Bristol Veterinarian Receives A.M. Mills Award

Bristol veterinarian receives award
BRISTOL, Va. – Bristol veterinarian W. David Fletcher recently received the A.M. Mills Award from the Lambda Chapter of Alpha Psi at the University of Georgia.

The award honors a veterinarian who has advanced the welfare and knowledge of the profession and who has contributed greatly beyond his veterinary practice to his community and fellow citizens. 

After serving in the U.S. Army, the Virginia Tech undergraduate earned a degree from the University of Georgia School of Veterinary Medicine in 1961. 

Fletcher came to Bristol in 1962 and established Bristol Animal Clinic, where he practiced until retirement. He helped to establish the Tri-Cities Veterinary
Academy, which provides continuing education to practitioners and to veterinary technicians.

He was the first veterinarian appointed by the governor of Virginia to serve as a member of the Virginia State Board of Health.

Fletcher served on the Bristol Virginia Utilities Board and during his 15-year tenure as chairman, he helped combat high electric rates from TVA, according to a news release sent in by Fletcher’s family. The board won a $70 million settlement against BVU and was featured in a front-page article in The Wall Street Journal, the release stated.

Retired from U.S. Army Reserve Veterinary Corps as a full colonel, Fletcher is an active member of State Street United Methodist Church.