enriched me in so many ways. My goal, in short, is to accurately represent and
communicate the positions of the board of governors. I will be surrounded by hard-working staff at the CVMA office and several dedicated colleagues at the board, house and committee levels. Thank you all for placing your trust in me.
For those who don’t know me, I am a Nebraska native, growing up in Omaha. My grandfather, Henry O. Kelpe, received a dental degree from St. Louis Veterinary College in 1906 and
then attended Kansas City Veterinary College. Upon receiving his D.V.S. degree in 1909, he was employed by the Bureau of Animal Industry and spent four years on the rangelands of New Mexico and Arizona performing contagious disease surveillance, treatment and eradication. Sheep scabies and foot and mouth disease were his main areas of concern. This first Dr. Kelpe was then given the role of meat inspector and stockyards veterinarian at one of the nation’s largest cattle processing centers, located in South Omaha. In his free time, he treated neighborhood pets in the basement of the house that I grew up in.
My father did not inherit the same passion for animals. Perhaps as a result of being reluctantly pressed into anesthesiology monitoring as a young boy, he was not keen on the idea of family pets. Nevertheless, my brother, sister and I always managed to populate the house with stray cats that we rescued. (To this day, I’m very intrigued with cats and have a strong respect for their independence.) Although I lived in the city, frequent trips to my uncle’s farm in Iowa introduced me to cattle, pigs, chickens and horses.
Combining this developing animal empathy with a strong scientific curiosity, I became more interested in animal medicine. A career-defining moment came for me when I was in junior high school and one of those rescued cats had become lethargic and stopped eating. I was absolutely amazed that the veterinarian could just put his hands on him and tell us what was wrong! It was like he had mystical and magical powers. The cat could not
talk, yet was diagnosed and healed by this caring doctor. It was then that I decided this was the path for me.
Meet the President – Dr. Ron Kelpe
24 | California Veterinarian
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Upon graduation from veterinary school at Iowa State in 1984, I escaped the bitter winters and moved to California, joining a small animal practice in Bakersfield. It was there that I got my first taste of organized veterinary medicine. As the newest doctor in town, I was conscripted into the treasurer role of the Kern County VMA.
Today I’m the co-owner of a general small animal and surgical specialty practice in Rancho Santa Margarita. I was given this opportunity in 1988 by Dr. Robert Moore, who is still my business partner and a boarded surgeon. He remains on-call for consultation and surgery from his home base in Florida. We are blessed to have a wonderful support staff and dedicated doctors (Lisa Maillard, Kim McKee, Jason Steenis and Alissa Brown). My areas of special interest include cardiology, ophthalmology and surgery, but I still enjoy the variety and challenges inherent in a general veterinary practice.
I also very much enjoy working with people and pride myself in being able to effectively communicate with clients with empathy and compassion. My goal is to help clients make an informed and economical decision that is in the best interest of their pet. We have to remember that you must treat the owner before you treat the pet. The golden rule for me in veterinary medicine has served me well: treat a client’s animal the way you would expect your own animals to be treated—fairly and honestly.
I am a resident of Trabuco Canyon, a picturesque community adjacent to the Cleveland National Forest. This area of Orange County is like a slice of the Midwest for me in the middle of busy Southern California. My wife, Susan, and I raised our daughter Jenny here; she graduated from UC Davis with a degree in visual communications in 2011 and is employed as a graphic designer in Sacramento. We have adopted many stray animals from the hospital—the household residents currently consist of two dogs and four cats.
Distance running has become one of my favorite pastimes—I’ve completed almost 50 marathons and ultra-marathons since 2000. Most of these races and the training runs leading up to them were run with the companionship of CVMA member Dr. Tom Carpenter. It is pretty cool to regularly solve most world and veterinary problems during long weekend trail runs. I sing in a church choir, play golf, garden and complete various handyman projects in my remaining free time.
I have enjoyed being a volunteer and having a voice on the board of governors, house of delegates, VMB and several committees and task forces at the CVMA. The 17th century quotation from John Donne, “No man is an island entire of itself,” suggests that human beings do not thrive when isolated from others. This is so true for us as a professional organization. We join voices with a common purpose and together we can accomplish much greater things.
Today your association membership and active participation is more crucial to your success than ever before. Veterinary medicine will continue to face many challenges at the legislative and regulatory levels in California. The CVMA, with your input, is dedicated to helping the profession navigate these rough waters.
As president this year I want to make a difference. I am involved because I would like to preserve the freedoms of practice that I have enjoyed for our next generation of doctors. I encourage you to get involved too—whatever your passion is—and help the CVMA and me throughout the coming year. Paraphrasing the words of John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what the CVMA can do for you, ask what you can do for the CVMA and the profession.”
