Bailey, El Toro, JTV Equine and Young Achievers Awards

Dr. Fairfield Bain was named the 2023 Bailey Award recipient in research and public policy. He earned a B.S. in animal science from North Carolina State University before completing a DVM at Auburn. He later completed post-graduate work at both Kansas State and Wake Forest Universities before earning an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology.

Dr. Bain has held numerous professional positions during his career, including serving as co-owner/vice president of Equine Oxygen Therapy Acquisitions, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of hyperbaric oxygen chambers for veterinary applications. He has also served as a staff pathologist at Histopathology Associates in Ashland, Virginia; associate professor and senior clinician in equine sports medicine and surgery of the University of Queensland (Australia) Equine Hospital; department head of veterinary clinical sciences at Washington State University; and senior account manager of equine veterinary professional services and associate director of strategic development and innovation for Merck Animal Health. He currently serves as CEO of The Bain Group, LLC, based in Wakefield, Virginia, and practices equine internal medicine at Tennessee Equine Hospital in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee.

Dr. Bain is board certified in large animal internal medicine by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) and is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP). He is also board certified in large animal by the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC), where he has also served on the Board of Regents. In addition, he is or has served as a member of numerous other professional and scientific organizations, including the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Veterinary Infection Control Society, the Davis-Thompson Foundation for Veterinary Pathology and the Morris Animal Foundation.

Dr. Dennis A. Feinberg, DVM ’75
(Private Practice)

Dr. Dennis Feinberg was named the 2023 Bailey Award recipient in private practice. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University before attending Auburn to earn both a B.S. in pharmacy and DVM. Following graduation, he practiced at the Dorchester Veterinary Clinic for a year before opening the Charles Towne Veterinary Clinic in Charleston, South Carolina, where he practiced from 1976-2017 and still serves currently as relief veterinarian.

Dr. Feinberg has been active in various professional and scientific organizations. He previously served as president of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and as chair of both the National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and AAHA Foundation. Honored as the 1999 South Carolina Association of Veterinarians Distinguished Veterinarian of the Year, he has served as an officer, committee and board member of the South Carolina Association of Veterinarians and member and chair of the South Carolina State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

Dr. Calvin M. Johnson, DVM, PhD, DACVP ’86
(Academia)

Dr. Calvin Johnson was named the 2023 Bailey Award recipient in academia. He earned both a B.S. in agricultural science and DVM from Auburn University. He later earned a Ph.D. in Veterinary Medical Science (Pathology) from North Carolina State University (NCSU). He worked in private practice in Fayetteville, North Carolina, before joining the anatomic pathology residency program at NCSU. He joined the veterinary faculty at the University of Florida as an assistant professor, rising to tenured associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Pathobiology. Dr. Johnson led NIH-funded research in animal models of HIV-1 infection and contributed to studies of other infectious diseases of importance to animals and humans. Topics of teaching expertise include systemic pathology, molecular pathology, immunology, viral pathogenesis and veterinary ethics.

In 2003, Dr. Johnson returned to Auburn as professor and later head of the Department of Pathobiology. He next served as acting dean for two years before being named dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013 after a national search. A Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP), he is board certified in anatomic pathology. Dr. Johnson served as president and chair of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) from 2019-2020. He has served in numerous leadership roles in the AAVMC, ACVP, AVMA, Southeastern Veterinary Pathology Conference and others, as well as a member of the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association.

Dean Johnson has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including being selected as a Distinguished Fellow by the National Academies of Practice, a Distinguished Alumnus by North Carolina State University, a Young Achiever by the Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine and ACVP Mentor of the Year.

Dr. David Gartrell Pugh
El Toro Award for Excellence in Food Animal Medicine

Dr. David Gartrell Pugh attended Austin Peay State University before earning his DVM from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. After two

years in large animal private practice, he joined the faculty at Virginia Tech University as a clinical instructor before completing a residency in theriogenology at Texas A&M University. After later joining the faculty at the University of Georgia CVM as an assistant professor-ambulatory, he returned to private practice briefly before joining the faculty at Auburn in 1990.

While at Auburn, Dr. Pugh has worked in the General Ambulatory and Reproduction Center, as Project Veterinarian and Farm Director/Project Veterinarian for the AU Equine Source Plasma Project, and later, as Director of the Alabama Veterinary Diagnostic Lab System. He is now retired from full-time work at Auburn and in the Diagnostic Lab system, but since retiring he has worked part-time in the Parasitology Section of the lab system and for several pharmaceutical companies. He also taught parasitology for a year at St. Matthews University School of Veterinary Medicine in the Cayman Islands.

Dr. Pugh is a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists, the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists. He also holds an M.S. from the University of Georgia in Ruminant Nutrition, a MAG from Auburn in Entomology and a certificate for the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab Course. With more than 600 scientific publications, book chapters, abstracts, proceedings and extension bulletins to his credit, Dr. Pugh has been honored with five teaching awards and was recognized by his alma mater with
the 2017 UGA Alumni of the Year Award and the 2006 A.M. Mills Award for contributions to Veterinary Medicine.

Young Achievers Awards

Dr. Edward F. Murray
J.T.V. Equine Achievement Award

Dr. Edward F. Murray earned his Auburn DVM in 1973 — 50 years ago this year — and returned home to join the Blount County practice of Dr. Charles Payton ’68. In 1987, he decided to specialize in equine medicine and opened the Coosa Valley Equine Center, featuring a hospital and full diagnostic and surgical facilities, in Pell City, Alabama.

A board member of the American Quarter Horse Association since 1985, Murray
has served on the association’s research committee as well as served as both vice chairman and chair. He has also served on numerous boards, councils and committees for the Auburn CVM and was honored by his alma mater as the 2016 winner of the Wilford S. Bailey Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Casey Eckert ’13

Since graduating with a B.S. degree in Animal Sciences and her DVM from Auburn, Dr. Casey Eckert has practiced in small animal practices in central Kentucky. Her practice career has allowed her to work in different practices and to develop a passion for helping the many rescue organizations and shelters in those communities. She currently serves as vice president of the Woodford Humane Society Board of Directors and also provides veterinary care for the Franklin County Humane Society through exams, spay/neuter clinics and general medical care.

Dr. Eckert and her husband, Josh, opened Eckert Veterinary Hospital in Versailles, Kentucky, in 2020. The clinic provides full care, including surgery and medicine for all animals of Woodford Humane Society and the Franklin County Humane Society.

Since its launch, Eckert Veterinary Hospital has grown into a seven-vet practice. Eckert and husband Josh also raise McCurdy Plantation Horses and Quarter Horses on their farm in Versailles.

Dr. Anna D. Reddish ’13

After earning her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia and her DVM from Auburn, Dr. Reddish joined Memorial Drive Veterinary Clinic in Griffin, Georgia, but soon took
a position with the American Veterinary Medical Association as Assistant Director for Student Initiatives in the Eastern Region, where she also served as co-host of the AVMA’s My Veterinary Life podcast. Later, she took a position as Regional Medical Affairs and Outreach Advisor with IDEXX Laboratories, where she is currently responsible for managing and growing the company’s relationships and student programs for 21 universities in the U.S. and Canada.

Dr. Reddish has served on the Auburn CVM Admissions Committee and is a founding board member of the CVM Alumni Affiliate Group. She has also received a number of recognitions
and awards, including membership in UGA’s “40 Under 40” and as a recipient of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Young Alumni Achievement Award.

Dr. Daniel Weldon ’13

Dr. Daniel S. Weldon earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the AU College of Agriculture before also earning his DVM at Auburn. In 2015, he founded Southeast Equine Veterinary Services in Seale, Alabama, an equine practice focused on performance-based medicine and rehabilitation for the equine athlete.

Since that time, the practice has expanded into a new clinic facility with an even wider range of rehabilitation and hospitalization services. Dr. Weldon and his wife, Gloria, also enjoy managing a commercial horse and cattle operation on their farm near Seale.