Members of AVC nominate their peers based on outstanding contributions to the field, and the winner is selected by a committee of past honorees at the winter meeting each year. The first AVC Consultant of the Year award was given in 1986.
“I’m honored to have been nominated and humbled to have been selected as the recipient,” Dr. Booker says. “I’m fortunate that I’ve worked with some great people and had some great mentors — people I’ve got to work with at our company, with our clients and with my peers in Canada and elsewhere. I always look for the opportunity to learn.”
For the past 18 years, Dr. Booker has been a part of Feedlot Health Management Services Ltd., where he is now a managing partner and a key member of the professional consultant team that provides services to the feedlot sector of the beef cattle industries in Canada and the United States.
Dr. Booker leads the organization’s research department that includes collaborative initiatives with academic institutions, government agencies, independent research firms and individual feedlots.
His involvement in the industry only begins with AVC. Dr. Booker also is involved in the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, the International Society for Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics and others. Dr. Booker received his veterinary degree from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
As part of the award, Dr. Booker will contribute $2,000 to the scholarship fund at his alma mater, the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, to assist senior students who are passionate and interested in beef cattle production.
Sponsorship of the AVC Consultant of the Year award is part of Pfizer Animal Health’s Commitment to Veterinarians, an initiative supporting veterinarians through training and education, research and development, and investment in the future of the veterinary profession. 
—From Pfizer Animal Health news release
PHOTO: Dale Grotelueschen, DVM, Veterinary Operations, Pfizer Animal Health presents Calvin Booker, DVM, M.Vet.Sc., of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, with the 2010 AVC Consultant of the Year at the Winter Conference in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 2. Photo taken by Geni Wren and courtesy of AVC.
