{"id":7420,"date":"2026-03-09T10:24:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T14:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/?p=7420"},"modified":"2026-03-10T10:11:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:11:57","slug":"harcha-recognizes-kolb-oquin-with-annual-awards-wagner-accepts-presidents-gavel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/?p=7420","title":{"rendered":"Harcha recognizes Kolb, O’Quin with annual awards; Wagner accepts president’s gavel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr. Tim Kolb has been named the 2025 Ohio Veterinarian of the Year in recognition of his decades-long efforts to improve veterinary wellbeing and professional standards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
COLUMBUS, OHIO \u2014 MARCH 9, 2026 \u2014 Dr. Tim Kolb of Delaware has been honored as the 2025 Ohio Veterinarian of the Year. The award was presented by outgoing Ohio Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) president Dr. Michelle Harcha during the organization\u2019s annual member business meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Veterinarian of the Year award, considered the Association\u2019s highest honor, is given to a recognized leader in organized veterinary medicine whose contributions have made a significant, positive impact on the Ohio veterinary community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDr. Kolb has provided distinguished service to the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association,\u201d Dr. Harcha said in presenting the award. \u201cHe has served his community for many years, exemplifying professionalism, service, and compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 1982 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Kolb is a retired small animal veterinarian, practice owner, and former OVMA District 5 Representative. A passionate champion for mental health in the profession, Dr. Kolb sat on the AVMA Committee on Wellness, is a past chair and current member of the OVMA Wellbeing Committee, and has served as both secretary and treasurer of the Ohio Professionals Health Program, an organization that provides confidential mental health and substance abuse support to medical professionals, including veterinarians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThrough this work,\u201d Dr. Harcha said, \u201che has been a thoughtful and steadfast advocate for mental health awareness and professional wellbeing within the veterinary profession.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside of OVMA, Dr. Kolb has served on the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board and recently assumed the role of president of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFriends have told me that being recognized by your peers is the greatest honor of all,\u201d Dr. Kolb said in accepting the award. \u201cThroughout my career I have been blessed and privileged to work and serve with incredible veterinary and other professionals, as well as care for a myriad of pets and their owners. I am grateful for all the opportunities I have had to pay forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Jeanette O\u2019Quin (left) received the 2025 Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her volunteerism for both OVMA and the veterinary community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
During the annual meeting, Dr. Harcha also presented the Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Jeanette O\u2019Quin of Commercial Point in recognition of her notable contributions and outstanding volunteer service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDr. O\u2019Quin\u2019s commitment to service, education, and the advancement of our profession embodies the very spirit of this award,\u201d Dr. Harcha said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 1993 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. O\u2019Quin is a clinical professor in the college\u2019s Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. At OSU, she developed a core rotation in shelter medicine and surgery\u2014the first required shelter rotation in the country. She also served on the curriculum redesign committee, which developed a new comprehensive program with highly integrated course content and expanded pre-clinical lab work, which will graduate its first class of students this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well known in shelter animal and public health circles, Dr. O\u2019Quin is a longtime member and past chair of the Midwest Veterinary Conference (MVC) planning committees on those topics and is a past president and founding member of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. She was also instrumental in developing the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners\u2019 shelter medicine specialty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you play an active part in things that are larger than yourself, great things can be accomplished,\u201d Dr. O\u2019Quin said upon accepting the award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Amanda Wagner (left) accepts the gavel of the OVMA president from Dr. Michelle Harcha at the Association\u2019s annual business meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Following the awards presentation, Dr. Harcha reflected on her year as president, during which she oversaw the development of a strategic plan to guide the Association into the next three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cServing as President of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life,\u201d Dr. Harcha said. \u201cOver the past year, I have had the privilege of representing you, advocating for our profession, and witnessing firsthand the extraordinary dedication and compassion of veterinarians across the state of Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Harcha officially passed the gavel of the OVMA president on to Dr. Amanda Wagner. A 2013 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Wagner is a mixed animal practitioner and part-owner at Tri-County Veterinary Service in Anna. She chairs the MVC\u2019s Food Animal Education Committee and is a member of the Upper Valley Career Center Veterinary Science Advisory Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe OVMA has been an integral part of my career since veterinary school,\u201d Dr. Wagner said, \u201cand I am honored to be your President.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABOUT OVMA<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
The Ohio Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) is a non-profit trade organization providing services to its members in the areas of continuing education, public outreach, advocacy, and professional resources. Known for hosting the Midwest Veterinary Conference, the fifth-largest veterinary convention in North America, OVMA represents 2,800 veterinarians practicing in various fields and specialties. OVMA\u2019s mission is to advance the veterinary profession through leadership, learning, and advocacy that strengthen Ohio\u2019s veterinary community and enhance the health of animals and people.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dr. Tim Kolb has been named 2025 Ohio Veterinarian of the Year, and Dr. Jeanette O’Quin received the 2025 Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Amanda Wagner assumed the OVMA presidency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7433,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,9],"tags":[25,522,524,387,27,26,24],"class_list":["post-7420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-pr","tag-distinguished-service-award","tag-dr-amanda-wagner","tag-dr-jeanette-oquin","tag-dr-michelle-harcha","tag-ovma-president","tag-passing-of-the-gavel","tag-veterinarian-of-the-year"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/MVC-2026-PR-headshots-only.png?fit=640%2C320&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-03 18:25:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7420"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7420"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7436,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7420\/revisions\/7436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiovma.org\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}