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member of the Western Veterinary
Medical Association for 43 years, where he served as
Secretary-Treasurer for 22 years. He is presently
representing the WMVMA as a delegate to the MVMA
Board of Directors.
At the state level he was
chairman of the Retired Veterinarians Committee, and is
presently on the Board of Directors of the Maryland
Veterinary Medical Foundation.
Upon graduation Dr Ediger was
drafted into the Army Veterinary Corps where he trained
military dogs, operated on-post veterinary clinics and
performed subsistence inspections. During his last post at
Fort Detrick, Maryland he was assigned to the Animal
Production Facility. There he established the Lab Animal
Diagnostic Laboratory. Several years later he established a
similar laboratory at the National Institutes of Health
animal production facility.
Dr. Ediger is a Diplomate of the
American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. He has
published 33 papers in scientific journals and several
others in text books. He has been the invited speaker at
numerous conferences, reviewed papers for journals and has
been an instructor in the U.S. Army Lab Animal preceptorship
training program. He has served on many committees,
including the Institutional Laboratory Animal Care and Use
Committees of USAMRIID, Lonza and USAMBRL. He is also an
active member of the Southern Research IACUC.
After leaving the military, he
managed the Fort Detrick Animal Production Facility and led
it to prominence amongst lab animal production facilities.
In 1977, Dr. Ediger joined the Maryland Department of
Agriculture as a field veterinarian with epidemiological
responsibilities for Central and Western Maryland counties
and led Maryland to a Brucella-free status.
In 1985 Dr. Ediger developed the
Johne’s eradication program in Maryland and assisted with
the development of the Maryland Scrapie eradication program.
He sits on the Maryland Animal Disease Traceability
Committee and the Frederick County Disaster Preparedness
Committee.
In his tenure with the MDA he
instructed veterinary students from the VMRCVM in their
public service clerkship. He has consulted internationally
about veterinary needs of developing communities in the
Amazon, for the Galapagos Islands and for Ecuador’s 13
veterinary schools.
The Western Maryland Veterinary
Medical Association created an award and stipend in his
honor in 1999: each year the most worthy contestant at the
Frederick County Science Fair is awarded the Dr. Raymond
Ediger Award for Excellence in Agriculture. His special
interest in children is further evident in his 45 years of
supporting the 4-H with workshops, public speaking, coaching
and judging. He was recognized by Governor Ehrlich in 2006
for his volunteer work.
Residents of Frederick,
Maryland, Dr. Ediger and his wife are active in their local
community and church, and they stay busy with their purebred
Shorthorn beef cattle on the family farm that has been
maintained for over a century. A gentleman and a scholar,
Dr. Raymond Ediger is clearly deserving of this award for a
lifetime of service to veterinary medicine.
The Maryland Veterinary Medical Association is committed to
a leading role in the advancement of the science and art of
veterinary medicine throughout Maryland. MVMA allows for
veterinarians, registered veterinary technicians and
veterinary students to come together and share ideas to
further their professional and personal development.
Further information about the Maryland Veterinary Medical
Association can be found on their website at
www.mdvma.org or by
contacting their Executive Director, Ron Sohn at
443-507-6500 ext. 109. |
