VIENNA — The Vienna Chamber of Commerce awarded the Cornerstone Business Award on June 1 to Dr. Loyal Henderson at the Vienna Veterinary Clinic for serving the community for 50 years.

Due to health issues, Henderson will be retiring and closing his shop at the end of the month.

The day that the chamber presented the award also marked Henderson’s 50th anniversary since he started taking care of pets and farm animals in the Vienna area.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. It has gone so fast,” he said.

The 2025 Cornerstone Business Award honors a business that has been operating for at least 10 years and demonstrates good values such as dependability and quality. Since the 2025 awards banquet was canceled, the chamber has visiting businesses to present these awards.

Hannah Shanks, chamber vice president, believes it is a rare opportunity to honor a long-standing business.

“I think it’s just important to recognize the ones that have made it to that milestone,” she said.

The chamber’s Facebook post of the announcement has received over 300 posts and over 80 comments, congratulating Henderson.

“I think that just shows a testament to truly how impactful he has been in this area,” Shanks said.

Henderson grew up in Vienna and graduated from Vienna High School in 1970, and while he was in high school, he decided to become a veterinarian. He graduated in 1976 from the University of Missouri in Columbia, and that June, he started working for Dr. Max John at his house.

After John retired at the end of 1980, Henderson started working out of the old post office at the beginning of the next year.

Henderson believes that his greatest accomplishment is his contributions to eradicating brucellosis, taking blood samples and treating herds. Brucellosis is a disease causes infertility, abortions and weak milk production in cattle, and it can spread to humans. By March 2004, the disease was eradicated in Missouri.

To the younger generation, Henderson’s advice is to work hard in a field that one enjoys.

“Do your best, and don’t be afraid to say, ‘I don’t know, but I can find out,’” he said.