On the Road Again

1950 Ford CoupeThis fine-looking 1950 Ford Coupe belongs to my husband, James. It was his father’s. He and his brother restored it to the perfect specimen that it is now. It’s beautiful. We just put insurance and tag on it a few days ago. We built a new garage for it, too.

Two years ago, when the world turned upside down with COVID, all the massage conventions and live classes were canceled. It seems that COVID is going to stay with us for a while longer–maybe forever–but life goes on.  I’m vaxxed and boosted. That’s not a guarantee of staying free of COVID, but it makes me feel somewhat better about the risk of getting a severe case.

I ventured out to teach my first live class since 2020 a couple of months ago for the South Carolina Chapter of AMTA. Next week, I’m heading to the World Massage Festival in Cherokee, NC, to teach four classes, hang around the CryoDerm booth when I can, and reconnect with my tribe. It’s good to be on the road again, seeing massage therapists from near and far.

On the other hand, these two years of staying home have been a wonderful blessing. I’m fortunate that I have been working at home since 2015, when I accepted a job with Soothing Touch. They are located in New Mexico, but allowed me to work remotely. I left there after three years and went to work for CryoDerm. CryoDerm is located in Florida, and they also allow me to work from home.

James and I both stay busy. We both always have some kind of project to work on. We do projects together, too, usually involving woodworking. I’m handy with a Dremel and using the torch to burn wood. My husband is the gardener in our family.  Sometimes he trusts me to do the watering; that’s brave on his part, since I could kill a silk flower!

 

It will be good to see the family of hands again (that’s what I’ve always called the Festival). We’ve got another trip planned to meet up with friends in Tennessee in September. Sometime this winter, we’ll head down to see my family in Florida. And next year, hopefully we can return to Ireland. I’ve visited Ireland  every year for years, until COVID came along. James made his first trip with me in 2019, and we had no idea we wouldn’t be able to go in 2020, or 2021, or this year. While the numbers have gone down in my home state of North Carolina, they’re rising again in Ireland, so we’ll wait another year and see what happens.

No one knows what the future may hold. We will take it in stride, whatever it is. We’ll enjoy sitting on the porch with our dogs, watching the garden grow, and playing music together in the evenings.  And we’ll enjoy our rides through the countryside (the kind with no real destination in mind) in the Ford.

I wish everyone health and happiness. May your blessings be many and your troubles be few.

 

 

 

 

 

Report from the World Massage Festival

Champ and I spent last week in Las Vegas at the World Massage Festival. This was our fifth year there, and the biggest and best one yet. Almost 700 people at this one…9 years ago when Mike Hinkle started the Festival, 20 people were in attendance. There were people from every state and 7 or 8 foreign countries. A whole contingent came from Trinidad.

The World Massage Festival is a unique event. Mike and Cindy bend over backwards to make the Festival affordable to everyone. Instead of a $189 hotel, we were in the Tuscany, an all-suite hotel, for the magnificent price of $59. And they are nice rooms! The staff at the Tuscany was very nice and helpful, the food was good, and in general it was just a good experience to stay there.

Over $50,000 in door prizes and scholarships were given away. I got to do a lot of the name-drawing and I had some real fun helping make people’s day with cash prizes, diamond jewelry, and other goodies.

On opening night, I was the keynote speaker. It was a humbling experience to look out at the room and see so many dedicated colleagues, many of whom have been doing massage for many more years than I have. During the awards ceremony, Irene Smith was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. I have to confess that I was not familiar with her work until Sunday night. She started the first project in the US to massage AIDS patients and has been doing Hospice work since the 1970s. Her entire career has been based on selfless giving. She is an example of the finest massage has to offer.

Since the beginning, one of the purposes of the Festival has been to recognize those who have made significant contributions to massage, through the Hall of Fame. Judi Calvert is always the host for this occasion and as usual did a beautiful job. I spent some time talking with several of this year’s inductees, all genuinely nice people who leave their ego at the door in spite of some of their amazing accomplishments. I spent an hour visiting with Mark Beck, which was a real treat for me, as he wrote the textbook I learned from in massage school, .
Lots of friends were in attendance at karaoke night, and we have got some talented singers in massage therapy. People had a blast singing and dancing.

Quality education, as always, was a highlight of the Festival. Champ took a class in Thai Massage from Mukti Michael Buck and really enjoyed it. I taught two classes, participated on a student panel, helped out with registration and karaoke night, and kept busy visiting with people. Glad to see Allissa Haines, Andrea Lipomi, Ryan Hoyme, Jake Flatt, Gina Smith, Thomas Liberto, Vivian Madison-Mahoney, Enid Whittaker, Michael McGillicuddy, Cherie Sohnen-Moe, Leena Guptha, and so many more. The WMF is always like a family reunion. I also got some great bodywork from Karen Kowal. Darcy Neibaur raised over $2000 in the Sweet Serenity booth to benefit the Greenville SC Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.

I also enjoyed having Sally Hacking and Mary O’Reilly of the FSMTB come into my student class and answer questions about the MBLEx for students.

Pualani Gillespie took Champ and I out for a fabulous dinner at Mario Batali’s restaurant, Carnevino, and we had a great visit with her.

Next year, the tenth anniversary, is going to be held in Michigan City, Indiana, and I expect it to be even better. I appreciate Mike and Cindy and everything they do. I hope to see you there!

Report from the AMTA National Convention

I arrived in Ft. Worth on Wednesday in time to attend the House of Delegates preliminary meeting, which was quite exciting. I was only an alternate this year so I did not get to participate in several spirited debates, one concerning the ACA, and another concerning delegates who arrive late for the meeting (they don’t get seated–something I am in total agreement with.) I spent the evening at the Lippincott author’s dinner, something I always look forward to. Authors and educators Ralph Stephens, Ruth Werner and her husband Curt, Pat Archer, Celia Bucci, Joe Muscolino, Diana Thompson, LWW Publisher Angus McDonald, Acquisitions Editor Jonathon Joyce, my wonderful editor Linda Francis were all present, and I’m probably forgetting someone! We dined at Reata, which served great Tex-Mex food, and the service was top notch.

Thursday morning, the opening ceremony was great. Doc Hendley was the keynote speaker. He is the founder of Wine to Water, and a fellow North Carolinian. He received a standing ovation and had some people in tears, including me. His life’s work is providing clean water to people all over the world who do without it, and it really makes you realize how much we all take for granted. President Winona Bontrager recognized long-standing members and handed out awards, including giving the President’s Award to Rick Rosen, co-owner of the Body Therapy Institute in Siler City, NC, and recognizing him for 30 years of service. Rick has contributed so much to this profession, I’ve actually written a previous blog about him. Congratulations to him for well-deserved recognition.

I had another chance to catch up with Joe Muscolino on Thursday when we shared a table at Starbucks. He is such a smart man who has been around this business for a long time. I’m hoping to attend his dissection class one of these days. Back to the House of Delegates on Thursday evening, where three position statements were considered.

Thursday night, the North Carolina Chapter went out to dinner together. Great to catch up with everybody. I walked back to the hotel with Joel Tull and we got slightly lost…which was okay…we took a good walk! Joel is a sweetheart and a gentleman, and he told me an Irish joke, which I won’t repeat here, but it was great to visit with him.

Friday I visited the Massamio booth for my appointment with Michael Reynolds. His task was to whip me into shape at using HootSuite, and he gave me some great advice. He and Allissa Haines were busy, busy, busy educating people about social media marketing. I hate I didn’t have more time to visit with both of them. That was the case with a lot of folks that I loved to see but just didn’t get to hang out with much.

Bruce Baltz saved me from a total meltdown by giving me a foot massage at the Bon Vital booth….shame on me for wearing a pair of flats all week, my feet were killing me! Note to self, don’t do that again!

On Friday I attended a presentation on the parasympathetic nervous system by Dr. Sandra Smith, Dr. Drew Riffe and Dr. Christopher Moyer. This was one of the research track classes and I was thrilled to see the room packed. The same thing happened on Saturday when Dr. Moyer taught a class on the effects of massage therapy on anxiety and depression. He’s a great teacher, and again, it was so wonderful to see the room filled with people who are interested in learning about and advancing massage therapy research.

Friday night I attended the reception for the Massage Therapy Foundation. I’m still trying to take it all in. AMTA’s annual donation to the MTF was $450,000. The Florida Chapter of AMTA made a $20,000 donation. The MA Chapter made a $10,000 donation. Massage Envy made a $10,000 donation. Then Massage Envy VP CG Funk made the offer that she would match up to $500 if someone passed the hat. Richard Wedegartner passed his cowboy hat around and in ten minutes collected over $800. He said next year he would wear a bigger hat. Biotone made a $15,000 donation, and Massage Warehouse made a $10,000 donation. Performance Health made a $2500 donation in honor of Diana Thompson, whom they honored for her many efforts on behalf on the profession. Outgoing President Ruth Werner also honored Diana, and I could not think of a more deserving person. I was really blown away by the generosity and dedication to massage therapy research that was on display. Thank you to every donor, whether your donation is big or small, it all helps!

Friday after the reception I spent some time catching up with Ariana Vincent. Ariana is dynamite in a small package! We actually roomed together Friday night and had a great chat.

After my class on Saturday I made a quick visit through the exhibit hall before heading to the airport. I missed the closing panel presentation on the ACA. According to Ariana, who took notes, the four panelists spoke knowledgeably about the health and legal ramifications. Therapists are encouraged to investigate thoroughly before jumping into the insurance waters, and reminded that you must be HIPAA compliant in order to accept insurance. The therapists in unregulated states will not be allowed to participate in insurance filing under the ACA. I’m sure there’s more but that’s the gist of it.

All in all, I had a great time. I always do! There is just something awesome about being with a couple of thousand people who do what you do! The Texas Chapter did a great job as hosts and we all appreciate it. Already looking forward to next year in Denver!

Report from the World Massage Festival

The Queen MaryChamp and I attended the World Massage Festival this past week, held on the Queen Mary. This grand old boat is permanently docked in Long Beach, CA. On our last day there, we got a glimpse of the captain giving a tour to the grandchildren of the original captain of the ship. The ship itself is a beautiful historical remnant from times gone by, and we really enjoyed our stay.

Once again, the Festival itself was a blast. I look forward to attending every year! We arrived on Saturday and spent the evening at a welcome party…met up with Elaine Stillerman, who is a force of nature, and a grand lady herself. I am going to share the story that Elaine has a 14-year old son who is a special needs child. After being told that he could not be in a young children’s room at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Elaine seized the bull by the horns, and is responsible for getting the museum to establish a Sensory Room for special needs children.. We also visited with Pamela Mucklow, my longtime FB friend from Arkansas by way of Yorkshire, England, and her childhood friend that she went 40 years without seeing…what a great reunion….and Judi Calvert, the historian of massage and owner of the Hands On Trade Association, who has given me several lovely gifts over the years, brought me a picture of a musician from the 1930s.

Sunday I helped at the registration desk all day with some other volunteers. I got to know Linda Wilson from ItWorks, who turned out to be a heck of a singer and a major performer at our karaoke night later in the week. Sunday night we had the keynote speech from Vivian Madison Mahoney, and some great entertainment from Quentin Flagg. Quentin is a hoot. I’d fall over on stage if I tried to bounce around like he does! His show is high energy and everyone enjoyed it. Champ was up dancing with all the ladies. We also had the Industry Awards ceremony, and I was honored with the Media Award…I wasn’t expecting that and hadn’t prepared anything to say, so I basically just said “Thank you.” I do appreciate it!

Monday I taught One Year to a Successful Massage Therapy Practice to a lovely group of people. I was shocked to have Sally Hacking from the FSMTB in my class…and Terry Norman, who has been doing massage for over 40 years. I don’t think either one of them need any help from me but it was great to have them there! Terry was one of this year’s inductees into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame. Sally is a past inductee. One of the perks of that is getting to attend all the classes you want for free at the WMF, so I thank both of them for choosing mine.

Tuesday I didn’t have any classes, so I spent a lot of time in the vendor hall, which was sold out, and visited with a lot of old acquaintances and made some new ones. Boris Prilutsky, another of this years HOF inductees, and someone that I have personally had many Internet arguments with on different forums, was attending his first massage convention ever. He worked on my aching shoulder and got me out of pain. Tuesday night was the Hall of Fame inductions for this year’s honorees, which included Elaine Stillerman, Terry Norman, Taya Countryman, CG Funk, Irene Diamond, my fellow North Carolinian (THE) Joel Tull, Ariana Vincent (those are just the ones I know) and quite a few others. That night, I hosted a talent show/karaoke night, and I think it was definitely one of the high points of the WMF…such a blast that we are already planning to make it an annual happening! Gina Smith can flat out sing…so can Linda Wilson, and John Evans! Elaine Stillerman sang a couple of Broadway tunes, and Ralph Stephens had the whole place rocking to the Banana Boat song. We had people lined up waiting to perform. It was really a fabulous night. I played a few songs on my guitar so now I have bragging rights that I’ve played on the Queen Mary 😀

Wednesday I taught The Educated Heart to a beautiful group that included Amber Robidoux, another longtime FB friend I was glad to finally meet in person. Wednesday night, we had a beautiful closing ceremony out on the Queen’s Deck. Vivian read a beautiful tribute prepared by Cindy Michaels….Cindy is Mike Hinkle’s wife and she is the one who, when Mike says (as he frequently does) “I’ve got a big idea!” makes those happen! After that, we had a lovely candlelight group singing of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” led by yours truly and Gina Smith. A magic moment with everyone in gratitude for another great year at the World Massage Festival.

I have often referred to the WMF as “the Woodstock of massage.” That is because of the LOVE that happens there and the laid-back atmosphere…no politics allowed…just great education opportunities with a group of wonderful teachers and students, no fancy dress required, just show up and have a good time. I will be there every year until they throw me out! I didn’t get a final count, but I’m also sure Darcy Neibaur raised quite a bit of money for Sweet Serenity, which helps the Shriner’s Children’s Hospitals, and there were about 150 stuffed animals collected for the Ronald McDonald House, too.

I hope to see you all next year at the Tuscany in Las Vegas, which is a fabulous place and the rooms are only $55 a night.  I’ll meet you in the casino!

AMTA: Supporting Massage Therapists for the Affordable Care Act (or Not?)

The Affordable Care Act goes into effect on January 1, 2014. This stands to have a major impact on the ability of massage therapists to be reimbursed by insurance. The 1300+ page document includes language prohibiting discrimination against licensed integrative health care practitioners.

Diana Thompson, well-known educator, author, long-time AMTA member and past president of the Massage Therapy Foundation, recently shared with me a letter she sent to the BOD of AMTA, expressing her concerns that the organization is not supporting the movement of massage therapy into the mainstream as a health care choice. In the letter, Thompson went so far as to call out AMTA for not operating according to their own bylaws, which include the mandates that the organization is, among other things, to

(D.) Promote legislation that supports and upholds, and oppose legislation that harms
and damages, the massage profession;

(E.) Protect and preserve the rights of its members;

(H.) To advocate the rights and interests of persons seeking massage therapy as
health care;

Thompson was moved to write the letter to the BOD after a recent meeting of representatives of CAM professions, held at Bastyr University in Seattle. After the meeting, the purpose of which was to discuss the ACA, Cynthia Price, PhD, LMP, who attended on behalf of the Academic Consortium for Complimentary and Alternative Health Care stated in her report to Executive Director John Weeks:

I was very pleased to attend the Region X/ACA meeting on Monday held at Bastyr this week.  It was a very informative meeting and a nice first step to bring clinicians from different CAM and Medical disciplines into one room together who all want to be better informed and care deeply about this topic.   Deborah Senn did an excellent introductory presentation on the ACA and the current concerns regarding the language that may put CAM providers at risk for inclusion/coverage.  With the exception of the massage representative from the AMTA, all the clinical speakers were excellent and very supportive of the ACA and interested in doing everything possible to support coverage by practitioners within their discipline.  These clinicians expressed similar concerns regarding the ACA and how it may or may not affect CAM services.  There were also clinical examples provided about how the ACA may positively impact certain disciplines, particularly NDs who provide primary care… On a side note, I am very concerned about the position of the AMTA…”

Winona Bontrager, President of the Board of AMTA, responded with a letter to Thompson that stated:

“We have spoken with some other people who attended the recent HHS meeting.  Some of those individuals were there representing other groups and of course our chapter members, and none of them came away from that meeting with the understandings you put forward.  We have no idea how Cynthia Price arrived at the statement she has made to you.”

Thompson also stated in her letter to the BOD that Price had specifically asked that Chris Studebaker, AMTA’s Director of Government and Industry Relations and the person who was representing AMTA at the invitation-only meeting, not be invited to attend future meetings, and that others besides AMTA should be invited to better ensure accurate and professional representation of the interests of massage therapists.

These are serious accusations. AMTA’s response is that Studebaker’s statements at the meeting were conveying the results of AMTA’s last member survey, which revealed that about 50% of the membership has no interest in third-party reimbursement. Bontrager, speaking on behalf of the BOD, stated that Studebaker is being unfairly blamed for things he did not say. Thompson states that she stands by her accusations.

Thompson also stated that she spoke to AMTA leaders about the need for support and action regarding the ACA on at least a couple of other occasions, notably at the last AMTA National Convention in Raleigh, NC and again at the IMTRC held in Boston earlier this year, and that both times was given “wait and see” and “we’re not ready” responses by the leadership.

This entire brouhaha brings to light several issues and bigger questions. First, lest there be any confusion here, even if the ACA results in every massage therapist in the country being eligible for third-party reimbursement, no one is going to be forced to accept insurance. Anyone who wants to keep operating a cash-only practice will be able to do so.

Second, if 50% of AMTA’s membership doesn’t want to participate with insurance clients, that means there is also 50% that does. Since the 50% who don’t want to are not going to be forced to participate, what about representation for the half of the members who do want to?

Third, I must agree with Thompson that this is not the time to “wait and see.” This is the time to be proactive. I will point out the position statements approved by this organization that clearly demonstrate the health benefits of massage therapy! If we can make that more available to the public who have insurance that would pay for it, shouldn’t we be doing that?

Diana Thompson is a long-standing and dedicated member of AMTA. She was instrumental in gaining the right for massage therapists to file insurance in the state of Washington, where 90% of AMTA members do bill insurance. I don’t believe she is on a witch-hunt at AMTA. I believe it came from genuine concern that a major voice that should be speaking out for us is not doing so. Her letter cited the research from AMTA’s own 2009 consumer survey that showed that 97% of massage recipients believe that massage should be considered as health care.

The field of massage therapy has been experiencing growing pains for quite some time. There are concerted and combined efforts going on right now to raise the quality of education, to raise the quality of teaching and education, and to raise the image of massage in the eyes of the public. AMTA has made many efforts in the past on behalf of the membership, and I urge them not to drop the ball this time.

CAMTC Responds to “Money Grab” Accusation from Massage Today

Update 09/19/2025: Massage Today was a long-standing industry publication that was bought by AMTA several years ago. The publication no longer exists, but there are some of the articles archived on the AMTA website. Most deal with anatomy, techniques, and business. No editorials or blogs are archived, so the article this blog refers to no longer exists. Lo these many years later, I agree with Peterson and the CAMTC is STILL on a money grab. The original blog is below:

Last week, Massage Today President Donald Peterson published an article entitled The CAMTC Money Grab. It cast the CAMTC in a very unfavorable light; to make a long story short, it appeared to expose excessive financial wrongdoing at the organization by stating that the CAMTC was paying the expenses and per diem for no less than 14 board members to attend the American Massage Conference. The AMC is a moveable event that is held each year in a different location, and this year’s event was taking place in San Diego.

Peterson backed up his claims of financial excess with a table showing who voted to spend the money and who didn’t, and also stated that Massage Today Senior Associate Editor Kathryn Feather had actually been on the CAMTC conference call when the vote was taken about spending the money. The criticism was that although it was not unanimous, that for the most part the people who voted to spend it were the people who were going to receive it. In reality, that’s the way it goes on all boards; board members vote on things, and that includes where and when to attend events and how much money will be spent on it, so there’s really nothing unusual about that.

I shared this article on my Facebook page, and immediately started hearing from board members of the CAMTC that Peterson’s story was very biased and not telling all the facts. Since I initially shared it and contributed to giving a bad impression of the organization, I made the offer to them that I would give them equal time on my blog to present their side of the story. The fallout from this has been swift, not the least of which is the resignation of Keith Eric Grant from the magazine, which he has been contributing to since 2002. Grant is a CAMTC board member, and someone I  have admired as a writer, a scientist, and a person from afar. He has been blogging about the politics of massage way before I started. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet him in person, but we have been FB friends for several years, and as I stated on my page, I would believe pigs would fly before I would believe that he would misrepresent the truth.

Grant’s response to the Massage Today article can be read in its entirety here.  Note: Grant’s response is still on his website. 

I also immediately heard from Joe Bob Smith, another CAMTC board member, whom I have personally met several times. Joe Bob’s response to my sharing the article on FB was this:

Laura, sometimes your quick fingers get something going without hearing from the other side. As a CAMTC board member, I believe that Massage Today wrote a biased piece with missing and incorrect information. I’ll be happy to defend the actions of the board any day. The CAMTC is made up of 20 terrific volunteers, many working massage therapists themselves. They put a lot of their own time (and time is money) into this organization. Many will be losing money by volunteering at the AMC. They deserve to be reimbursed for out of pocket travel expenses when on board business. And the per diem limit is $211/day (standard government established rates) which includes hotel, not just food. The CAMTC has a very proactive, working board that has done a lot to curb prostitution and human trafficking in the two and a half years it’s been in existence. I do hope you’ll seek me out next time you hear of CAMTC news. While we all have differences of opinions, I would like to make sure the other side gets at least equal opportunity.

I also heard from Mark Dixon, Vice Chairman of the CAMTC. His response to my offer to tell the CAMTC side of the story is printed here verbatim, and was actually his response to Kathryn Feather’s questioning him as to why he voted to support the members being reimbursed, and what his duties would be:

The importance of attending this meeting and interfacing with those attending is reinforced by my continuous attendance at national and statewide conventions of this type since 1975. My comments are strictly related to the question asked, and are about my own participation. It’s not hard, though, to extrapolate that purpose to the other volunteers who will attend the AMC.

Regretfully, CAMTC’s CEO, Ahmos Netanel, has been asked to return his attention to more pressing issues affecting CAMTC, and is unable to reply to your offer.
 
My response to Kathryn:
 
As I stated during the debate, I’d agree with the two other entities in disagreement if the event were anywhere but in California. But in San Diego there will be roughly 2000 local massage therapists and affiliated bodyworkers in attendance who either provide or manage massage services. In addition, the venue provides a valuable opportunity to network with influential individuals from around the country who have expressed strong interest in California’s unique massage regulation; in short, a chance to learn, teach and network in a setting that rarely comes to our state.
 
My specific duties include but will not be limited to meeting with counterparts from other state boards and professional organizations, directing participants to the specific part of the CAMTC that is most helpful to them, assisting with coverage of our exhibit, and following up/developing contacts during the years to come. I expect to be on duty from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon and plan to take one three-hour class at my own expense.
 
As the first meeting of this type attended by the CAMTC, I believe the small investment is a sound one that will place experienced, knowledgeable professionals before an important audience. I’ve been working meetings of this type since 1975, and have learned that a highly concentrated group of individuals in a convention setting affords an excellent opportunity to save considerable expense of travel and lodging.
 
Even so, as a volunteer I stand to lose considerably more in income than the reimbursement. Moreover, I attended last month’s AMTA-CA Chapter Educational Conference, representing CAMTC in continuous meetings throughout the weekend. I received zero reimbursement.

 

Although as Dixon said, CAMTC Executive Director Ahmos Netanel was too busy to reply to my offer to personally tell the other side of the story, Massage Today did print an e-mail that he sent to Peterson in response to the article. It is quite lengthy and can be read in its entirety here.

In summary, Netanel accused Massage Today of misrepresenting the facts in a biased and inflammatory way, and withholding information that would have cleared up the accusations to begin with. By the looks of Netanel’s rebuttal, this article would probably have never gone to print–at least not in its present form–had his responses been considered before the magazine went to press.

Since I’ve been accused of being inflammatory myself–and rightly so, at times–and because I shared the Massage Today article on my FB page, I felt compelled to present the CAMTC side of the story. In fact, Keith Eric Grant and Joe Bob Smith have both occasionally called me on the carpet over something, and I don’t resent that. Although I certainly have my own opinions and biases, it is never my intention to be so biased that I can’t see both sides of the story, or at least give them equal consideration. And like a lot of things, there’s one side, there’s the other side, and somewhere in the middle is the actual truth.

I will also state, in the interest of self-disclosure, that during my five years on the North Carolina Board, I was sent to several conventions on their behalf, and they paid my way. Board members on any board generally give up their own time to volunteer when they could be making substantially more money than the per diems allowed by boards (and in fact some don’t pay a per diem at all), not to mention their time away from their own families, businesses and other activities in the interest of service to the organization. I’m the office manager/receptionist at my own office, and every time I attended a board meeting, I had to pay someone to take my place. My per diem ($100 per day) didn’t come close to covering that, or the inconvenience of driving almost five hours both ways to attend a meeting. While it’s true that there is always going to be some abuse taking place somewhere, I believe that’s the exception and not the rule, and I don’t think this particular incident was a case of abuse of board funds. Mark Dixon quoted the late great Paul Harvey, who always signed off by saying “and there you have the rest of the story.”

My blog is my own opinion, and should not ever be considered to be the opinion of anyone else.

Report from the AMTA National Convention 2011

I have just returned from attending the AMTA National Convention in Portland, Oregon along with about 1400 fellow therapists, and I must say I believe it was the best one yet! The folks at the Oregon Chapter were great hosts. I wouldn’t have expected anything less, especially since we were in the hometown (well, the adopted hometown) of President Glenath Moyle. Incidentally, Glenath is the most exuberant and delightful leader to come down the pike. She is a ball of energy and one of the friendliest and most approachable people on the planet.

I arrived on Monday night so I could attend the Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday. It was a great meeting, no big surprises, and just one good report after another. An increase in membership and finances in good shape, and in the present economy that’s good to hear.

Tuesday evening, I hung out with Xerlan Geiser-Deery and Christopher Deery, John Seigel, Michael Reynolds, and Allissa Haines. We went to one of Portland’s many brew pubs and enjoyed some great food and fellowship. Wednesday, the opening ceremony was hands-down the best. The keynote speaker was Kevin Carroll, author of Red Rubber Ball, and he had me both laughing and in tears before it was over. I later had my inaugural introduction to the House of Delegates, which was a great experience. That night, I attended the annual Lippincott Williams & Wilkins author’s dinner. We went to a great restaurant called Mother’s. I sat with Joe Muscolino and Celia Bucci and really enjoyed myself. Also in attendance were LWW staff members, including my lovely editor Linda Francis, without whom I would have never written a book, along with Kelly Squazzo, Pat Archer, MaryBeth Braun, Ruth Werner, Les Sweeney, Leslie Young, Anne Williams, Eric Brown, Diana Thompson, and probably a few people I am forgetting. It was a fun evening and we were the last people to leave the restaurant.

Thursday was more time in the House of Delegates. That is quite a process. Ann Blair Kennedy had authored a number of position statements and there was heavy debate before quite a few of them passed. Thursday night, we had a little blogger’s meeting in the bar, attended by Allissa Haines, Dale Favier, Kelli Wise, Kat Mayerovitch, Chris Widlund, John Seigel, and Lisa Santorino. All of us except Chris, who is pregnant and had a good excuse to stay in and rest, walked over to an Asian restaurant recommended by John and we consumed a copious quantity of all kinds of Thai and Chinese goodies. After we left we all headed out to the Rock Bottom to attend the Facebook Friends party. What a gathering! There were wall to wall people. I met so many FB friends I couldn’t name a tenth of them!

Friday I attended a great class in how to make research posters, taught by the newly-married Kim Goral Stevenson. I worked in a group with Rose Chunco, Kat, Jerrilyn Cambron, and another beautiful soul that my mind is going blank on at the moment! I knew I should have written all this down! Friday night, all the folks from the North Carolina Chapter attended the dinner cruise on the Spirit of Portland hosted by the OR Chapter. We laughed so much we nearly cried. The food was awesome and the company was better. It was a blast.

Saturday, I blew off the two classes I had registered for, hopped on the train, and rode around the city. I don’t usually duck out on classes, but frankly I was running on empty by that time…I went straight to Portland from attending the FSMTB meeting in Los Angeles and my poor old brain had absorbed about all it was going to by that time. I came back to the hotel in time to take a nap so I could attend the dinner dance. It’s fun for everyone to get all dressed up for dinner and dancing. The band sounded great. I didn’t stay late; I was just too tired to party until midnight, but it was definitely a festive gathering.

In between all the official festivities, I visited with a lot of old friends, especially the fine folks from my own chapter, and the GA chapter. That crowd is a bunch of characters and I just love them. I got a half-hour foot massage at the Sanctuary, and made several visits to the exhibit hall. One day I sat talking with Bill Brown, the Deputy Director of the AMTA for over an hour. He’s a great guy and I really enjoyed getting to know him better. I also spent time visiting with Sally and Ed Hacking, Kathleen Gramzay, Lynda Solien-Wolfe, Ariana Vincent, and too many more to count.

Another high point was the debut of Rise and Shine, the CD of music donated by massage therapists to benefit the Massage Therapy Foundation. I just got to listen to my copy today, and I am very proud to be included in such a talented group of people. The music is just great. Get a copy if you haven’t already!

Portland is a beautiful city. The train is awesome. The people were friendly. I never made it to Voodoo Donuts–but I did get to eat one provided by the folks from the American Massage Conference. If I had any complaints about the whole thing, it’s just that there were too many wonderful things going on at the same time. I hated having to miss one event to attend another, but that’s the way the ball bounces when that many people come together and try to accomplish as much as we can pack in to just a few short days.

The AMTA National Convention will be held in Raleigh NC in 2012. I don’t know how we’re going to top the OR folks, but we’ll give it our best shot! I hope to see you there!

The World Massage Festival: A Great Time!

Champ and I got home from the World Massage Festival this morning, and while I’m tired, I must say it’s that good, satisfying kind of tired, the kind you feel when you’ve really had a great time. We certainly did!

This year’s Festival was held on the beautiful campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC, and as usual, it was like a family reunion! We got there on Wednesday, in time for me to take Ruth Werners class on Teaching Research Literacy. That night, about 20 or so of us who were helping with the Festival went out to dinner together. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Champ (his 59th). We sat around for a couple of hours just catching up.

Thursday, I spent the day helping with registrations while Champ helped people set up in the vendor hall. There were about 80+ vendors present and by the end of the weekend, quite a few of them had sold all their product and signed on for next year in Las Vegas. Lots of goodies were given away…and I even got some extras. AMTA National VP Nancy Porambo won a diamond charm bracelet and she gifted it to me (thank you, Nancy!). Champ is famous for winning raffles and he won a nice set of essential oils. Lynda Solien-Wolfe was there representing Performance Health/Biofreeze and she was giving away the goods everywhere! I love that company and all their products…I’ve been selling Biofreeze since day 1 at my office and it’s a best-seller.

Thursday night there was an awards ceremony. I was not expecting to get an award, and I was really worn out from working registration all day and I almost didn’t go. I’m glad I dragged myself there, because I received the Government Relations award. Of all the kudos I’ve ever gotten in my life, I have to say that one pleases me the most. I would have dressed up for the occasion if I had known I was going to have to go on stage, and I was slightly embarrassed to be getting an award in a pair of jeans and t-shirt…but hey, it was a special t-shirt that Cindy Michaels embroidered just for me! ABMP was recognized as the Association of the Year for the third year in a row. Ryan Hoyme, Pat Donahue, Darcy Neibur, Mike Hinkle Jr, and Vivian Madison-Mahoney and her husband John were also honored, and Ruth accepted an award for the Massage Therapy Foundation. I’m probably forgetting someone! Mike Hinkle and James Waslaski handed out the awards.

Friday morning I taught a class in Using Research to Market Your Massage Therapy Practice. Friday night, the amazing Lori Stegner entertained a big crowd, first as Patsy Cline and then as Tina Turner. I roped my favorite and very talented cousin Todd Rollins into playing a set with me in between Lori’s performances and then after the show, we led a jam session. Ruth Werner started things off by singing some Beatles’ tunes. Ralph Stephens had his washboard so we played a few bluegrass songs, too. Several other attendees got up and sang…kind of a live karaoke! We had a blast.

Performing at the World Massage Festival

I spent Saturday in the vendor hall visiting with all kinds of people and doing massage in the Sweet Serenity booth. Sweet Serenity is a project started by Darcy Neibur to raise money for charity. The proceeds from this event went to the Shriner’s Burn Center and we raised $800. I not only gave, I received, and I got a great reflexology session from Travis Alligood. He saved the day for me.

Saturday night, I was inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame along with my fellow North Carolinian Gloria Coppola, Leslie Young Giase, Editor of Massage & Bodywork Magazine, Richard Rossiter, Joseph Goldman, David Lauterstein, Michael McGillicuddy, and other hard-working souls. The ceremony was opened with a beautiful prayer from Medicine Woman Jenny Ray. Champ and I hung out with Jenny and her teaching partner Janelle Lakman every evening when we got back to the residence hall…we probably kept the whole place up with our story-telling and laughing.

Sunday was not only the high point of the Festival for me, I would have to say it was one of the high points of my entire massage career. I took a class in Thai on the Table from Mukti Michael Buck. It was the best hands-on class I have ever attended, and I have attended hundreds of hours of continuing education. Mukti is undoubtedly the most charismatic teacher on the planet. The bodywork was sensational. The whole class was in such a state of gratitude at the end of it, we were one big melting pot of thankfulness and grace. I would recommend it to anyone.

Sunday night, we wrapped up with a Facebook Friends party at O’Malley’s, an Irish pub (my kind of place, you know!) It was very well attended and we had a great time visiting with old friends, making new ones, and meeting FB friends in person for the first time.

The staff at WCU bent over backwards for us. The campus is gorgeous, the food in the cafeteria was good, the residence hall we stayed in was top-notch, and the staff and students were all as friendly as they could be. True Southern hospitality.

The Massage Therapy Alliance of America also seated its first Board of Directors. Pat Donahue is at the helm as President and her husband, Joe Ferguson, is 1st VP. Pat and Joe each have more than 40 years of experience in the massage profession. I’m excited to see them there! Tina Rivera is the 2nd VP. Darcy Neibur is the Treasurer; Leslie Lopez is the Secretary, and the Members at Large are Lynn Shell and Carrie Thompson. Thanks to all for serving.

Throughout the week, I saw so many friends it was like old home week…I wish I had more time that I could have visited with them all. I did get a few minutes to speak with the crew from the NCBTMB, the FSMTB, our state chapter of AMTA, and so many more. M.K. Brennan was there from the American Polarity Therapy Association. There were so many of my favorite folks in attendance…Michael McGillicuddy, the Massage Nerd, Sharon Puszko…I just couldn’t get around to everybody!

Mike and Cindy Hinkle are to be commended for all their hard work…Mike gets the big ideas and Cindy pulls it together. He knows what a jewel she is! We were joking last night at dinner and Cindy told Mike he couldn’t get any more ideas until after August…she needs a rest! It was a great time and I’m looking forward to next year in Las Vegas. Hope to see you there!

American Massage Conference Bats 1000

I spent the weekend with over 1000 massage students and therapists, plus all the great vendors and support staff in Atlanta this weekend at the inaugural American Massage Conference. I’d have to say they definitely batted 1000! A good time was had by all!

There were just too many good moments to talk about them all, so some of my personal highlights:

Teaching my exam prep class Friday and ethics on Saturday, great people in both classes…dinner with Allissa Haines, fellow blogger of Writing a Blue Streak fame…sitting on a panel with Whitney Lowe, Felicia Brown, Les Sweeney, and Tony Zak…sitting with BioFreeze Bob, Lynda Solien Wolf, James Waslaski and his assistant, Michael McGillicuddy and Gloria Coppola at the awards dinner…getting the award for Massage Therapist of the Year and seeing my friends be recognized, including Ryan Hoyme (the MassageNerd) as the winner of the Innovation Award, Anita Shannon as Educator of the Year, Felicia Brown as Volunteer of the year…hanging with Sandy Pearce from Massage Today…hearing the great keynote speech at the One Concept awards…getting a 30-minute foot massage at the Sanctuary…playing music on stage at the gala with Errol N Schroeder of ASOMAssageMusic

Playing some tunes with Erroll and Schroeder

Then there was eating the homemade ice cream provided by BioFreeze Bob…hanging with Paul Lewis, who is one of the nicest people in the massage business…having a group picture made with all the WIBB bloggers in attendance…eating lunch with Lynda Solien Wolf…getting interviewed about CE by Gloria Coppola…the Pirate Party out on the roof at Stat’s…the totally awesome vendor booths… getting interviewed alongside Angie Patrick by Karen Menehan of Massage Magazine…watching James Waslaski dance the electric slide with about 20 women on the dance floor…getting foot massage of the automatic variety at two different booths…chatting with Glenath Moyle…seeing Michael Reynolds of www.spinweb.com, one of my personal idols…chatting with the folks from FSMTB…Elizabeth Langston, Exam Development Director of the NCBTMB sitting in on my exam prep class…having a visit with Rick Rosen of the AFMTE...visiting at the ITEC booth for about 45 minutes and finding out all about what they do and how they do it…meeting so many FB friends for the first time and seeing a lot of people I haven’t seen in awhile…watching Paul Lewis and Donna Sarvello performing an energy dance on the party bus…visiting with Christopher Alvarado and Angela Palmier…watching Tina Allen’s little son Otis out on the dance floor…

I could go on and on, but to make a long story short, it was simply fabulous, so kudos to Scott, Angie, Eric, Monica, Melanie, Robyn, anybody I missed, the staff of the Holiday Inn for doing a great job, and all concerned. It was one of the high points of the year and they all deserve to be congratulated for pulling off such a huge and successful event!

Report from the Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards

This past weekend, I attended the annual FARB conference in New Orleans.  FARB, the Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards was formed in 1974. Members come together for the sharing of information; public boards of all types are welcome to join, as are industry supporters such as testing companies that provide exams to the membership and the law firms that represent the Boards.  The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) is a member, as is the North Carolina Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy, and it was on our Board’s behalf that I attended.

The conference was quite enlightening. It was my first time attending this particular meeting, and the panel included speakers from various boards, everything from medical boards to social work, optometry, and even mortuary boards. Debra Persinger, Executive Director of the FSMTB, was one of the dozen or so panelists. The primary topic of discussion was the various problems facing public boards today and how those can be addressed. It seems that no matter what kind of board was represented, we all have the same problems: unethical behavior from licensees, problems with public perception about what a board actually does, problems with education and exam breaches, lawsuits, interference from lobbyists, and a lack of transparency, among other things.

The first speaker was Meghan Twohey, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune, who for a year or more has been reporting on problems surrounding the medical profession in IL. She has repeatedly been denied access to medical board records surrounding physicians who have been accused of rape and sexual assault–and who have not been disciplined–they’re still out there practicing on the public. It really brought to light how professions with powerful lobbies can close ranks around their members and continue to abuse the public trust.

Persinger spoke about various problems with massage and bodywork exams, including one association who is still giving handwritten exams in public libraries with no security measures at all in place. A representative from Pearson Vue, who administers the exams for both the MBLEx and the National Certification Exams, explained that Pearson Vue is now using something called Palm Vein technology to identify candidates at their test centers. It is reportedly much more reliable than fingerprints and should eliminate the problem of proxy test-takers who use fake ids to take a test on behalf of someone who can’t pass it.

Quite a bit of legal advice was dispensed by attorney Dale Atkinson, who represents FARB, the FSMTB, and numerous boards and agencies all over the country. Among his advice to boards, that got my attention because as a board member myself I have seen it happen: never accept voluntary surrender of a license but to instead insist upon a consent order.  He also advised boards not to be afraid to permanently deny an applicant, something that in five years I have never seen happen. We have refused to license people based on their criminal record, but they are usually told they can reapply in X number of years, usually 1-5 years. The logic, which makes perfect sense, is that some people will never be suitable candidates to place their hands on the vulnerable public. Boards have had a tendency not to permanently deny anyone for fear of litigation, such as being accused of prejudice and subjected to a discrimination lawsuit.

The same issue has affected schools, according to several educators from public institutions who spoke. Admissions departments in public universities who have a limited number of places in an educational program can and do refuse applications based on academic merit and other reasons. According to Dorinda Noble, an educator and member of the Texas Department of Social Work Examiners, one of the major issues facing licensing boards today is the proliferation of for-profit career schools who don’t turn anybody down–if you have the tuition, you’re in whether you are unsuitable to the profession or not, and if you don’t have it, they’ll bend over backwards to get it for you, in the form of crippling student loans. Incidentally, I thought Ms. Noble was the most informative and engaging speaker of the conference.

I have often preached the sermon of the need for massage therapists to stay informed and to be involved in their profession in the interest of 1) knowing the law (how can you abide by it if you don’t know what it is?) and 2) rising up together to prevent legislation that is detrimental to us. It doesn’t do any good to complain after the fact. My attendance just reinforced that. All in all, it was very informative, and from my perspective of being one who has a vested interest in the regulation of massage therapy, I’m glad I went.

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