ST. PAUL - A veterinary technician at the St. Paul Veterinary Clinic recently received a prestigious honour for her exemplary work in the field.
Angela Lock, a licensed veterinary technician, received the 2019 ABVMA Animal Health Technologist of the Year Award from the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association. The award was presented to Lock at the group’s annual AbVMA Membership Recognition Banquet on Feb. 29 in Edmonton. The award honours someone who has made an outstanding contribution to veterinary medicine or veterinary science as a registered veterinary technologist.
“To win this award and to be selected by the ABVMA out of all the hard working AHT's in the province is breathtaking,” Lock said. “I never imagined I would get selected.”
Originally from Oxdrift, Ont., Lock moved to the west to attend Lakeland College in Vermilion. Following her graduation, she began working for doctors Craig and Anita Hellquist at the clinic in St. Paul.
“It’s now going on 14 years that I have worked at the St. Paul Veterinary Clinic,” Lock said. “I decided to move and work in St. Paul because after my interview with Craig it just felt right.”
The relationships she has developed in town have exceeded her expectations, she said.
“My greatest accomplishment through my profession is my relationships with my clients,” Lock said. “I can walk through our local Co-op, meet a client in every row, look them in the eye and say ‘hello’ because I know that I have done my best for their pet or cow.”
Lock’s colleague, Dr. Craig Hellquist, a veterinarian and the owner of the vet clinic, said he couldn’t think of a better person to receive this award. Craig and his wife, Anita, also a veterinarian, nominated Lock for the award.
“We just felt that (Lock) is an excellent registered veterinary technologist and just an awesome person to do the technical work,” Craig said. “It’s nice that she can receive some recognition for that.”
Lock is also the clinic’s longest serving employee.
“She’s not the type of person that would put herself out there,” he said. “It’s nice that she is recognized (because) there is close to 2,000 registered technologists in our association.”
Lock, who describes herself as a modest person, didn’t think she could ever win AHT of the year.
“I have always known Craig and Anita appreciate the work I do, but the letters I received to support their nomination from colleges and clients solidified the fact that I chose the correct profession,” she said.
“I have come to the conclusion that the St. Paul Veterinary Clinic does a wonderful job for the community of St. Paul and I have been and huge part of that,” she added.
Besides her full-time job, Lock is an active member of the community as treasurer for the St. Paul Barracudas Swim Club, she helps run a ladies hockey team in St. Paul, and enjoys being on the baseball field in the summer playing slo-pitch.
“I am looking forward to many more years giving back to the community through the clinic,” she said. “Our door is always open for kids interested in the veterinary profession.”
