As many of you know Candance Joy retired from her role as CEO of WSVMA at the end of 2023. The staff and Board of WSVMA knew that it was necessary to hold a function to both honor this transition for Ms. Joy and to also acknowledge the pivotal role that she had played in helping to shape WSVMA into an innovative, high performing, leader in Veterinary Medicine.
Of course, the only way to properly celebrate such a caring leader is to completely mortify them with a surprise party! Hence operation Surprise Candace was born. Approximately 40 past and present Board/Committee Members, staff and volunteers gathered at the West of the Waterway venue in Tacoma this last Saturday. We were able to completely surprise Ms. Joy as she opened the door into the venue, thinking that she was taking her grandkids to a children’s museum.
The photos here capture Ms. Joys delight when she realized what was going on.
During the light refreshments that were served, past and present Board members, staff members, colleagues, and volunteers took the time to thank Ms. Joy for her service, leadership, and commitment to Veterinary Medicine. Ms. Joy finally got a chance to grab the microphone. She talked about her history with WSVMA commencing with a tiny ad in the Seattle Times, and then how the organization has both grown and flexed to stay relevant to veterinary medicine today. She closed by thanking everyone and noting that for her WSVMA was not a job, it was instead one of the highlights of her life.
A special shout out must go to Heather Joy who conspired with WSVMA staff to make the surprise happen. Heather we could not have pulled this off without you.
