Southwest Veterinary Symposium

What Southwest Veterinary Symposium does

Southwest Veterinary Symposium (SWVS) is a regional veterinary continuing education conference operated as a partnership among five state Veterinary Medical Associations (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) and four allied veterinary technician associations. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Plano, Texas (mailing address in Keller, Texas), SWVS runs an annual four-day symposium—most recently drawing 4,780 registrants and 1,829 DVMs in 2025—offering 400+ AAVSB RACE-approved CE credit hours across 12 specialty tracks including companion animal, equine, food animal, integrative medicine, practice management, and technician education. The event is held at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, with future dates rotating across Texas cities (Dallas 2027, Austin 2029).

The technology stack supporting the event comprises primarily third-party integrations: the Experient registration platform, Maritz-managed hotel bookings, Conference Harvester for exhibitor and speaker portals, VIN for proceedings access, a FlippingBook-powered digital registration guide, Pipedrive for inquiry web forms, and a proprietary mobile conference app. SWVS itself does not develop core conference technology; its proprietary surface area includes the SWVS Rewards Program (1 point per dollar spent, redeemable for registration discounts), the Visionary Award program (since 2004), new-DVM scholarships, and the CEU Portal for RACE certificate retrieval.

SWVS generates revenue through four primary streams: tiered attendee registration (DVMs at $250-$585; technicians, assistants, practice managers, students, and guests at lower tiers); exhibitor booth rentals ($2,600 inline, $2,800 corner, $500 non-profit 10'x10'); tiered sponsorship packages (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze) anchored by named animal-health sponsors; and ticketed premium offerings (Interactive Labs, Master Classes, CE Tours, RECOVER CPR certification). Symposium profits are redistributed to the five partner state VMAs, reflecting a member-driven cooperative model rather than a traditional for-profit corporate structure.

Name

Southwest Veterinary Symposium

Legal name

Southwest Veterinary Symposium

Website

https://swvs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southwest Veterinary Symposium is a regional veterinary continuing education conference operated as a partnership of five Southwest state VMAs, serving veterinarians, technicians, and practice managers with annual CE programming and an exhibit hall.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterinary Continuing Education Conferences

NAICS

Veterinary Services (541940), Veterinary Services (54194)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Regulatory, Certification & Compliance Veterinary Services (Health Papers, QA Programs) (AFACADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Animal Welfare, Handling & Stockmanship Audits/Training (AFACADAL)

Keywords

• Veterinary continuing education
• Veterinary conference
• CE/RACE approved training
• Veterinary professional development
• Veterinary trade show

Headquarters

HQ city

Keller

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Attendee Registration Fees: Registration fees from DVMs, technicians, veterinary assistants, practice managers, office staff, students, and guests. Tiered pricing with early-bird and standard rates, plus one-day and multi-day options.
2. Exhibitor Booth Rental: Revenue from exhibitor booth space rental. 10'x10' inline booths at $2,600, corner booths at $2,800, with additional fees for premium locations and extra badges.
3. Sponsorship Revenue: Tiered sponsorship packages (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze levels) with varying visibility and benefits.
4. Ticketed Premium Events: Additional revenue from Interactive Labs, Master Classes, and CE Tours with separate ticket pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Southwest Veterinary Symposium (SWVS) operates an annual four-day veterinary continuing education conference and trade show, delivering 400+ RACE-approved CE hours across 12 specialty tracks to veterinarians, technicians, practice managers, and students. The offering includes general sessions, ticketed Interactive Labs and Master Classes, CE Tours, an Exhibit Hall with 250+ animal-health exhibitors, networking events, and a loyalty Rewards Program for repeat attendees.

Product overview

Southwest Veterinary Symposium is a regional veterinary conference operated as a partnership between five state VMAs (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) and four allied veterinary technician associations. The core offering is the annual four-day SWVS Symposium featuring over 400 CE/RACE approved hours across 12 tracks, the Exhibit Hall with 250+ exhibitors, Interactive Labs, Master Classes, CE Tours, and networking events. Additional offerings include the SWVS Rewards Program for repeat attendees and scholarship programs for new DVM graduates. The event is held annually in the Southwest region, with upcoming dates scheduled in San Antonio (2026, 2028), Dallas (2027), and Austin (2029).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 28 CE credit hours available for general symposium attendance
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and major.

• Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association (ArVMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner state VMA contributing representatives to the Board of Managers and CE Committee. Partner states receive symposium profits and select scholarship recipients.
• Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association (LVMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner state VMA contributing representatives to the Board of Managers and CE Committee. Partner states receive symposium profits and select scholarship recipients.
• New Mexico Veterinary Medical Association (NMVMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner state VMA contributing representatives to the Board of Managers and CE Committee. Partner states receive symposium profits and select scholarship recipients.
• Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner state VMA contributing representatives to the Board of Managers and CE Committee. Partner states receive symposium profits and select scholarship recipients.
• Texas Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partner state VMA contributing representatives to the Board of Managers and CE Committee. Partner states receive symposium profits and select scholarship recipients.
• Arkansas Veterinary Technician AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAllied partner organization contributing to technician track programming and CE content.
• Oklahoma Veterinary Technician AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAllied partner organization contributing to technician track programming and CE content.
• New Mexico Registered Veterinary Technician AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAllied partner organization contributing to technician track programming and CE content.
• Veterinary Team Association of TexascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAllied partner organization contributing to technician track programming and CE content.
• Elanco Animal HealthflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDiamond level sponsor providing major financial and marketing support to SWVS.
• Hill's Pet NutritionmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum level sponsor with Purina Pro Plan Veterinary as co-platinum sponsor.
• Antech DiagnosticsmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold level sponsor along with Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and Chewy Health.
• Maritz (Official Hotel Provider)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial hotel booking provider for SWVS 2026, managing negotiated hotel rates and reservations.
• Experient (Registration Platform)coreTechnology or IntegrationProvides the online registration platform for attendee registration and CE certificate management.
• Conference HarvestercoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides exhibitor portal and speaker portal platforms for the symposium.
• Veterinary Information Network (VIN)coreTechnology or IntegrationProvides online proceedings access for registered attendees through VIN.com.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) / Viticus Group: One of the largest U.S. veterinary continuing education conferences, historically held in Las Vegas. Directly comparable to SWVS as a multi-track, RACE-approved annual CE event serving practicing veterinarians and technicians, but with a broader geographic draw and longer history.
• North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) / VMX: Operates VMX, one of the flagship U.S. veterinary conferences, and also runs VetFolio digital CE. Closest direct competitor to SWVS in terms of multi-track RACE-approved CE, large exhibit hall, and professional attendee base.
• Fetch dvm360 (by MJH Life Sciences): Runs a series of regional veterinary CE conferences (Fetch Coastal, Fetch Baltimore, etc.) with multi-track CE, exhibit halls, and CE certificates. Directly comparable as a regional-rotation conference format serving DVMs and technicians with RACE-approved content.
• Midwest Veterinary Conference (MVC): Annual regional veterinary CE conference operated in partnership with the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association. Directly comparable to SWVS in structure (state-VMA-affiliated, multi-track RACE-approved CE, exhibit hall) though serving a different U.S. region.
• Wild West Veterinary Conference: Regional veterinary CE conference held in Reno. Comparable to SWVS as a multi-track CE event serving Western U.S. veterinarians and technicians with an exhibit hall component, though smaller in scale.
• AAEP Annual Convention (American Association of Equine Practitioners): Major annual veterinary CE conference, focused on equine practitioners. Comparable as a specialty veterinary conference with multi-track CE, large exhibit hall, and strong sponsor engagement from animal health companies.
• CVC (formerly Continuing Veterinary Education) by Viticus Group: Multi-city veterinary CE conference series (San Diego, Kansas City, Virginia Beach). Comparable to SWVS as a multi-track CE event with exhibit hall and broad DVM/technician appeal.

Regional players

• Atlantic Coast Veterinary Conference: Long-running regional veterinary CE conference traditionally held on the U.S. East Coast. Comparable in format (multi-track CE, exhibit hall, association-affiliated) but serves a non-overlapping geography with SWVS.

Broad incumbents

• Veterinary Information Network (VIN): Largest online veterinary community and CE provider; already partners with SWVS to host proceedings. Comparable as a CE delivery channel and a potential substitute/competing channel for in-person CE like SWVS.

Emerging players

• Vet Vacation CE: Smaller, destination-style veterinary CE provider combining CE with resort travel. Comparable in CE-and-experience bundling but at materially smaller scale than SWVS; represents the experiential niche SWVS's 'Southern hospitality' positioning also targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/4SWVS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southwest-veterinary-symposium
• Instagraminstagram.com/s_w_v_s
• Xx.com/SWVS

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southwest Veterinary Symposium