Meet Joe Gaston of Veterinary Medical Center and Crabapple Knoll Veterinary Clinic in Alpharetta and Roswell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Gaston.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I attended Georgia Tech on a football scholarship and graduated with a degree in General Management. Upon graduation, I accepted a job as an English teacher and defensive line football coach at Thomasville High School where we won the State Championship.

I then joined a company named Behavioral Management Consultants that put consultants in businesses to teach the management staff the use of classical conditioning to achieve changes in behavior in the work place to improve efficiency, reduce tardiness and absenteeism and improve the attitudes in the work environment.

My next step was to leave consulting and begin working in a veterinary clinic as a kennel boy to get the experience I needed to apply to veterinary school. During this time I attended Georgia State University, Georgia Tech and Gainesville Junior College to get my pre-requisites for veterinary school. During this time I also took a real estate course, passed the Georgia Real Estate Exam and was licensed in Georgia.

Once accepted at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, I worked weekends in the hospital taking care of hospitalized patients. I also mowed lawns cooked in restaurants and did whatever necessary to help pay my way through school. My senior year I was elected president of the class and was also able to work weekends at the Sandy Springs Animal Emergency Clinic under Dr. Bob Nutall. I graduated in 1980 and accepted a job with Forsythe Countey After Hours Animal Emergency Clinic in Winston-Salem, N.C. On this job, I work 7 days on and 7 days off duty. When I was off, I did relief work for local veterinarians.

Six months later, I was offered the job as directed of Cobb Emergency Veterinary Clinic and served there for 7 years from 1980-1987. During this time, I met and married Cindy Venable in 1982. I opened Veterinary Medical Center in 1982 and in 1984, my son Ryan was born on Christmas Day. In 1987, I opened Crabapple Knoll Veterinary Clinic and my triplet daughters Ashley, Brittany and Lindsay were born 7-7-1987. I was terminated at Cobb Emergency Clinic in 1987 and opened with partners John’s Creek Veterinary Clinic in 1988 and then sold my interest in 1992.

Currently, Veterinary Medical Center and Crabapple Knoll Veterinary Clinic have a unique marketing niche in that they are open 7 days a week, M-F 6:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Our mission statement is to provide the very best in veterinary care by always putting the patient first and working closely with the client through their authorization to provide the services recommended. We give back to the community by working with strays and rescue organizations to provide affordable care to the less fortunate. We also work with our community by providing experience to local students and those interested in a career in veterinary medicine. In fact, many return to us as veterinarians after completing their veterinary education. We currently have 15 veterinarians and a total staff of about 85 including veterinarians, technicians, receptionists and kennel staff. We offer boarding and grooming to be a one stop facility for veterinary care. Our other services include stem cell therapy, acupuncture, holistic medicine and advanced surgical techniques such as a Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy to treat a Cranial Cruciate injury. We reach out and support local organizations in our community to help our local area growth and prosper.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nothing worth having comes easy. Getting through football, coaching, consulting, admission to and getting through vet school, growing in veterinary medicine and growing a family have all presented hurdles that we had to cross. Giving up was never an option because you eliminate any chance of success. The struggles have been worth the effort and help me and my family grow as individuals and as a family. We have found hard work achieves more than talent, when talent doesn’t work hard. My wife Cindy gave up teaching with a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood education in order to stay home and raise our kids, which was our most important job. Paying for college was made difficult due to the 911 disaster followed by a drastic drop in the value of stocks that had been purchased to help pay for education. We still managed and just worked harder to get through the tough spots. Now, my son Ryan, his wife Rebecca and my daughter Ashley work with me at the clinics. My daughter Lindsay graduated from the University of Alabama in Dance and then graduated from Emory in Nursing and plans to become a Nurse Practitioner. Daughter Brittany has a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration and is currently taking pre-requisites for Medical School, maintaining a 4.0 average. All the adversity has made us a stronger family unit and we now have two granddaughters Fiona and Clara.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Veterinary Medical Center and Crabapple Knoll Veterinary Clinic – what should we know?
By making the patient our number one priority, we have all had to shoulder long and late hours to provide service when needed rather than when it was convenient for ourselves. We also make every effort to see that when a patient needs care, we provide it and put finances in a secondary position. We want the patient and the client to become part of our veterinary family and build trust in us When a client is experiencing problems, we do everything in our power to still provide for their pet. We do not turn away patients that are strays and rescues because we feel that we all are charged with the responsibility of taking care of the less fortunate.

We are set apart from other clinics because we pay a premium to staff our clinics 7 days a week and to provide comprehensive care as far as medical, surgical, preventative care facility with boarding, grooming and specialty care such as acupuncture, holistic medicine, advanced surgery techniques and stem cell therapy.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I can achieve all things through Christ who strengthens me. My parents were great role models of honesty, integrity and work ethic. When applying to veterinary school, only one of the professors or teachers that I questioned thought I had a chance to get in, but that was enough. My professors at the University of Georgia were tough, but fair and they gave us everything we needed to be successful. My family has been supportive when I have had to work long shifts and many days in a row. They were able to get by with less when we struggled and never seemed to mind. My wife Cindy, kept our home and family together by keeping us focused. Drs. Craig Geene, Clarence Rawlings, Charlie Martin and others gave us the extra care to mold us into good veterinarians. Coach Jerry Glanville showed me that if you want to succeed, you have to be willing to work harder than your opponent.

Contact Info:

• Address: Veterinary Medical Center, 8750 Nesbit Ferry Rd., Alpharetta, GA. 30022
  Crabapple Knoll Veterinary Clinic 12604 Crabapple Rd., Alpharetta, GA. 30004
• Website: yourvmc.com and yourckvc.com
• Phone: VMC 770-998-8450 CKVC 770-475-8272
• Email: yourvmc1@gmail.com and your ckvc1@gmail.com