Meet Our Certified Professionals:
Anesthesia Machine Servicing Experts
Heidi Lescun, BS, RVT
Director of Technical Services
Heidi Lescun got her BS in Veterinary Technology from North Dakota State University in 1997. She worked as a veterinary technologist at Purdue University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital until 2000, when she moved to Australia for her husband Tim’s job as a veterinarian at a progressive equine hospital. In 2001, she returned to the Purdue VTH to provide anesthesia support and was appointed the supervisor of the anesthesia technicians in 2006. Heidi joined Vetamac in 2015 as service technician/sales associate servicing Northwest and Central Indiana.
Heidi is originally from Wausau, Wisconsin. She’s married to Tim, an Australian, and they have a daughter, Lili. She enjoys lasagna and 80’s rock, and she and Tim live on a small hobby farm with 4 horses and 3 dogs in Lafayette, Indiana. They enjoy attending Purdue basketball games and traveling and are often found showing horses at the Indiana Quarter Horse Shows.
MeriCate Small, BSHCA
Business Development Manager
MeriCate graduated from Western Kentucky University with her Bachelor's Degree in Healthcare Administration in 2015. She worked as a Manager for a pediatrics office before finding her calling within the veterinary industry. MeriCate worked as a Sales Operations Manager for a national veterinary equipment company before joining the Vetamac team as the Business Development Manager in 2023.
MeriCate is a resident of Louisville, Kentucky but she is a University of Kentucky fan to her core (Go CATS!). She has a Great Dane/Doberman mutt (who now only answers to "Goober" after many instances of tripping over her own feet) and a corn snake, Mango Tango. She never passes up an opportunity to see live music and enjoys trail hiking, a good book, and any activity where she can bring her dog.
Kelly Mayotte, CVT
Certified Service Technician/Sales Associate
Kelly Mayotte graduated from Sanford Brown Institute in Veterinary Technology. She loved her work as a lab animal veterinary technician, but she moved back to Wisconsin and was mostly a stay at home mom. When she heard about Vetamac, she fell in love with the company’s values and came on board.
Kelly grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and has moved around with her husband, Matt, who was in the Navy. She has 2 sons named Owen and Rucker. She loves snuggling on the couch with her husband and sons and drinking coffee on the porch.
Rick Trexler, RVT
Senior Service Technician/Sales Associate
Rick Trexler studied veterinary technology at San Diego Mesa College. He has degrees in liberal arts, biotechnology, and electronics from Johnson County Community College, and he studied zoology and marine biology at Humboldt State University. In addition to being a Registered Veterinary Technician, he’s also a qualified veterinary dental technician (American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians), an ABO certified optician, and a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician, and has other equipment-specific certifications.
Rick Trexler grew up along the West Coast of the US. He is the youngest of 9 siblings and has a grown daughter who is an artist and an 11-year-old son who enjoys Boy Scouts and playing trombone. Rick likes Mexican food, Italian food, and more specifically, crêpes with either Nutella or crème au citron. He likes Elvis Costello and Bob Marley, and among his heroes is Jacques Cousteau.
Jennifer Dupre-Welsh, CVT, VTS (Anesthesia/Analgesia), CVPP
Certified Service Technician/Sales Associate
Jennifer is a native of Massachusetts and has remained determined to care for animals since a young age. Jennifer attended Becker College and earned an AS in Science, followed by her certification as a veterinary technician (CVT) in 1992. Since then, Jennifer has worked for both specialty and university practices, supervising and teaching technicians and students, and performing anesthesia to a variety of patients. While at Ross University in St Kitts, West Indies, she worked under board-certified anesthesiologists to obtain her certification as a Veterinary Technician Specialist (2005) and later Veterinary Pain Practitioner (2013).
Since, 2005, Jennifer has authored and co-authored book chapters, has lectured both nationally and internationally and more recently, developed a short course for both veterinarians and technicians in Southwest Florida entitled Everyday Anesthesia for the Veterinary Professional.
Jennifer is married to Urnell and has two daughters, Julia and Charlotte. They have Jorge, “the Bayford’s cat” and a newly adopted Pitbull named Archie. When Jen is not working, she enjoys family time and listening to reggae music. She looks forward to visiting the Caribbean whenever possible.
Jenny Smith, BS, RVT
Senior Service Technician/Sales Associate
Jenny Smith is a native of Springboro, OH and graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s in Business Marketing in 2008. This degree was a stepping stone into the veterinary world and she received her veterinary technician license two years later. Jenny worked in several different animal hospitals as a technician over the past ten years before coming to Vetamac.
Jenny has two children, Charlotte and Grahm, who keep her life fast paced and fun! In her spare time Jenny runs a catering company with her mother and sister and enjoys playing the piano and singing.
Lynn Zellers, RVT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Lynn Zellers knew at a young age that she wanted to spend her life helping animals. She decided to make that her career and graduated Columbus State with an Associate’s Degree in Veterinary Technology.
Lynn worked in several busy hospitals gaining experience and was offered an opportunity to work in a specialty hospital as a dermatology technician. After 10 years working in dermatology, another opportunity presented itself, which was Vetamac. After researching the company, she was impressed with the owners and what they stood for. She looks forward to spending many years with Vetamac and learning even more about anesthesia. Lynn, her husband and three children reside in northeastern Ohio.
Jami Uitermarkt, RVT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Jami Uitermarkt graduated from DMACC with an Associates Degree in Veterinary Technology. She has been a Registered Veterinary Technician since 2011. Jami worked at a small animal clinic in Pella, Iowa before joining the Vetamac team.
Jami lives in Monroe, Iowa with her husband Jason (both born and raised there). They have 4 children, Gracie, Grant, Gretchen, and Graeden. She enjoys coffee, puzzles, board games, time with family, and attending her children’s events. They have a 3-year-old Springer Spaniel named Audrey Hepburn.
Kristen Vendur, CVT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Kristen Vendur began her veterinary career in 2004 working with a small animal Veterinary clinic in Ocala, Florida. In 2009 she graduated from the College of Central Florida with her Associates Degree in business. In 2015 she became a Lead Emergency and Critical Care Veterinary Technician at The University of Florida Pet Emergency Treatment Services. She later went on to become a Certified Veterinary Technician.
Kristen was born and raised in Florida, now residing in the horse capital of the world, Ocala. She has two children, Mercedes and Carson. She also has three dogs (Bella, Skippito, and Violet), a horse (Sweet), and a ball python (Frappucino). In her free time, she enjoys taking trips, especially to the mountains, and spending quality time with her family.
Alfonso Rotundo, CVT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Alfonso got his marketing and advertising degree at IUTAV in Caracas Venezuela in 2006. He moved to Fort Lauderdale in 2010 and shortly after enrolled at Miami Dade College, becoming a Certified Veterinary Technician in 2014. He worked in anesthesia from his first veterinary job in 2010 at a high volume spay/neuter cat rescue. In 2013 he joined the surgery department of a very busy specialty practice in his area and has worked solely dedicated to anesthesia since. He went on to manage several surgery departments in specialty practices before joining Vetamac in 2022 as a service technician/sales associate.
Alfonso was born in Caracas Venezuela and has spent most of his life between Venezuela and South Florida. He lives in Pompano Beach with his Fiancée Destiny, daughter Amelia, Jake (dog) and Chickpea (cat). He enjoys watching Formula One, mountain biking and spending time outdoors with his family.
Erin Clark, RVT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Erin Clark graduated from Bel-Rea Institute of Animal Technology in Denver, Colorado in 1999 and obtained her RVT shortly after. She was originally drawn to the veterinary field by her love of problem solving, and of course, her love for helping animals. Since moving to North Carolina in 2001, Erin has worked as an ICU/ER technician at specialty animal hospitals in the Raleigh area. She is a member of the North Carolina Association of Veterinary Technicians. Erin joined Vetamac in 2022 as a service technician/sales associate in North Carolina.
Erin grew up in the western area of the United States, but now lives in North Carolina with her husband, Mark. They have four children and live on and operate a small farm just south of Raleigh. Erin loves spending time with her family, caring for her menagerie of animals, and spending time outdoors.
Carol Hudecek, LVT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Carol Hudecek graduated from The Vet Tech Institute in 2008 and quickly discovered that veterinary anesthesia was her passion. She has worked primarily as an anesthesia technician at a handful of general practice clinics in Indiana and Michigan. In 2012 she accepted a position with Baker College as an anesthesia instructor for their Surgical Nursing and Advanced Surgery Labs. Carol really enjoys sharing her knowledge of anesthesia with veterinary technician students and colleagues. Vetamac was the opportunity to share her knowledge about the anesthetic process and machines.
Carol loves to travel and can be found hiking around Arizona whenever possible. She is also an avid runner, having completed 2 marathons and several half-marathons. In her spare time Carol enjoys antiquing, collecting Flow Blue, cake decorating, volunteering, watching classic black and white films, relaxing on her deck with a good glass of wine, spending time with family, and enjoying life with her faithful Boxer, Tessa.
Jenna Socha, RVT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Jenna Socha got her associates degree in Veterinary Technology from International Business College in 2007. She has worked in several different veterinary specialty hospitals, starting her career in Indianapolis for 4 years, then moving to Nashville, TN. She became lead surgery technician at Nashville Veterinary Specialists for 3 years before moving back to Indiana to work at Northeast Indiana Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Hospital for 6 more years. After 14 years as a surgery technician, she decided to take her career on a different route with Vetamac in 2022. She is currently a service technician/sales associate in Northern Indiana and Western Ohio.
Jenna has two sons, Jace and Jett, who keep her very busy. Her hobbies include boating, fishing and hunting. She also is a huge fan of sports, her favorites being the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Cubs, and Wisconsin Badgers. She currently has a Labrador retriever, one very fat cat, and some fish.
Tori Stulginskis, BS, CVT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Tori Stulginskis graduated from Purdue University, in 2019 with a bachelor’s in veterinary nursing. She started working in an anesthesia department right out of college in North Carolina then decided to move back to her home state, Illinois. She worked for Medvet Chicago in their anesthesia department, while also being a veterinary nursing coordinator for Joliet Junior College Vet Tech Program. Tori Joined Vetamac in March 2022.
Tori grew up in a suburb of Chicago, and now lives in Northbrook with her best friend. They have 2 dogs in their house and show horses together. She enjoys spending time at the barn, and spending time with her friends.
Jessica Therriault, LVMT
Service Technician/Sales Associate
Jessica was always the child that brought home any type of animal from a young age. She later found her place in the veterinary world and fell in love with the idea of being a technician. So, she began her veterinary career in 2018 working with traveling vaccine clinics and attending school full time. In 2021 she graduated from Penn Foster College with a Veterinary Technician Associates of Science degree. In 2021 she passed her VTNE and became a Licensed Lead Veterinary Technician and a mentor for other technician students at a small animal practice in Nolensville, TN.
Jessica was born and raised in Florida, then moved to Tennessee after high school. She now resides in Murfreesboro, TN. She has two children, Leonidas and Madeline. She also has two dogs (Chandler, yes, she is a huge FRIENDS tv show fan, and Marshall her mini-Schnauzer), Two cats (Amazea, and Sir Bennington), and three rats! (Pancake, Sausage, Honey). In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her kids, family game nights, traveling, and staying up to date on everything veterinary related.
Jenna Morales, RVT
My name is Jenna Morales, and I am proud to call New Orleans, LA my home. With a solid foundation in education, including general studies at Southeastern from 2006 to 2008 and completing a Vet Assistance Program in 2008-2009, I graduated from the Delgado Tech Program in 2011. Since 2007, I have been immersed in the veterinary industry, building valuable experience and expertise. For three years, I served as a surgery and anesthesia coordinator, showcasing my organizational skills and attention to detail. In September 2022, I joined Vetamac, a renowned organization in the field. Outside of work, I find joy in music, travel, and cherishing moments with my loved ones. I am dedicated to providing exceptional care for animals and continually expanding my knowledge in the veterinary realm.
Nicole Meere, LVT
Meet Nicole, one of our Northeast service technicians and LVTs with over 7 years of experience in the field. She started her career in Veterinary Medicine in 2016, spending a year in general practice before discovering her passion for specialty medicine. Over the next five years, she worked closely with board-certified surgeons, internists, critical care specialists, and a neurologist to perform anesthesia while aiding in maintaining the facility's anesthetic and sterilization equipment. In 2021, she shifted into an educational leadership role at an emergency care facility, further pursuing her passion for educating her team on how to keep patients and themselves safe. As of 2022, she is excited to have joined the team at Vetamac, where she can continue to help animals and the Veterinary community in new and innovative ways.
Samantha Lehman
Samantha Lehman graduated from Pima Medical Institute in 2013, with an Associate’s Degree in animal technology. She became a Registered Veterinary Technician in the state of California shortly after. She spent 6 years in specialty/emergency medicine, working in the Surgery department. Prior to Vetamac, she spent 4 years working in Emergency/Critical care, taking on as much anesthesia and surgery as she could.
Sam was born and raised in Northern California, but has lived in San Diego for the past 13 years. She currently lives out in the country of San Diego with her husband, Justin. They stay busy with their 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 pigs. When they aren’t working or taking care of their zoo, they enjoy working out at their CrossFit gym, going to country concerts, and spending time with family in Idaho.
Crystal Backlund, CVT
Crystal graduated from Globe University, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 2012 with an Associates in Veterinary Technology. After graduating she worked for a large non-profit humane society in Minnesota. There she fell in love with the sick kittens and surgery. She especially enjoyed organizing the flow of surgery animals where 20-30 shelter animals received their spay/neuter or dental every day. In 2016, Crystal transitioned to Emergency and Critical Care, again falling in love with the nature of providing nursing care and assisting in critical surgeries. Ready for her next adventure, Crystal relocated to Florida in 2022. She has also received an Associates in Computer Networking and a Bachelor’s in Computer Information Technology. Crystal joined the Vetamac team in 2023. She enjoys learning the new skills this position has to offer. A true Cavalier King Charles lover, Crystal adores meeting the clinic cats.
Sarah Parisien, LVT, RALAT
Sarah Parisien is a proud Maine native. Born and raised in Saco, she has ventured all over the country and overseas honing her skills. She holds three degrees in various categories, with the most recent being an Associates of Veterinary Nursing from Purdue University. Go Boilermakers! Her passion for anesthesia started in Nicaragua where she was the first veterinary technician intern for World Vets, an organization that specializes in bringing veterinary services to the underserved areas of the world. When she isn’t servicing and educating New England veterinary clinics, she spends her time playing tennis (she is an active USTA player), being coached at Orange Theory Fitness, dining out in Portland’s foodie scene, traveling, being an advocate for women’s sports, and trying to train her cat, Gertie.
John Cassidy
John Cassidy developed a love and passion for working with animals during his childhood on a farm in Georgia. Since 2000, John has worked in veterinary hospitals across the southeast. The last decade, John served as the RVT supervisor of Surgery and Orthopedics at the University of Georgia School of Veterinary Medicine. In 2020, John added to his education with a degree from Kennesaw State University in Healthcare Administration and Leadership. John joined Vetamac in 2023 as a service technician/sales associate in Georgia.
John lives in Georgia with his wife Kelly and 3 teenage boys, Logan, Reed, and Seth. John enjoys coaching many of the boys’ sports teams and the family spends time camping and kayaking. They are all still basking in the glory of the UGA football team winning back-to-back National Championships. Go Dawgs!
Tom Eden
Chief Executive Officer/President
Tom Eden graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. Tom has owned many businesses since 1986, including Holiday Inn, Aamco Transmissions, and Thrifty Car Rental. He joined Vetamac in 2007 as an advisory board member and, as he says, “I liked the company so much I bought it!”
Tom grew up in Crawfordsville, Indiana as the 2nd born child with 3 sisters. He’s been married to his wife, Tricia, for 32 years and has 2 boys and 2 girls. Tom is a proud follower of Christ, loves hanging out with his wife, and is very proud to own Vetamac because of the people and customers that make this company thrive.
Carla Hufford
Business Manager
Carla Hufford received her Associate Degree in Accounting from Ivy Tech Community College. She’s worked in accounting and tax preparation and has 10 years of experience as a Customer Service Representative for a local financial institution. Carla has been with Vetamac since 2004 and oversees the scheduling of service calls, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, inventory, and marketing activities.
Carla is a native of the Rossville area and lives there today. She’s the oldest of 3 girls and a mother of 3 as well: Bethany, Whitney, and Cory. She loves pizza and Mexican food. On a Friday evening, Carla can be found reading and camping. Staying healthy is important to her so that she and her husband, Brian, can travel when they retire.
Brian Hufford
Manufacturing/Service Specialist
Brian Hufford joined Vetamac in July 2015 as a Manufacturing/Service Specialist. He manages all machining, assembly, and testing of the equipment and products produced by Vetamac. He also handles machine repair and service, including field service, as necessary. Brian has completed courses in the Industrial Maintenance program at Ivy Tech. He worked as an assembly technician for over 21 years for Caterpillar Large Engine Center.
Brian and his wife, Carla, have three children. He enjoys running, deer hunting, and camping.
Thomas Eden
Head Vaporizer Technician
Thomas Eden is a graduate of the University of Indianapolis and grew up in Monticello IN. He oversees all vaporizer work for Vetamac clients and Covetrus. He gets great satisfaction out of the problem-solving portion of the process and loves seeing a job through from start to finish.
Thomas is the oldest of 4 and is married to his wife of 8 years, who teaches at Purdue University. He has a 5-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. He also has 3 Maine coon cats, one of which is a purebred. Thomas enjoys spending time outdoors with his family, loves music, and plays bass guitar and drums.
Harry Latshaw, MS, RVT, VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia)
Company Founder, Consultant
Harry Latshaw attended Purdue University where he earned a BS in Animal Science and a Masters in Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology. Harry worked full time as an Anesthesia Technologist in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Purdue for 22 years, winning multiple teaching awards.
Seeing a need for quality service support, Harry, along with his wife, Freida, founded Vetamac in 1990. Since then, the company has become a recognized leader in the industry.
Harry is a member of several professional organizations including the American Veterinary Medical History Society, National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, Indiana Veterinary Technician Association, and the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetists. He continues to give oral presentations at numerous conferences including the Annual Purdue Fall Conference for Veterinary Technicians and the AAHA National Conference. Harry also enjoys returning to his love of teaching by presenting lectures and labs to students currently in the Veterinary Technology Program at Purdue.
Harry retired from the day to day operations in December 2015. He and his wife, Freida, reside in the Rossville, Indiana area.
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130 Roth Court, Suite 100
Rossville IN 46065
Toll-Free 800-334-1583
Office 765-379-3040
Fax 765-217-4236
