VPN Plus+ spotlights 2026 Vet Box with NAVTA president
Bottom line
Veterinary Practice News has published its 2026 Vet Box unboxing video, featuring VPN Plus+ Tech Talk columnist and NAVTA president Jennifer Serling, who walks viewers through the box’s contents. The Vet Box was sent to VPN Plus+ annual subscribers at the end of summer as a value-added subscription benefit, continuing a program Veterinary Practice News has run in prior years. Serling’s involvement also reflects her current leadership role at NAVTA, which she assumed after board leadership changes announced in late 2025. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is less about a product reveal than about how publishers and professional groups are trying to engage, educate, and retain technicians and practice teams. Serling has used her VPN Plus+ column this year to focus on technician onboarding, credential utilization, and career development, all central issues in the education-workforce conversation. A branded subscriber box tied to that audience shows how veterinary media companies are packaging community, continuing education, and sponsor-supported resources for a workforce under ongoing pressure. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
What to watch: Watch for whether Veterinary Practice News releases a detailed sponsor or product roundup for the 2026 box, as it did with the 2025 edition. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
Veterinary Practice News is using a familiar audience-engagement playbook for 2026: an unboxing video for its annual Vet Box, this time featuring Jennifer Serling, a VPN Plus+ Tech Talk columnist and the current president of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, or NAVTA. According to the publication’s item, the 2026 Vet Box went to VPN Plus+ annual subscribers at the end of summer as a value-added subscription benefit. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
The format isn’t new. Veterinary Practice News ran a similar piece for the 2025 Vet Box, when then-NAVTA president Beckie Mossor appeared in the unboxing video and the publication noted that the box marked the program’s fifth year. That continuity suggests the Vet Box has become a recurring retention and marketing tool for VPN Plus+, blending subscriber perks with sponsor visibility and professional branding. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
What’s changed in 2026 is the face attached to it. Serling has emerged as a prominent voice in technician workforce and credentialing discussions this year through both NAVTA and her VPN Plus+ column. On the VPN Plus+ site, her recent articles have focused on the value of credentialed veterinary technicians, onboarding new technicians, and collaboration across veterinary organizations. NAVTA’s own site also identifies Serling as president in current events programming, including member town halls and other association communications. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
That leadership context matters because NAVTA has been especially active in 2026 on workforce-related policy and professional development. The association has published a scope-of-practice report, opened calls for continuing education speakers, and outlined strategic priorities for the technician profession. In that setting, Serling’s appearance in a subscriber-facing media feature is more than a cameo; it aligns a trade publication’s premium offering with one of the profession’s most visible technician advocates. (navta.net)
I didn’t find a standalone press release or detailed public item breaking down the 2026 box contents, and no broad industry reaction appears to have been published so far. But the surrounding signals are clear: veterinary media and professional organizations are continuing to invest in technician-centered content, community touchpoints, and sponsor-backed educational ecosystems. That fits with Serling’s own recent writing, which has emphasized better use of credentialed technicians and stronger onboarding as practical responses to workforce strain. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, especially practice leaders and credentialed technicians, the story sits at the intersection of education, workforce engagement, and professional identity. Subscriber programs like Vet Box may seem small, but they help shape which voices, products, and practice-development messages reach frontline teams. When those messages are tied to a national technician leader, they can reinforce broader conversations about technician utilization, retention, standards, and career pathways. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
There’s also a commercial angle worth noting. The 2025 Vet Box explicitly thanked contributing companies and encouraged clinics to support participating brands, whether in retail, staff recognition, or client referral contexts. If the 2026 model is similar, the box serves as both a subscriber benefit and a curated marketing channel aimed at veterinary teams. That’s increasingly relevant as practices weigh which educational resources and vendor relationships genuinely support staff development versus simply adding noise. (veterinarypracticenews.com)
What to watch: The next signal will be whether Veterinary Practice News publishes a companion roundup of participating brands or products for the 2026 box, and whether NAVTA or Serling tie the feature more directly to technician workforce priorities in upcoming fall 2026 programming. (veterinarypracticenews.com)