Meet the Team

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• Gary D. Weddle, DVM

  Board President

  

  Dr. Weddle hails from Missouri and is a 1978 graduate from the University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, he practiced small animal and exotic medicine in private practice until 1993. He then went on to practice exotic animal medicine exclusively until 2000 and also established the Veterinary Technology Program at the College of Southern Nevada where he was an adjunct professor. From 2000 until retirement in 2011, he practiced shelter medicine. During retirement, Dr. Weddle has been serving on the IACUC Committee of WVC for the past ten years, is a surgical examiner for the AVMA ECSVG program, is the USDA veterinarian of record for the Oquendo Center, and was elected to the Board of WVC in 2015. Since graduation, Dr. Weddle has been to every WVC Annual Conference. He has served as a session moderator several times for WVC during Conference. His strong appreciation for providing quality continuing education is the driving factor for his deepening involvement with WVC. Dr. Weddle’s hobbies include falconry, land sailing, fishing, and photography.

• Heather Prendergast, RVT, CVPM, SPHR

  President-Elect

  

  Heather Prendergast has spent over 25 years in the veterinary industry, with 20 years in small animal practice. She has taught several years for both veterinary technology and assistance programs and has authored the book “Front Office Management for the Veterinary Team,” now in its second edition. Heather is well known and lectures nationally and internationally, authoring several articles and participating in published roundtable discussions with the goal of increasing team communication and client compliance within the veterinary practice. Currently, Heather is an education development specialist for Patterson Veterinary University. Heather serves on several advisory boards, including the WVC Board of Directors, the Pet Nutrition Alliance, and the Fear Free Advisory Board. Heather also serves as co-chair for the NAVTA Veterinary Nurse Initiative and is the editor in chief of NAVTA Journal. In addition, Heather was named the 2014 Veterinary Technician of the Year and the WVC 2016 and 2017 Speaker of the Year. Most recently, Heather obtained her SHPR (Senior Professional Human Resources) certification.

• Travis McDermott, DVM

  Vice-President

  

  Travis McDermott, DVM
  
  Dr. Travis McDermott was born in Galveston, Texas, and grew up in a small, rural town called La Grange, Texas. He obtained both his undergraduate and veterinary degrees from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. After receiving his veterinary degree in 2006, Dr. McDermott moved to Las Vegas and has been practicing small animal medicine since that time with a passion for three things: providing the best possible care for his patients, contributing to his profession by involvement in organized veterinary medicine, and enjoying time with his wife and three children.
  
  Dr. McDermott has worked for over 16 years providing care to the pets of Las Vegas (including furry things, scaling things, and feathered things).  He has also been actively involved in providing pet owner education through social media, community outreach, and work with local news outlets. While he has been practicing for quite a while, Dr. McDermott has been involved with organized veterinary medicine for even longer – 2 decades.  He has served as President of the Student AVMA and the Nevada VMA as well as in the AVMA House of Delegates, on the AVMA Political Action Committee, and now as a member of the Viticus Group Board of Directors.  If all things veterinary medicine is his passion, everything else in his life is his family.  Dr. McDermott is married to Dr. Nasim McDermott, a board-certified gastroenterologist, and they share their life with their three children – Owen, Aiden, and Emma.

• E. David Stearns, RVT

  Secretary/Treasurer - Parliamentarian

  

  Mr. David Stearns is currently the general manager for VitalRads, a Houston-based teleradiology company. Mr. Stearns’s experience includes many years of sales and marketing leadership for industry-leading companies in diagnostics and animal health, as well as teaching in an AVMA-accredited veterinary technology program. He worked as an RVT in a mixed animal practice and as the hospital administrator of a small animal practice. Mr. Stearns was part of the founding group of NAVTA and is the past-president of the Oklahoma and Kansas Veterinary Technician Associations. He has lectured and authored several articles including a chapter in the Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians. He has served on the AVMA’s CVTEA and chaired the National Board Exam Committee. Mr. Stearns served as the veterinary technician director on the Board of Directors for a five-year term and is currently serving as the secretary-treasurer for WVC.

• Thomas N. Tully, Jr., DVM, MS, DABVP (Avian), DECZM (Avian)

  Director

  

  Dr. Thomas N. Tully, Jr. is a professor of zoological medicine in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and also serves as the service chief of the Zoological Medicine Service, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University. Dr. Tully’s academic degrees include BS (Animal Science); DVM and MS (Epidemiology and Community Health) all from LSU. He is also a diplomate for the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Avian) and a diplomate for the European College Zoological Medicine (Avian). Following graduation from veterinary medical school, Dr. Tully practiced as an associate veterinarian in veterinary hospitals located in southeast Florida and Louisiana before becoming an instructor at the LSU – School of Veterinary Medicine where he participated in a Master of Science program in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health. While an instructor and graduate student Dr. Tully would regularly perform relief veterinary duties at private veterinary clinics/hospitals in south Louisiana. Upon completion of his Master of Science degree, he was hired as an associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the LSU – School of Veterinary Medicine. He has remained on faculty at the LSU-SVM, attaining the rank of full professor.

• Mrs. Linda Markland, RVT

  Director

  

  Linda Markland, RVT, has been a member of the veterinary community for more than 40 years. Her work includes a diverse range of experience, from small animal clinical practice and teaching, to corporate management. She has a special interest in engaging, educating, and empowering veterinary nurses and technicians. She is an active member of veterinary nurse/technician related organizations and has served in many leadership roles including NAVTA, as the Global Outreach Chair and on the CE Committee. Linda has received many awards from the organizations she supports.

• Brian Darrow, DVM, BS

  Director

  

  Dr. Brian Darrow received a BS in animal science in 1979 and a DVM from Iowa State University in 1983. His practice career began in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and a year later, he moved to his hometown of Anamosa, Iowa where he founded the Anamosa Veterinary Clinic. The clinic has grown to become a thriving 6-doctor mixed practice in Northeast Iowa that attends to cattle and companion animals. Dr. Darrow was a track athlete at ISU. In 2005 Sharon Korir, the daughter of one of his Kenyan teammates died of rabies subsequent to a dog bite. Moved by her tragic story, Dr. Darrow founded Sharon’s Foundation through a remarkable series of insights and connections (sharonliveson.org). The foundation’s purpose is to provide rabies control in Kenya by vaccinating animals and educating the Kenyan people about the disease. To date, the organization has vaccinated over 400,000 animals and education outreach is ongoing.

• Megan Skeffington, DVM

  Director

  

  Dr. Megan Skeffington is a Professional Services Veterinarian for IDEXX, Laboratories. For almost 15 years she practiced as an associate veterinarian for both private and corporate hospitals, as well as a Chief is Staff. She loves all aspects of veterinary medicine and has a special interest in diagnostics, soft tissue surgery, and endocrinology. She is very passionate about the human-animal bond and making sure that pets are healthy, happy members of the family for as long as possible. Dr. Skeffington has worked in several capacities of the veterinary profession, including mentoring new veterinary graduates, developing critical skills and has been a speaker and advocate for veterinary communication. She has spoken at WVC Annual Meeting and Recent Graduate Symposium and has worked to develop the new Clinical Skills Training continuing education course at WVC.Dr. Skeffington was born and raised in Eastern Iowa where her veterinary career started at the age of 11, riding along on farm calls and working in the kennels. She attended Iowa State University, where she obtained her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. She and her husband moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Upstate New York in 2010, where they enjoy traveling, hiking and camping with their two Brittany Spaniels.