front&center Dr. Mike Liles

Veterinarian of the Year gives back, never stops learning

By Amy Widner

LITTLE ROCK — Dr. Mike Liles of Searcy likes to see people grow.

For him, life is a journey during which you never stop learning, and your relationship with your community never stops deepening. Liles has been a veterinarian in Searcy for 25 years and a member of the town’s school board for 15 years.

He has been a member of the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association since 1981, and earlier this year his peers named him Veterinarian of the Year, a distinction that recognizes his excellence as a professional and his dedication to community.

Liles was born and raised in Searcy and is the fifth generation of his family to make a life in the area. With every visitor to walk through his clinic’s doors, that history continues.

“Some of the people I talk to on a weekly basis are people I went to the first grade with,” Liles said. “With most of my clientele, they’re either old friends or newly made old friends. It makes it more of an intimate kind of thing. Kind of like a family practitioner like with humans, I see a lot of pets from the cradle to the grave. I see lots of kids come in as toddlers with their new pets, and then I get to see them come in with kids of their own who are toddlers and have their first pets.”

Liles finds satisfaction in interacting with his clients, but he also said one of the things he likes most about his job is watching other people develop relationships with their pets.

“I still enjoy that interaction with young puppiesand kittens and kids,” Liles said. “I like trying to educate families and kids, ‘Now here’s what you need to do with your puppy,’ and, ‘This is why we’re doing this.’ ... The fun part is just seeing people kind of learn how to handle their animals and care for their animals and seeing them kind of become educated as they come through and they learn how to bond with their pets.

“They learn how to pick up on things. They may come in and say: ‘He’s just not right. Usually every morning he goes and gets the newspaper, but this morning he walked three steps and dropped it.’ And something like that could lead us to finding out he has a tooth problem.

“They don’t know exactly what it is, but they really learn how to communicate with their animals and can tell that something is wrong, and that really helps you as a vet - those little nuances that owners pick up on through bonding with their pets.”

Over the years Liles has also had the chance to see young people interested in becoming veterinarians go on to achieve their dreams. Several high school and college students have spent time working at Liles’ clinic, and he said it’s been rewarding to follow some of their careers.

“I won’t say that their successes are all on me, but I like to encourage people. I like watching other people grow,” Liles said. “I like putting two people together - a lot of times it’s nothing more than introducing one person to another person, and you get to sit backand watch something become of it. It’s wonderful.”

Being a member of the school board also gives Liles a chance to work for growth and appreciate the results.

Improving the school district helps the community, but it also wouldn’t be possible without the community, Liles said.

They are interconnected, and Liles is proud of the statewide recognition Searcy schools receive and credits the community for providing the backbone that makes everything possible. And here again, it’s growth that gives Liles satisfaction.

“I think our new performing arts building that opened this year is a good example of something I really loved seeing happen,” Liles said. “We thought about it for a long time before any of the first steps were taken. The whole way through we thought long and hard about every little thing. It’s really neat to see that final outcome of all that when it just started as a ‘what if?’”

Liles is not only a member of the Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association - which is the organization that gave out the Veterinarian of the Year award - he became a board of trustees member in the late ’80s and then became secretary/treasurer in the mid-’90s.

He serves on several committees for his church, First United Methodist, and has been active with Sunday school classes since the mid-’80s.

He is on the Searcy Humane Society board of directors and donates a couple of surgeries a month for Humane Society cases.

Since 2004, he has been Arkansas’ managing representative for the Southwest Veterinary Symposium, a five-state group that promotes continuing education. He was named treasurer of the group earlier this month.

Liles is active with his professional organizations and keeps up with the latest in veterinary medicine through professional journals and online groups. Continued education is something he takes seriously.

“No. 1: If you’re not wanting to learn all the time that you’re in practice, then you’re getting behind and you’re not doing a service to your patients,” Liles said. “No. 2: The state requires that you get 20 hours of continued ed each year. I usually end up with much more than that, but that’s a good indication of how important it is.

“They used to say that the body of knowledge doubled about every five years. Now that’s probably about every three years, I would venture to say. If you’re not keeping up, you’re in trouble.”

Because of his continuedcommitment to learning, Liles has been able to add more services to his clinic. He recently bought more dental X-ray equipment and will expand that part of his practice because he is willing to do the studying that comes with new technology.

Liles said he still loves a lot about his job: surgery, getting to do things with his hands, seeing clear and dramatic results from surgery and other treatments and knowing the basics about so many different aspects of health instead of feeling pigeonholed into one discipline.

It’s all still exciting, so living in a constant state of learning and growth doesn’t seem like extra work.

Liles can remember when he first realized he needed to take the commitment and work ethic that came so naturally to him with his job and apply it beyond himself.

“I went to this Chamber thing in ’87 or ’88, and they talked about what it really means to be a member of a community and a city,” Liles said. “It kind of opened my eyes a little bit - that you need to do more than live and work in a community. You need to volunteer. I started looking around for something I might be somewhat suited for, and it all kind of fell into place.”

Searcy Superintendent Tony Wood is glad Liles found his niche with Searcy schools. Wood has known Liles for more than 20 years.

They are friends, work together on the school board, and Liles takes care of Wood’s animals, which Wood said is a great example of what trust and esteem he has for Liles. Wood said he respects Liles’ dedication to learning and appreciates his contributions as a school board member.

“He brings a common sense and practical thought processto discussions and always comes from a prerequisite of what’s best for students and our faculty,” Wood said.

It is effort, Liles said, well spent. Searcy is his home. It’s a special place, and he always knew he would probably build a life there. He said he hasn’t looked back.

“First and foremost, my family has been here since the mid-1880s,” Liles said. “I can look back in family documents andledgers and old pictures and see exactly where my family was and what they did and know that we were part of the city and community for so long. I think Searcy is just a good place to live and raise kids. It’s a healthy, wholesome place, with a good climate with the culture, school system, church system and community as a whole. It’s pretty hard to beat.” - awidner@ arkansasonline.commatter of

fact Birth date: Dec.

9, 1955 Occupation: Doctor of veterinary medicine Family includes: Wife Nancy;

daughters Brooksie and Mary Elizabeth;

son Ike and three grandsons.

Hobbies: Razorback sports, reading, travel when possible, basketball My name comes from: My middle name comes from my father, Alton Most people don’t know I’m: A sucker for reality TVI cannot live without: My wife, Nancy When I was young I wanted: To compete in most sports What makes me mad: My impatience The person I admire most: The late Dr. Jim Lewis My favorite memory is: Proposing to Nancy on the beach The world would be a better place if: People actually followed the golden ruleFavorite quote: “There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation” - Oswald Chambers My goals for the future: Turn more of my problems over to God each day My favorite animal: Dogs.

They are easier to work with as patients, and I like them as pets because of the relationship you build with them.

We have two dachshunds that come to work with me. They’re a calming, comforting part of my life.

I have owned my business: Since 1994. The business side of things is my least favorite part of the practice. When I went to veterinary school, they didn’t give you any business training. I had to learn it all in the school of hard knocks.

Three Rivers, Pages 103, 107 on 11/16/2008