From October 15 to 17, Encore Vet Group’s leaders gathered in Schenectady, NY, for Ovation 2025, our annual event celebrating connection, learning, and inspiration for veterinary leaders across our practices. With over 150 attendees, including Practice Managers, Medical Directors, and emerging veterinary leaders, this year’s theme, “Connected by Purpose. Charged by Passion” was a perfect tribute to Schenectady’s rich history in electricity innovation. True to the theme, the event was buzzing with energy, ideas, and collaboration.
Learning from Industry Leaders
Our attendees were inspired by a lineup of amazing speakers who brought actionable insights and thought-provoking perspectives:
- Dr. Erika Lukas, Fitchburg Veterinary Hospital: “When They Shenan Once, They Will Shenanigan”
- Brenda Medina, President of Encore Veterinary Consulting: “Driving Veterinary Visits During Times of Economic Uncertainty”
- Dr. Peter Weinstein: “The 4 P’s of Operational (IN)-Efficiency”
- Kathy Buckley: “Charge Forward: How to Rewrite Your Story Against All Odds”
- Darren Osborne: “Know Your Market; Plan Your Client Outreach; Grow Your Practice”
We were also grateful to our sponsor speakers, who brought their expertise and energy to the event. Thank you for supporting Ovation 2025!
Sparking Ideas at the Encore Finance Fair
A highlight of the event was the Encore Finance Fair, where practice leaders shared the knowledge and strategies they had gained during our Financial Blueprint Course. Leaders presented opportunities for growth within their own practices, exchanged best practices, and sparked ideas that they could bring home to improve operations, strengthen teams, and enhance client care.
Evening Entertainment That Energized Everyone
Ovation was not just about learning. It was also about fun and connection. From karaoke to live music and a dance floor, from temporary tattoos to permanent bracelets, and from photo booths to amazing food, attendees had the chance to relax, celebrate, and bond with colleagues.
Celebrating Excellence: Awards at Ovation
We were thrilled to honor our practices through an awards ceremony, that reflected Encore Vet Group’s core values and recognized practices who have improved, remained resilient and excelled in so many ways.
OWN IT Award
The OWN IT Award recognizes practices that exemplify personal accountability and authentic expression. In evaluating nominees, we considered financial performance such as EBITDA as a percentage of revenue, year-over-year improvement, and dollar growth. We also looked at how practices represent themselves through their brand and client experience, including Google reviews.
2025 Own It Award Finalists:
- Animal Emergency and Critical Care of Lynchburg
- Fitchburg Veterinary Hospital
- The Pet Hospital of Granbury
- Rutland Veterinary Clinic and Surgical Center
- Veterinary Emergency Center
2025 Own It Award Winners:
SHARE IT Award
The SHARE IT Award celebrates genuine connection and effective communication. Nominees were assessed on client engagement metrics including forward booking, bonding rates, new client growth, and how employees rated their practice in our engagement survey.
2025 Share It Award Finalists:
- Chester Animal Clinic
- Lake Murray Animal Hospital
- Providence River Animal Hospital
- Rutland Veterinary Clinic and Surgical Center
- Suburban Animal Clinic of Monroe
- Winterville Animal Care
2025 Share It Award Winner:
LIFT IT Award
The LIFT IT Award highlights purposeful growth and learning. We looked for practices that invest in development across all areas including mentor programs like Mentorcore, surgical skills training, CSR Bootcamps, staff and community training events, NAVLE prep participation, hackathons, credentialing, and hosting externs.
2025 Lift It Award Finalists:
- Big Creek Veterinary Hospital
- Country View Veterinary Service of Oregon
- Grace Animal Hospital
- Reynolda Veterinary Hospital
- Rutland Veterinary Clinic and Surgical Center
- Union Pet Hospital
2025 Lift It Award Winners:
CELEBRATE IT Award
The CELEBRATE IT Award honors practices that recognize and cherish the calling of veterinary medicine. Nominees were evaluated on metrics that reflect a supportive and thriving work environment including employee engagement survey results, employee turnover, Compassion Satisfaction Accreditation (CSAW), and both local and national awards.
2025 Celebrate It Award Finalists:
- Animal Emergency and Critical Care of Lynchburg
- Erlanger Veterinary Hospital
- Grace Animal Hospital
- Kelly Veterinary Clinic
- Providence River Animal Hospital
- Reynolda Veterinary Hospital
2025 Celebrate It Award Winners:
Most Improved Award
The Most Improved Award recognizes practices that have made exceptional strides over the past year. This award recognizes a practice that demonstrated remarkable progress in operational efficiency, team growth, and client engagement, reflecting their ongoing commitment to improvement.
2025 Most Improved Award Finalists:
2025 Most Improved Award Winner:
Resiliency Award
The Resiliency Award celebrates practices that thrive in the face of challenges, demonstrating adaptability, perseverance, and a positive outlook.
2025 Resiliency Award Finalists:
2025 Resiliency Award Winner:
Practice of the Year Awards
Our Practice of the Year Awards honor the practices that consistently excel across all metrics including our values awards, forward booking rates, emails on file, vaccine compliance, clients on autoship, client growth, bonding rate, EBITDA, revenue, staff labor, COGS, and vet labor.
2025 Practice of the Year Award Finalists:
- Animal Emergency and Critical Care of Lynchburg
- Fitchburg Veterinary Hospital
- Grace Animal Hospital
- Lake Murray Animal Hospital
- Northfield Veterinary Hospital
- Reynolda Veterinary Hospital
- Rutland Veterinary Clinic and Surgical Center
- Suburban Animal Clinic of Monroe
- The Pet Hospital of Granbury
- Village Veterinary Clinic
- Williamsburg Veterinary Clinic
2025 Practice of the Year – Bronze:
2025 Practice of the Year – Silver:
2025 Practice of the Year – Gold:
CONGRATULATIONS to all of practices!!
Thank You to Our Sponsors
