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Event provides opportunity
to thank key donors

By Sarah Carey

Veterinary technician Wendy Davies, shows how the underwater treadmill is used while Helen Tolmach, Barbara Grevior, Morris Culpepper and Arnold Grevior look on. (Photo by Sarah Carey)

Several of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine’s key supporters spent several hours in Gainesville on Oct. 5, learning more about the ways in which their support has helped strengthen clinical programs, enhancing teaching and learning opportunities as well as patient care.

The event, dubbed, “Student for a Day,” drew about a dozen people and was one of several different college-level events held at the UF to thank donors and supporters at the close of a seven-year Florida Tomorrow Capital campaign. The college’s supporters convened in the morning inside the  Small Animal Hospital’s Banfield Room, where the college’s dean, Dr. Glen Hoffsis, proudly announced that the college’s $40 million Campaign goal had been exceeded, and that a total of $53 million had been raised to support college programs.

“We just really want to thank you all for your support,” Hoffsis told the group, which included Barbara and Arnold Grevior, Richard and Melanie Gonzmart, Victoria Ford, Helen Tolmach, Morris Culpepper and Kathy Reger, and Barbara and Franklyn Meyers.

Richard and Melanie Gonzmart pause in front of the Oncology Board of Directors plaque in the UF Small Animal Hospital. Their dog, Rusty, is a member of the board. (Photo by Sarah Carey)

The dean talked about initially being daunted by the numbers set for the Campaign goal, but added that he learned a lot after he and development staff began strategizing and visiting prospective donors all across the state.

“People like to give to a program that’s going somewhere, and when you build a building like this new UF Small Animal Hospital, of this scope, you’re going somewhere,” Hoffsis said.

While some donors gave to various parts of the hospital and others to various clinical services, “the overall status of the college overall has been enhanced in the state and in the world,” he added.

After Hoffsis’ remarks, the group and three student “advisors” assigned to various individuals, left to tour three areas — the Grevior Shelter Medicine Suite, the Victoria I. Ford Acupuncture and Rehabilitation Center and the oncology treatment area within the Small Animal Hospital.

Following the tours, the group enjoyed lunch in the Banfield Room and were presented with certificates for successfully completing the program.

For more photos of the event on Facebook, click here.