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Executive Director of AMTA Resigns

Elizabeth Lucas, who has been the Executive Director of the American Massage Therapy Association for more than a decade, has resigned.

The statement that was released by the Board of Directors was short and offered no details behind the departure. It read:

The AMTA Board of Directors has accepted the resignation of our long-time Executive Director, Elizabeth M. Lucas.  During her more than 10 years as Executive Director, and in her years before that as Director of Communications and Marketing, Liz provided AMTA, the National Office and staff with outstanding leadership, while carrying out the direction of the national board.  The board and staff thank Liz for all of her contributions and wish her all the best as she pursues other career opportunities.

The board will begin its search for a new Executive Director for both AMTA and the Massage Therapy Foundation. In the meantime, Shelly Johnson, who has been AMTA Deputy Director for more than 8 years, will function as Interim Executive Director.  All AMTA day-to-day activities will continue as scheduled.

AMTA Board of Directors

The timing of this is interesting; the National Convention is only three weeks away. I had in fact personally e-mailed Ms. Lucas this past week to express my personal opinion about the NCBTMB being prohibited from exhibiting at the convention, something I’ve known about for some time. I haven’t previously thrown it out on the blog out of my respect for AMTA and not wanting to look like I was accusing them of behaving badly, but it’s gotten to the point where it isn’t any kind of secret. It’s now common knowledge. When it hits Facebook you know the word is out.

I shared with Ms. Lucas my opinion that keeping out the NCBTMB was a retaliatory decision based on last year’s ill-conceived plan to morph into a membership organization and compete in the insurance market. The NCBTMB leadership realized that it was bad move for them, and rescinded it, and at Lucas’ own request, even put it in writing.

I pointed out to her, as I have stated in several previous blogs, that we are supposed to be a profession that’s all about healing, that we needed reconciliation, and that I depended on our organizational leaders to be the model for that. Her response to me, which I received on August 24, was to thank me for sharing my opinion and to say “I too, am a big advocate of playing well in the sandbox, modeling the way and walking the talk. I think we have those philosophies in common.”

In fact, in January of this year, Lucas responded to a written interview I conducted, and one of my questions was what did she view as the ideal relationship between all the professional organizations. Her reply was

“Despite the reality that the profession has chosen to have multiple organizations to represent it, we all need to cooperate to support the profession.  Ultimately, we all serve the same stakeholders.  So, I believe, it is to the profession’s advantage to have these organizations work together.”

I agree wholeheartedly, and I hope the leadership of every organization takes note of that. This profession is the family of hands. Dissension and disharmony need to take a back seat to personality conflicts and playing tit for tat. There is enough room here for everybody.

Ms. Lucas had 14 years total of service with AMTA, as they have acknowledged. She also had an extremely well-paying job and benefits, in the $300,000+ neighborhood, the types of which don’t grow on trees. Normally, when someone leaves a position like that–particularly in a recession economy like the one we’re in–they either have a better offer on the horizon or they’re being forced out. No word on which case applies here.

Good luck to Ms. Lucas, wherever she winds up, and good luck to Shelley Johnson, Deputy Director, who is stepping up to the plate as interim director.

In the final analysis, AMTA is not about the Executive Director, or the Board of Directors. AMTA is the 56,000 or so of us who are members and the hundreds of massage therapists who volunteer their time to the organization.

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NCBTMB Revokes/Suspends Diploma Mills

For over a year now, the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork has been working quietly behind the scenes to eradicate massage schools—or rather, diploma mills—that have been handing out fraudulent transcripts and diplomas, lacking any operating authority, and committing a host of other ethics violations. Since June of 2009, 11 schools have had their school code suspended, three have been revoked, and one school voluntarily withdrew their code after being notified that they were suspended.

To clarify the meaning of these actions, a school must have an assigned code in order for their students to sit for an examination offered by the NCBTMB. 39 states currently accept those exams, and they are often utilized by therapists in unregulated states who want to set themselves apart as professionals. No school code means no students from those schools will be able to take the NCB exams. California, where this investigation was concentrated, currently has voluntary registration for massage therapists, and is in fact in the middle of further turmoil because of AB 1822, a proposed massage bill that treats therapists little better than prostitutes. Even though the investigation and subsequently revoked and suspended schools are located in California, the implications are far-reaching, including my state of North Carolina.

Our Board noticed months ago that a high number of applicants for licensure were coming out of two schools in particular, one in California (the East-West School, which has had their code suspended pending further investigation) and one in New York. The applicants first attracted attention because they have all had the same address. In one instance in North Carolina, an applicant from one of the suspect schools was denied a license based on his criminal record. When he appeared to appeal that decision, we discovered he could speak no English. His daughter translated for him, and stated that they had immigrated to America based on the promise that they could go to massage school, get out quickly, and start making a lot of money. I actually feel sorry for these people, because the unscrupulous schools are just taking advantage of people who don’t know any better. It’s a sad situation for the students who paid money in good faith that they were going to get a real education in massage therapy.

While the NCBTMB has in the past revoked certification of individuals found guilty of ethics violations, this is their first widespread effort to put a stop to schools operating in an unethical manner.

Paul Lindamood, CEO of the NCB, gave me the following statement about the NCBTMB’s school compliance program:

NCBTMB is in a unique position with its vantage point on massage in America. Because we monitor, approve or exchange critical data at many touch points of the profession, we are at the nexus of a great deal of information flowing to and from our certification specialists. This gives us the ability to get an overall snapshot of the profession in specific areas relevant to schools, students, educational methods, curriculum, test dynamics, metrics, practitioner activity, etc.

About a year ago, members of our school outreach, compliance, eligibility and ethics departments identified the emergence of some alarming developments when overlaying and studying school data. Specifically, we began to spot ways in which individual schools were giving the appearance of impropriety through inconsistent and unreliable data, irregularities or shortfalls in curriculum standards, falsification of application information and the appearance of fraudulent activities sufficient to cast doubt on the legitimacy of these schools or institutions.

With this knowledge, NCBTMB board and staff recognized the need to immediately create a standardized, legally sound process that would allow us to identify, investigate, sanction or revoke suspected schools that could not pass muster, and thereby prohibit them from being able to have their graduates test via National Certification Exams. The program was developed and received board approval at the beginning of this year. Since then, school investigations have been ongoing via our compliance and ethics departments, and sanctions and revocations have been issued and communicated to the schools, state boards and pertinent law enforcement.

In addition, in the states and surrounding regions where these schools exist, we have made authorities aware of school code suspensions as well. This includes local law enforcement, regulatory agencies, state massage boards and attorneys general. Currently, we are working closely with law enforcement officials and state board representatives on investigations in several states, sharing both intelligence and resources.

As an important adjunct, NCBTMB is also supporting the Polaris Project, one of the largest organizations combating human trafficking in the United States and Japan. The non-profit group also works with
victims, providing outreach, social services and transitional housing.

How all massage professionals can help

NCBTMB would like everyone in the massage therapy community to join together with the goal of identifying schools, organizations or individuals that endanger the safety of the public and the reputation of our profession. If you observe or are aware of any suspicious activities or unethical behavior connected to the profession of massage therapy, please contact your state board or other applicable agency. Or you may contact Lauren Dziuban, NCBTMB Director of Ethics & Discipline, at (630) 652-0469 or ldziuban@ncbtmb.org or Paul Lindamood, CEO, at (630) 652-0456 or plindamood@ncbtmb.org. We will provide guidance or convey information to the proper authorities. In cases that affect NCBTMB and its programs, we will authenticate reports of impropriety and investigate as appropriate, whether school, institution, approved provider or certificant related.

This important initiative on the part of the NCBTMB is for the highest good of the profession. Not only has it cost thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to investigate these schools, it also impacts the National Board in lost revenue from the people who would have taken their exams. It’s obvious that they have decided to put ethics ahead of income, and I applaud that.
No one has been a more vocal critic of the NCBTMB in the past than I have, and I  told their leadership long ago that when there was any good news to report, I would report it. I’m very pleased to see this organization getting their act back together, and once again, I am proud to say I’m Nationally Certified, just like I was when I first started out in the massage profession. Kudos to them for recognizing the things that had gone wrong, and making an effort to correct them.

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NC Chapter of AMTA Annual Meeting Rocks!

I spent the weekend in Cary NC at the NC Chapter of AMTA’s annual meeting. What a blast!

We have one of the best chapters in the organization, and I’m telling you, we know how to put on a great gathering. I taught a class in Using Research to Market Your Practice that was well-attended; I’m glad to see more therapists interested in that side of things. Research is going to propel our profession into the future, and it’s vital for us to recognize that. I also attended an awesome aromatherapy class presented by Cynthia Loving. I’m not the expert Cynthia is, but I’ve been using essential oils as my personal medicine chest for many years, and I always like to hear what others have to say about it. Cynthia had the best class I’ve ever attended on the subject, and I will be inviting her to teach at my own facility in 2011. I highly recommend her class and her line of aromatherapy products, Loving Scents. Her husband was running a booth in the exhibit hall and I stocked up before I left.

We had our annual business meeting and election of officers. Congratulations to Cynthia Rankin as being elected as President. It was a little bittersweet to me, because I think Ed Sansbury did a superior job during his tenure and I have a hard time imagining anyone doing any better, but I think Cynthia will do great…Ed will still be the Immediate Past President and be there to guide her along.

Ed is also a candidate for Member-at-Large in the national elections this year, and I urge everyone to vote for him. I’m not just saying that because Ed is from North Carolina. Ed is one of the hardest-working individuals I’ve ever met, and he will be a great asset to the national organization.  Not that he needed to enhance his status with me any, but Saturday night during our recognition ceremony, Ed called his wife up to the stage and acknowledged her contribution to his success. The old adage about “behind every great man….” could not be any truer with Ed and Becky. Hats off to her.

Nancy Porambo, who is a candidate for National VP, was also there teaching a class and I spent some time chatting with her. I am supporting Nancy for that office. Maureen Moon is Nancy’s opponent for that office, and while Maureen has a long history of service with AMTA, she has already served as National President, and personally, I think it’s time for Nancy to have her day in that office. I urge you to cast your vote for her.

We also enjoyed a dance after dinner, complete with a DJ from Belfast, NI who kept the tunes spinning. My husband Champ was a popular dance partner. I’m not that big on dancing myself–lots of times I’m up playing the music myself, so Champ likes to spread himself around and this time was no exception. He stayed after I went upstairs to go to bed and I heard he was dancing with three women at one time, which doesn’t surprise me one bit. Good thing I’m not the jealous type!

AMTA state chapters are great opportunities for continuing education, but the networking factor is the biggest thing to me. Meeting up with old friends, making new ones, sharing ideas and common problems, finding people you can do mutual referrals with…the whole thing is just a great boon to your practice and the profession on the whole, when people can come together and accomplish great things. Kudos to the organizers of our meeting, and I look forward to seeing you all in Hickory NC in April 2011. And BTW, we welcome non-members and people from other chapters to our meetings, so get off your duff and sign up for the next one!

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The Massage Therapy Foundation

If you’ve been reading my blogs for any length of time, you know that I often report on the politics of massage as well as my perceived shortcomings of some of our professional organizations. There is one organization that I have never criticized, and that’s because they’re above the fray: the Massage Therapy Foundation.

The Massage Therapy Foundation advances the knowledge and practice of massage therapy by supporting scientific research, education, and community service.The goals of the Massage Therapy Foundation are:

1. Advance research on therapeutic massage and bodywork

2. Foster massage therapy initiatives that serve populations in need

3. Promote research literacy and capacity in the profession

4. Support the evidence-informed practice of therapeutic massage and bodywork based upon available research, client factors, and practitioner experience and judgment

5. Fortify the Foundation’s financial resources and organizational effectiveness

If we are to keep the massage profession moving forward, it is vitally important for us to start at the beginning–with students.  As educators, the responsibility lies with us to teach students research literacy, not with the intent that everyone turns in to a researcher, but so they at least become a therapist who is capable of looking up existing research and interpreting the results, and being able to share that with clients and other health care providers. The MTF website contains a research database, as well as opportunities for students to submit case reports–but they have to be taught how to do that.

To this end, the Foundation offers a very low-cost opportunity to to massage schools to train instructors in research literacy. This class will also soon be available on line.  The AMTA national convention is also annually featuring research track classes; a dozen or more will be offered this year in Minneapolis.

The Foundation’s President, Ruth Werner, particularly wants to reach out to schools and instructors and encourage them to join the MTF mailing list.

Finally, the Massage Therapy Foundation is a non-profit that depends on donations to survive. AMTA, ABMP, the NCBTMB and many industry partners support the Foundation, and the rest comes from individual therapists like me and you. Please give whatever you can, even if it’s only a dollar. Every little bit helps.

Laura Allen

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Detoxing

A lot of massage therapists are into cleansing and detoxing. Some of the more scientific minds I associate with think that’s hocus pocus, so before they get their panties in a wad and don’t read any further, this is not about cleaning out your bowels. It’s about cleaning the toxic people out of your life.

We all come across toxic people. Most of us have at least one or two in our own family tree. Some of us have toxic friends. Maybe they weren’t always toxic, but something happened to them along the way, and they became like a nuclear cloud hanging in the sky over the reactor. I’ve always thought it’s funny that one of the nuclear power plants here in the Carolinas is located on Lake Toxaway. Sounds like an oxymoron! I used to date a fellow who lived down there, and the route to his house was confusing…back in the days before GPS…I learned to just follow the mushroom cloud and I could get there.

Toxic people are negative people. They always see the glass as half-empty. They take everything personally. If it’s not about them, it doesn’t exist. Tell them your plans and dreams, and they’ll shoot them down.  Tell them some accomplishment you’ve achieved, and they’ll tell you what you should have done instead. If you praise something they did, they’ll tell you that nobody appreciates it while you’re standing there telling them that you do. If you praise something someone else did, they’ll turn it into a personal attack that you’re complimenting someone else instead of them.

In all fairness, sometimes toxic people are genuinely disturbed. One of the most toxic relationships I ever had was with a woman who was my closest friend for many years.  During the time we were friends, she had a few failed love affairs (and so did I, including a devastating divorce). Then she developed some health problems…nothing life-threatening, but she did have to make adaptations. She never had another positive thought or said a positive word. Over the years I watched as she became more angry and bitter at the world. I spent years trying to comfort her, say and do anything I could to make her feel better. After I left my life as a chef and became a massage therapist, she was very critical of my new career…she couldn’t believe I wanted to touch people for a living, because she had gotten to the point where she didn’t want anyone to touch her. She eventually became a hermit and refused to leave her house except for dire necessities, like buying food and going to her doctor’s appointments.

Our relationship ended one Christmas. For 17 years, she and I had gotten together on Christmas Eve to share a bottle of wine and exchange gifts.  A few days before Christmas, I received a letter in the mail from her–she only lived about ten miles away from me–and it said she didn’t want to see me on Christmas Eve, that she didn’t ever intend to celebrate Christmas again, and it was a long diatribe of her trauma and drama. By this time, she was on a lot of medication, and I knew that it was not my old friend talking but the person she had turned into.

I had already purchased her Christmas present. It was a 6-foot tall concrete angel statue for her yard. She had commented once on wanting one, so I bought it. Since she was in the state she was in,  instead of delivering it personally like I had planned to do (with the help of a pickup truck and a couple of strong friends), I paid the statuary dealer $120 to take it up to her house.  I wrote her a letter that I would always love her and that I would always have fond memories of the many Christmases we had spent together, and taped it to the statue. The day after Christmas, I went out shopping, and when I got home, it was standing in my front yard with the letter still attached to it, unopened. She couldn’t accept friendship, love, or compassion anymore, and I knew I couldn’t do anything about it. I decided to let it go. I had to.  For about 15 years until she passed away, I continued to send her a birthday card every year and a Christmas card with reminisces about some of our wonderful years together. She never responded.

Sometimes the toxic people in our lives are people it’s hard to avoid, like a co-worker or even a parent or sibling. If you can’t stay away from them, surround yourself with a bubble of white light and don’t let their negativity get to you. It isn’t about you. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. It is about them and their own perception of their misery. They can’t smell the roses that are right under their noses–that they have a roof over their head, enough food to eat, friends and family who would love them if only they would accept that and stop looking at the world through the black fog. If it’s your spouse that’s toxic, you’re going to have to make the choice to stay and let that kill you a little bit at a time, or if you’re going to get out.

When a person is genuinely suffering from clinical depression or other mental or emotional disorder, I certainly feel sympathy and compassion for them, and I make allowances for that the way I made them for my friend for many years. But when it’s just a plain old case of “I’m going to rain on your parade,” guess what? They aren’t going to rain on my parade, because I refuse to let them. I cleanse them from my mind, even if I have to be in their physical presence. I detox them right out of my psyche and don’t allow their trauma and drama to affect me. I can still love them, but I don’t have to like them.

Toxic relationships keep us from reaching our own potential and interfere with our own emotional and spiritual growth. If there are people in your life who are toxic, let them go. Detox yourself and bless them on their way.  Sometimes its better to love people from a distance.

Peace,

Laura Allen

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Thanks to Champ

I usually don’t blog about my husband, but this is my personal blog and I can do what I please so I want to take this opportunity to give my husband a little pat on the back.

Champ is turning 58 this week, and in a couple of months we’ll be married for 18 years. During that time, we’ve made it through a catastrophic illness, unemployment, and being broke…the same kinds of problems most other people have been through. We’ve had our ups and downs, and we’ve survived and thrived. I’ve only thought about killing him a couple of times.

In the past 18 years, we’ve had our arguments like any married couple, but I have to hand it to him–never once in all that time has he stepped on any of my dreams. If I say I want to do something, his first question is “What do you need me to do?” I travel a lot teaching. If I said I was going to the moon tomorrow to teach a class, he’d say “Do you want me to put your suitcase in the car?” If I say I’m going to play music with my friends, he grabs my guitar and either comes along or stays at home, whichever suits me, and doesn’t complain about it, either way.

I appreciate this all the more because Champ is my second husband…my first one (who doesn’t read my blog, I feel pretty sure, but I wish he’d see this one) was an abusive jerk who never supported anything I did. Bless his heart.

I had to kiss a few frogs to get a prince. He’s not perfect, but neither am I.  In fact, we’re pretty sure we stay together because no one else would put up with either one of us.

Happy Birthday and thanks, Champ.

xoxo

The Evil One (and yes, that is his nickname for me).

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Non-Compete Agreements: Disagreeable

I hear from massage therapists many times that they have been asked to sign a non-compete agreement when accepting employment. Here’s my take on that: There are enough aching bodies and stressed-out people to go around.

I have a decent-sized staff of 14, and I have never asked a single soul to sign a non-compete. Most of my staff members have been with me for years, and I am certain if one of them left, a certain amount of people would follow them out the door. It has been a very rare occurrence for me to lose a staff member, and when I have, and someone calls for them, I say “Lisa has opened her own business located at so-and-so.”  To do otherwise isn’t going to endear me to any clients. They’d eventually find her anyway, and their opinion of me would go down if I bad-mouthed her for leaving or said anything negative about her departure.

Fortunately, my business is not built on one person’s ability, other than my own ability to hold it all together. I would no more try to prevent someone from striking out on their own, or trying to better their circumstances in any way, any more than I would cut off my nose to spite my face.

I pride myself in being a good person to work for. My staff members are paid above the average. They are all independent contractors…they come and go as they please. I don’t expect anyone to sit around, unpaid, while they wait for clients who may or may not materialize. I don’t expect them to scrub the toilet. My expectations of my staff members are that they act ethically and professionally and that they put the client first, give great service, and act like team players. It’s very rare that I’ve been disappointed. I have people standing in line that would like to work in my clinic. No one has ever left me without working a notice.

When it comes to non-compete agreements, Dale Atkinson, internationally-known attorney who represents the FSMTB, put it this way at last year’s Federation meeting: if an employer asks you to sign a non-compete agreement, go ahead. It won’t stand up in court unless you happen to be the VP of Massage Envy who is privy to company secrets. When it comes to the average massage therapist, it’s just a blatant attempt to restrict free enterprise, and it won’t hold up.

I believe people have the right to work where they choose. And yes, I have spent money to advertise my staff members and done marketing for them…but in spite of that, I can’t visualize myself possessing the type of professional jealousy that would make me ask a therapist to sign a paper that virtually says they can’t practice unless it’s in my place of business or far enough away that it is no longer competition. What’s the matter with people? Competition is a healthy thing. Trying to tell someone that they can’t work unless they work for you is contrary to the principles of entrepreneurship. To me, the message is “I’m so insecure in my own ability to maintain a decent business that I wouldn’t want you to compete against me.”

I suggest that instead of having non-compete agreements that aren’t going to fly anyway, employers should provide a work environment that attracts quality people. When a spa or clinic has a revolving door of people coming in and out, the problem is usually the management, not the staff, and most of the time the owner is in denial. Treat people well and you won’t need a non-compete agreement. If someone leaves and opens their own business, take the high road and wish them well. It will serve you better in the long run than filing a lawsuit and acting like the clients they might have had are your property. People have the right to do business with whomever they choose. Trying to prevent that is like herding cats, and it will not cultivate loyalty from either employees or clients.

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It Takes a Village

This past weekend, I witnessed Mike Hinkle, Cindy Michaels, and just a few volunteers pull off the World Massage Festival, undoubtedly the best massage event I’ve ever attended.  Next year is going to be even bigger and better, and before this weekend was over, there were more volunteers signing up for next year. That’s a good thing.

While it’s true that the people at the top of AMTA get paid, that organization would never survive without the volunteers who serve on the boards of state chapters, or serve as delegates, unit coordinators, and/or committee members.

State boards are usually composed of volunteers. While it’s true that in my state our travel expenses to and from meetings is reimbursed and we get a per diem of 50. for a half-day/100 for a whole day, no one is getting rich off of that. It takes me over four hours to travel to a meeting and I have to pay someone to run my office while I’m gone. We’re limited to paying 62. a night for a hotel.  I’m not exactly living it up at the Ritz when I’m on board business. There is no per diem for the countless hours between meetings that we’re reading minutes and agendas, doing research on issues we are considering, or drafting committee reports.

The board members of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, as well as the delegates, and the numerous volunteers on all the committees of the NCBTMB, and the board members for the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education also get their travel covered, but until you’ve served an organization like this, you don’t realize how time-consuming it can be.

Every day, somewhere, massage therapists are out giving their time to Hospice, veterans, cancer patients, premature babies, benefits for cancer and other worthy causes.

All these people have a life, a job, families and pets to take care of, school and church and civic and social obligations, but somehow they make it work.

It really does take a village.

Peace and Prosperity,

Laura Allen

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Legislation: A Hard Row to Hoe

The majority of states have now passed massage therapy legislation; there are only five remaining states without any regulation: Alaska, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. Idaho and Minnesota both have Freedom of Access laws in effect. 35 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have joined the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. I hope the rest of the regulated states will follow suit and join this great collaboration.

This past weekend, I was in the beautiful state of Kansas teaching a class for the AMTA Chapter there. I listened to Chapter President Marla Heiger give an update on their legislative process, which actually started ten years ago. It will be revisited in July.  Getting massage regulation in place is a hard row to hoe, as anyone who has ever been in on the process can attest.

Back in the day when massage legislation first came to North Carolina, I was employed by a massage school; the owner of that was on the first board here. In my capacity as her administrator, I sent around to neighboring states that already had legislation, and helped her summarize their rules. She was on the rules committee at the time, and had a hand in drafting the initial rules. It’s never a simple process.

One of the main hurdles, for a lot of states, has been in educating legislators, and convincing them that regulation is needed and that it benefits the public as well as the profession.

I’m not just a massage therapist, I’m a marketer. One of the main rules of marketing is that people want to know how something will benefit them. And one of the main rules of politics, as we all know, is that legislators often have to be forced into paying attention to important issues.  Involvement on the part of massage therapists is crucial.  Last week in Kansas, for example, the chapter president handed out blank petitions and encouraged the therapists who were present to ask all their clients to sign them…they need a certain number of petitioners before the legislature will even put the issue back on their agenda.

Getting legislation in place depends largely on the efforts of AMTA. ABMP also has a government relations representative. The FSMTB is here to help member boards in any way they can. In the final analysis, massage therapists have to care. They have to want the credibility that goes along with licensure. They have to want to put a stop to unethical practices associated with massage. One of the therapists in my class this weekend said that in spite of the fact that there is no licensure there, when their new phone book came out recently, there were six listings of people claiming to be “licensed massage therapists. ” That’s bad, because in the eyes of the public who may be looking for a therapist and doesn’t know anything about the law,  it makes the dishonest advertisers look superior to the therapists who are listings themselves honestly without that designation. All the more reason to get some rules in place.

I wish Kansas well with their legislative efforts, and I hope that the few other holdout states will follow suit. It’s important to our evolution as a profession.

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Report from AFMTE Meeting

I traveled to Park City, Utah last week to attend the first annual meeting of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, an organization I am happy to say I am a founding member of. In spite of the fact that I suffered through a heinous case of altitude sickness, I’m very glad I was able to attend, and I must report that the meeting was a rousing success.

Rick Rosen, the Executive Director, and his lovely wife Carey Smith, along with the leadership team, pulled off a wonderful gathering of some of the brightest and best in the bodywork business. The setting at the Grand Summit in the Canyons Resort was beautiful, the food and lodging was great, the education was a bonus, but I’d have to say the greatest thing was the fellowship and sharing of ideas that occurred over the course of the conference.

During the course of the long weekend, the membership came together for the purpose of brainstorming a vision for the future of the Alliance. This organization was founded last year for the purpose of being an advocate for the education sector of our profession. Membership is open to schools, teachers, and continuing education providers; associate membership is open to industry supporters. During the first day, we heard short speeches from the leadership of ABMP, the NCBTMB, COMTA, the FSMTB, and Coulter Non-Profit Management (hired to oversee the management) who all praised the formation and purpose of the Alliance. A number of sponsors and vendors were on hand as well, including representatives from Massage Today, Oakworks, Resource ETC, Bon Vital, and several others.

We enjoyed a gondola ride up the mountain, which incidentally still had snow lingering on the ground, to a great buffet dinner. I was thrilled to see lots of old friends and make some new ones. I was delighted to meet Mark Beck, who authored the massage theory and practice book I learned from as a massage student. He was elected to the Board of Directors, as was Ralph Stephens and Cherie Sohnen-Moe. Other members of the leadership team, including Su Bibik, Pete Whitridge, Iris Burman and Stan Dawson are remaining on in Board positions, which in fact caused the only hairy moment of the entire meeting. A couple of attendees questioned the fact that the leadership team put forth a slate of candidates that included themselves; however, the general consensus was that since this was a new start-up organization that the action was not without precedent and that such action was taken for continuity’s sake. A nominating committee was also elected to recruit suitable candidates for the next term. The seven board members will serve staggered terms of one and two years, for this first cycle, so there won’t be an experience deficit on the Board.

I attended a great class on ethics in education by Cherie Sohnen-Moe. Other offerings included a class on the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge and several classes geared to school owners on the topics of recruitment and financial aid.

The last day of the conference included a raffle drawing with wonderful prizes, and a beautiful closing ceremony. All in all, it was a very harmonious gathering of like-minded souls who want to see massage therapy education thrive and reach its full potential. The AFMTE intends to facilitate that, and as with any people-driven organization, the success or failure of an organization depends on those people. I don’t think there’s any question that the Alliance is set to become the driving force behind the advocacy of excellence in education. Congratulations to Rick Rosen and the rest who made this first gathering a great one.