Lucille Landals Legacy Presentation 2017 When the Board of - PDF document

Lucille Landals – Legacy Presentation 2017 When the Board of Directors found out that Lucille Landals was pursuing retirement, we wanted to do something to thank her, something big, something that we haven’t done before. At first we thought we could honor her with an award, but unfortunately, our present awards just don’t hit the mark on the major contributions that Lucille has given the Board and the profession over the years. After major discussion, it was decided to honor her legacy in a way that we have not done before, a special presentation showing our thanks and gratitude for her service over her life- long career. From a young age, Lucille was crazy about animals and from high school she was committed to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. In June of 1967, she was lucky enough to arrange a meeting with the Dean of Agriculture at the University of Alberta regarding enrolling in their pre-vet program there. Unfortunately, that meeting dealt a significant blow to Lucille. She was told there was no future for her in veterinary medicine. Not because she was a poor student, she was an excellent student! Rather, she was told to give up this dream because she was a woman….there simply was lit tle room for women in veterinary medicine. Reeling from this, she accepted full time employment as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic in Edmonton. This position made her passion grow and she was given an opportunity to engage as the laboratory assistant in the practice. At that time, there was no such thing as an AHT or RVT, rather, all laboratory services were provided by a human trained laboratory technician. Wanting to advance her career, she found the Biological Sciences Program at NAIT. This program was not specifically veterinary orientated but did offer potential to advance in laboratory and other skills in the animal health area. She graduated with her diploma in 1971. That summer, she moved with her husband Duane to Saskatoon. At this time, she learned that the Saskatchewan Veterinary legislation had been amended to permit the registration of

animal health technologists. Upon hearing this, she made an appointment to speak with the SVMA Registrar, however her expectations were defeated again. Yes, she was told that the legislation permitted registration of technicians, yes her education could qualify for her registration, but unfortunately the bylaws and processes necessary for this to happen were not in place. In fact, Lucille was the first person to apply for such registration. SVMA promised to start to look into it and would get back to her, but as life goes on, the Landals moved from Saskatoon in 1975 and the issue had still yet to be resolved. The next five years saw Lucille dedicated to raising their 3 daughters and had a brief hiatus from veterinary medicine. She returned to practice in 1980 as an AHT and found out that there was finally some movement! She eagerly joined the fledgling Alberta Association of Animal Health Technologists and was g iven her membership number….number 34. And the rest is history…. From the time she joined the Association to the present, she has dedicated 26 of her 35 years of active membership to service. She has sat on each committee, held each position on the board and has been awarded the AAAHT Appreciation Award twice, in 1984 and 2011 as well as the CAAHTT (RVTTC) Making a Difference Award in 2008. Her most recent distinguishable service was her dedication to the development of an administrative task list and job description whilst performing these duties as the AAAHT Administrative Assistant. At a time when the AAAHT became incredibly vulnerable, Lucille dedicated an extraordinary amount of time towards the development of pertinent financial practices and leadership which brought organizational stability and structure to the forefront of being a leader in our community. She has had an influence on the standards of education for AHT students, technical school accreditation, developing strong bylaws for the Association and solidifying strong ties with the veterinary community, improving the integration of technologists within veterinary practice while at the same time, maintaining autonomy for technologists. She has dedicated an enormous amount of time in fulfilling our strategic plan and ensuring that everything that we do is dedicated to supporting and engaging RVTs.

Legacy and leadership are two very important words. Their value is never expressed in isolation, but without the small core of individuals with vision, little progress is made. Lucille has demonstrated incredible leadership for the entire veterinary community, both for veterinarians and technologists alike. She has left an everlasting legacy in this community as well. It started with her hearing that “no girls were allowed” and with no other veterinary career opportunities available, she ended her career with her title as a Registered Veterinary Technologist and being recognized a s a full member of the veterinary profession under our Provincial Legislation. Many people have contributed to these changes, and Lucille has been there every step of the way. Please join me in offering our heartfelt thanks to the dedication and contributions of Lucille Landals.