Reports
From the President- February Update
As I write this, it is day two of the International Technician Appreciation Week celebrated around the world annually to recognize laboratory animal technicians for their key piece in the overall puzzle of research. The 2026 theme is “Technicians Keep Research Sailing Forward” and I truly believe technicians do that. Without technicians, the animals would not have the consistent husbandry and care that are key in providing quality outcomes. Even though it has been 18 years since I was a technician, I still enjoy planning and implementing different events to appreciate technicians and the entire research team. Remember, while it may not fall on the official week due to internal operations, it is so important to show your staff that you care and appreciate what they do!
Next week at the February DVB AALAS meeting hosted by GSK, the branch also wants to celebrate technicians! It will be the last chance for members to enter to win a trip to the QUAD conference in May and there will also be gift cards provided by Tristate Biomedical Services.
Registration is also open for the DVB AALAS Networking Event to be held March 18th in King of Prussia. You have until February 12 to get early bird ticket pricing! This event is a chance to network with food and beverages in a relaxing environment. It is open to Veterinarians, Veterinary Technicians, Technicians, Training Personnel, Regulatory Professionals, as well as DVB commercial partners! The board and I would love to see you at one of our future events. Even more, if you are interested in volunteering, send me an email julia.krout@delval.edu!
Finally, as we settle into our new website the ability to advertise is now available at different places within the site. Commercial partners have options for the entire year of 2026 at 3 different rates. This replaces the DVB AALAS Newsletter ads that many opted into in the past. To flow with the site, ads are recommended to be set up with the desktop horizontal banner ad size: of1024 x 200 and the mobile horizontal banner ad size: 300 x 200 in JPG, PNG-8 and GIF file formatting no more than 200 kb in size.
jKrout
From the President- October Update
Happy Fall to the DVB AALAS meeting. Bucks County has leaves changing and colder mornings (seat warmers are amazing!). There was a harvest festival on campus last week and everyone got to go on a hayride down to the farms for apple and pumpkin picking. Then the harvest moon was amazing! The branch now has 2 meetings over for the year-time is flying! The annual dinner held at ASAP hosted almost 100 people with people recognized for their contributions. This amazing meeting would never be possible without this amazing commercial partnership between ASAP, LabDiet, and DVB-thank you! Head over the awards page to see who won and check out the photos! Then a few weeks later it was time for a meeting at University of Delaware! With 2 amazing presentations on work done within the university, I cannot keep talking to those I know about what I learned regarding prairie voles and poultry. This would not have possible without the host, Univ of DE, and Tecniplast, Gramercy, and the Programs Committee. Check out pictures from this October event here!
The October meeting was the last meeting for the 2025 calendar year as the Lab Animal community looks to National AALAS and then holiday season. If attending National AALAS, do not forget the district meetings held annually! This year’s meeting is Monday, November 10 5:15 PM Pacific Time. I will see you there! Even if not meeting in person, DVB AALAS members can start to nominate deserving individuals for awards now through May 2026, by going to the awards page. Finally, as we settle into our new website the ability to advertise is now available at different places within the site. Commercial partners have options-a discounted price for the last quarter of 2025 at 3 different rates and for the entire year of 2026 at 3 different rates. This replaces the DVB AALAS Newsletter.
I wish everyone health and wellness as we celebrate fall,
Julia
DVB AALAS President
From the President- September Update
Welcome to the new DVB AALAS Website and the new program year as we head into September!
Very soon it will be time for the annual dinner held at ASAP in Quakertown followed by great meetings across the Delaware Valley region organized by the Programs Committee!
I want to thank the outgoing board members Ann Dinkel and Claudia Moore for serving on the board. Ann finished her term as a Counselor, but has been integral to DVB for many years-thank you Ann! Claudia has been a chair with the Programs Committee since 2022 and has worked hard to plan our meetings these past years. As she finishes her term, she has assisted the new chairs in preparation for this upcoming year-thank you Claudia! While stepping down in April, I want to again thank Lewis Holt-Bright for his many years of service as Awards Chair.
Looking to next year, I want to thank Francis Karani for accepting the role of Counselor, Drew Minenna as Past President, and Erin Vogelsong for transitioning from Counselor to Awards Chair. Also a hearty welcome to Lauren Duffy (Vice President), Cecilia De Souza Dyer (Programs Co-Chair), Amy Ingraham (Counselor), and Kaitlyn Worthington (Programs Co-Chair) to the board!
In addition to recognizing award winners in September, we will be asking the membership to approve changes to the Constitution & Bylaws and the budget for the year. All documents will be sent out ahead of time so you may read and review. As we look ahead, I ask that if you have time to volunteer, please consider it. We are looking for individuals to assist the Awards and Website Committee and also will have elections in the spring for different positions. Thank you for electing me as your 2025-26 President.

Julia Krout
