WVC shatters attendance records

LAS VEGAS — A record crowd of 14,445 attended the 2006 Western Veterinary Conference; 6,860 DVMs and 1,664 technicians and technician students attended more than 800 hours of lectures, 20 symposia and 30 wet labs. The venue also welcomed 436 companies to the tradeshow floor.

Jay Leno entertains a capacity crowd during WVC's opening ceremony.

"It went extremely well," says WVC Executive Director Dr. Stephen Crane. "We had another large crowd, and we debuted several of our new learning links for attendee enhancement. We had a television product and WVC-Encore, and it seems to be working very well."

In a city known for its live entertainment, attendees could view sessions from their guestrooms if they stayed at Mandalay Bay, Luxor or Excalibur.

WVC-Encore Conference Presentations on DVD-ROM offer more than 400 hours of searchable content based on the 2006 Conference sessions. Speakers' comments are captured and synchronized with corresponding slides and videos.

"Sales figures are quite strong," Crane says.

More than 130 veterinary students attended the show, 31 of which — one from each AVMA-accredited school in North America — were awarded WVC Scholarships of $2,500, as well as a $1,000-stipend to attend the 2006 WVC. Six recipients of the WVC Food Animal Incentive Award also attended the conference.

"The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno welcomed a capacity crowd of about 5,000 during the 90-minute opening ceremony, where he took jabs at everything from world events and media to the behavioral differences between dogs and cats. Crowd laughs turned deafening during Leno's comments on how animals sense earthquakes. He took specific shots at cats.

"You see, I don't care if the cat knows. It's not going to lift a paw to help anybody."

Leno went on to address men's affection for dogs: "I like dogs, and I think women know why. A dog will pretend to be interested while the man is talking."

Hill's Pet Nutrition sponsored the event.

On the horizon

Next year, WVC's new facility will be online to conduct hands-on laboratories appropriate for all species. It will also house training seminars and dedicated equipment for specialty groups.

The Oquendo Center for Clinical Education broke ground in December 2005.

The 2007 WVC will be Feb. 18-22. For more information, visit www.wvc.org.