WVC: Attendance down, program quality up

LAS VEGAS — Continuing education and laboratory programs at the Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) were a slam-dunk success despite National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star weekend crowds.

Hosted at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas for the fifth consecutive year, the 39th Annual WVC welcomed 13,192 attendees, down approximately 1,200 from 2006, says Stephen W. Crane, DVM and conference executive director.

Attributing the drop to the "one-time catastrophe" of limited hotel accommodations because of the All-Star Game and a realtor's conference overlapping WVC, Crane expects higher attendance numbers to resume in 2008.

"Other than the NBA effects that happened on Sunday-Monday, I think it was a grand success, particularly in terms of programming," Crane says.

Despite attendance, exhibitor participation was at 3,000, up since 2006. Most impressive was the strength of WVC's continuing education programs, says Crane, dubbing them the most successful he has seen during his career.

"We really had some riveting material," Crane says. WVC also boasted success in laboratory offerings, all of which Crane says were extraordinarily useful and applicable.

The newest conference program, forensic medicine, proved the most popular. "We had no idea there was such a demand for this," Crane says. The presentation focused on the practice of completing autopsies for potential evidence collecting to be presented in court.

Another area of increased interest is small-mammal medicine, particularly focused on rabbits.

"We also had a great food-animal medicine program, and we continue to try and emphasize and improve the quality of our bovine program," Crane says.

Mandalay Bay will host WVC in 2008, but Crane says the planning committee is reformatting program organization in the facility to improve convenience and privacy.