Animal health association moves to St. Joseph
Kansas City Business Journal
7/12/07
The United States Animal Health Association has relocated its headquarters to St. Joseph, Mo. -- part of a region that has been branded the KC Animal Health Corridor.
The USAHA's first executive director, Benjamin Richey, took the helm of the 1,400-member organization last year on one condition: That the 109-year-old association will move to this area from Richmond, Va.
The move dovetails with a year-old campaign to promote the corridor between Manhattan, Kan., and Columbia, Mo., as a center for the animal health and nutrition industries. The campaign, led by the Kansas City Area Development Council, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute Inc. and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, seeks to raise awareness of what a recent study called the world's largest single concentration of animal health interests.
"This is a very exciting time for USAHA," association president and Georgia State Veterinarian Lee Myers, said in a release about the association's move. "We have been pleased with the results of our transition to Missouri, and plan to continue the same valuable contribution to the animal health community."
Established in 1897, the USAHA aims to protect animal and public health by eliminating livestock disease. Its members include state and federal animal health officials, veterinarians, livestock producers, professional association leaders, research scientists, representatives of industry and academia, and others associated with animal health.
"St. Joseph has a strong animal health community that includes companies specializing in animal vaccines," Ted Allison, president and CEO of the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce, said in the release. "Both the USAHA and area companies will benefit from this move."
Richey said the St. Joseph chamber, Kansas City Area Development Council, KC Animal Health Corridor, the Institute for Applied and Industrial Life Sciences at Missouri Western State University and other community members provided support for USAHA's transition.
"The addition of a prominent animal health trade association, such as the USAHA, is an essential element to the Kansas City animal health industry base," Bob Marcusse, president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council, said in the release.
Richey, a recent graduate of Purdue University's College of Agriculture, previously was director of communications for the National Institute for Animal Agriculture and an account executive for a Kansas City-based advertising agency.
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