We must reluctantly advise you that the 2020 AHVMA Annual Conference & Exhibition scheduled for September 23-26 in Grapevine Texas has been cancelled. This was done in consideration of the health and safety of our members, speakers, and exhibitors. Although we will miss seeing you and experiencing all of the camaraderie and friendship of an in-person event, the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic have made that impossible.
We could not take this step earlier due to AHVMA’s financial liabilities related to the event. We are notifying you now before we notify our speakers and exhibitors because the information is sure to begin to spread and we wanted you to know.
The Conference Program Committee, led by Dr. Carol Falck and Dr. Deborah Mitchell did a tremendous job to put together an excellent program for the 2020 Conference, and we are pleased to report that we are working diligently to convert this program to a Virtual Conference. The Virtual Conference will likely be held in late September 2020 (with due attention to the Jewish High Holidays), and more details will follow as we move forward. Not all original speakers will be able to be accommodated in the Virtual Conference, and we will be communicating with all speakers as quickly as possible
The Virtual Conference will also include a virtual Exhibition, and we will also be communicating with all exhibitors
We will be bringing you a full range of RACE-Approved content spread over four days.
Some initial information is presented here. More to follow. Please bear with us as we re-orient operations to support this Virtual event.
Will I receive a refund?
Registrants
Registration Fees will be refunded in full and will be reimbursed by AHVMA check payable to the registrant within 90 days. Registrants will also be given an option of applying part of their refund to the registration fee for the Virtual Conference & Exhibition.
Exhibitors
Exhibitors will receive refunds and will also be given other options to support AHVMA in lieu of an in-person exhibit. Information will be sent directly to Exhibitors.
Will I receive a refund for my airline reservation?
Please follow up with your travel agent or air carrier directly to request a refund or travel credit. AHVMA has no liability for any travel expenses or other costs incurred by participants as a result of this cancellation.
Will I receive a refund for my hotel deposit?
If your hotel reservation was made in the official AHVMA block, it will be cancelled automatically. There is no action needed on your part. Any hotel deposit fees will be fully refunded within 90 days. We kindly ask for your patience as the hotel will process individual refunds as quickly as possible. If you booked your hotel outside the official AHVMA block you will need to follow up with your hotel directly.
If I’m a speaker, will I be speaking at the virtual event?
The Conference Program Committee is currently looking at the full Conference program and deciding which sessions might be included in a virtual program. Unfortunately, we do expect the virtual program to have fewer CE credit hours available. The Committee will reach out to speakers directly once a decision has been made about which presentations will be included. We will provide an update to all speakers by the beginning of July. For those speakers who will no longer be speaking this year, we encourage you to submit your presentation for the AHVMA 2021 Conference in Reno.
Will the virtual event be RACE approved?
95 hours of RACE-approved CE were planned for the Conference. We are planning the Virtual Conference to remained qualified for RACE approval at a slightly reduced number of hours.
In the interests of furthering our educational mission, an individual who registers for all or part of the virtual Conference will have the opportunity to invite their Technicians and/or support staff to observe lectures from the same location at no additional cost; however, only the registered participant will be able to earn CE credit for that session. Session attendance will be tracked electronically and confirming documents will be sent to registrants.
How will non-AHVMA meeting space requests be handled?
All AHVMA-related meeting space requests by AHVMA Allied Groups or other organizations will be cancelled automatically. If you reserved a meeting space in the official AHVMA hotel through AHVMA, you won’t incur any charges or cancellation fees. If you booked an event yourself, or at an off-site venue (for a dinner or reception, etc.), you will need to follow up with the venue directly.
We look forward to your continuing support, and to your participation in the 2020 Virtual Conference & Exhibition.
Sincerely,
Neal J. Sivula, DVM, PhD, MDiv
2019-2020 President – AHVMA
