T'Lee Girard DVM Named SelectPride Partner
posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Congratulations to T’Lee Girard, DVM, on being recognized as the 2021 Q4 SelectPride Partner winner.
“T’Lee visits our farm every month, and when she does, it’s always a good experience,” said Jennifer Farewell, department head at Popcorn Sow Farm.
“She listens and takes the time to answer everything we throw at her. She makes us all feel valued and important and constantly reinforces the difference we can make in the lives of our animals.”
T’Lee joined Iowa Select Farms after earning her vet degree from Iowa State University, but not before interning at Thayer Sow Farm during her undergrad at Northwest Missouri State. She initially wanted to be a small and large animal “hometown vet” in Creston, but she said the experience with Iowa Select Farms drew her to specialize in swine production. Today, she is a member of our health service team and primarily supports the southern Iowa multiplication, gilt developer and sow farms.
“I am grateful to Bert (Thayer Sow Farm manager) for many things, but I’ll never forget the time she put into writing a letter of recommendation to send with my vet school application,” said T’Lee. “It gave me a glimpse of the family-like culture and how much we care about each other, which is evident daily.”
T’Lee champions that family-centered culture every day and is one of the many reasons animal caretakers and supervisors enjoy collaborating with her. Those who work with T’Lee know how well she creates a mutually respectful relationship with every crew she interacts with. By getting to know the team, T’Lee opens the door for challenging conversations to be easier and makes creating a solution a more collaborative experience.
Another attribute of T’Lee is her willingness to help anyone, whether on the farm or in the community. It’s not uncommon to see T’Lee conduct training sessions alongside the production well-being team or help with foundation events and programs in her hometown.
“T’Lee frequently pitches in with vaccination shots on our farm, and honestly, she just jumps in wherever we need help,” said Jennifer.
T’Lee is on the front lines of people and pig care and has the opportunity to collaborate with production leaders, managers, caretakers and fellow veterinarians to drive improvements forward.
“What I love the most is when we find solutions to improve the lives of both our people and pigs,” said T’Lee.
One of her nominators said her approachability and caring demeanor are greatly appreciated by all she works with.
“T’Lee is known for her unyielding support, creative problem solving and best of all, her kindness.”
“Working with so many different people daily is one of my favorite parts of this job,” said T’Lee. “When I am on the farms, the managers often know exactly what information I need to make a decision, and often they know what I am going to say before I even say it!”
“I have worked with T'Lee since she has come on board, and we have a very good working relationship,” said Don Hunt, senior sow supervisor. “She is someone I can easily discuss situations with, and we help each other a lot. When T'Lee works with my farms, she relates to staff on their level, and she has very good knowledge and communicates that well to the farms and managers. I'm glad she is part of my team.”
T’Lee’s husband, Zach, is a low voltage technician for Iowa Select Farms. Together, they have three children, Maizee (5), Leighton (3) and Tatum (10 months).
WAY TO GO, T'Lee!
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