Bruce Fessier to Be Honored at Amy's Purpose Mixer on March 1

Bruce Fessier is known for his 40 years as an award-winning writer-editor for The Desert Sun. He also is known as an accomplished event producer.

Fessier will be honored on Wednesday, March 1, at a special Amy's Purpose mixer held at Willie's Modern Fare, at 69830 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage. This tribute is well-deserved.

It was shortly after a lunch meeting with Amy's Purpose President DeAnn Lubell that Fessier's little dog, Gracie, was killed. DeAnn had updated Bruce about an additional mission of Amy's Purpose, regarding the shortage crisis of veterinarians, vet technicians and vet assistants in the high and low deserts. It was soon after that Bruce joined Amy's Purpose's crusade, with passion and commitment. They worked for many hours to obtain a partnership with the College of the Desert's PaCE (Partnership and Community Education) Veterinary Assistant Program to set up scholarships for those interested in animal sciences.

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This led to a rock-concert benefit called Pet Love and Rock & Roll to raise money for Amy's Purpose and veterinary assistant scholarships. The success of this event, mostly due to Bruce's determination and extraordinary devotion to the cause, inspired people to donate enough funding to provide 18 $3,200 scholarships, five of which were matched by the College of the Desert Foundation.

Six scholarship recipients are currently enrolled and will graduate in March. Six more individuals will be awarded scholarships in the next two sessions—with the goal of graduating and finding employment at our local veterinary clinics and hospitals. The hope is that some of these individuals will go on to become veterinary technicians and even aspire to become veterinarians in our desert cities.

This could not have happened without the compassion and drive of Bruce Fessier, an Amy's Purpose champion. Therefore, Bruce will be honored the March 1 mixer.

The price for the 5-7 p.m. event is $35 per person which includes appetizers, beer and wine. Cocktails may be purchased, and the indoor event is desert casual. Those interested in attending should go to www.amyspurpose.net to purchase tickets and click on the event tab, or call 760-831-3090. Amy's Purpose is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

"It is extremely important to entice graduating students and adults wanting to go into a second career to become interested in the field of animal sciences," Lubell said. "Support to raise funds for Amy's Purpose scholarships will greatly benefit the health of pets in our desert communities.

"Amy's Purpose, founded in 2020, provides programs in animal safety, including predatory awareness, and grief counseling for pet owners who have suffered a traumatizing loss. Helping to mitigate the veterinary crisis has taken on priority since the peak of the pandemic. Too many cherished injured or critically ill pets have lost their lives in an emergency after being turned away from immediate treatment as local clinics were too full and too shorthanded to help, thus forcing pet parents to seek medical aid in other cities outside of the desert. We need to get qualified veterinarians, vet techs and vet assistants to alleviate the shortage. It is because of generous individuals, like Bruce Fessier, that the future in veterinary care looks a little brighter. Honoring Bruce at the upcoming March 1 mixer is our way of saying thank you to a wonderful man."

This piece was submitted on behalf of Amy's Purpose by DeAnn Lubell.

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