plan

The name of the society is the British Society of Veterinary Pathology. A number of other alternatives were considered but this title (although the grammatical correctness could be argued) is pithy, to the point and easily remembered. A logo is being considered - if you have any bright ideas, feel free to contact me.

national meetings

We will hold an annual meeting for the AGM and this will be our 'flagship' scientific meeting.

The idea is to attract as many of the membership as possible, offer a good quality meeting with appropriate CPD credits, create an environment for social interaction and 'networking' and hold the AGM (a legal requirement for a charity).

Other additional symposia could be organised as deemed appropriate, where there is a suitable topic and a good prospect of attracting sufficient attendees to make the event viable.

regional events

Regional organisation will be considered if there are sufficient numbers to support four geographical regions.

We could initially divide the country into 4 regions: Scotland & Borders; Northern England & Ireland; West Country, Wales & Midlands; and the South East. Each region would have 2 veterinary schools and commercial and government laboratories as well as large NHS trusts and other research institutes.

Within each region, travelling times should be more manageable than for a national event and it would be feasible to hold more, smaller events to suit the needs of the membership. Using a regional approach could involve some organisational and administrative difficulties but may be a more lively approach.

It might be possible to hold afternoon/evening or weekend events (to minimise time away from the office) and adopt a variety of different formats (case reports, small specialties, guest speakers etc.) Successful meetings/formats could be repeated in other regions or taken to a national level.

economics

The Society must be solvent and self-sustaining, which can be achieved in a variety of ways.

Membership fees will be kept low to encourage membership from as many as possible.

All events and meetings should aim to cover costs, at the very least, and make a modest surplus that will gradually accumulate to give the Society financial stability.

Sponsorship from commercial concerns should be encouraged either on an annual basis or for specific events. The annual meeting, regional meetings and advertising on the web site could all be valuable sources of revenue.

We are fortunate to have been offered some start-up funds by the 'Kegworth' group. This has given us a head start in establishing the new organisation.