More than 70 massage therapists gathered in Northampton on September 8, 2013 for education with Jeff Mahadeen and an AMTA-MA Chapter meeting.
President Mary White welcomed all attendees and introduced the board and other volunteers present as well as Jennie Pelletier of the MA Board of Registration of Massage Therapy.
Lisa Curran-Parenteau spoke about the House of Delegates and position statements to be presented at National Convention. Delegates Kelly Dalbec, Lisa Curran-Parenteau and Gail Dobinski presented each of the three position statements and attendees discussed the merits and intricacies of each. You can read more about the 2014 Proposed Statements here.
Mary spoke about the Massage Therapy Foundation and how important research is to our profession, and encouraged all to visit the MTF website, and to read their blog and journal.
Lisa and Gail spoke about the new Community Service Massage Team. The team has partnered with the American Red Cross and the charitable division will be working with the Special Olympics this year. You can find out more about the CSMT team and the charity chosen for this year Special Olympics here. We plan another training in the summer of 2014.
Mary spoke about the importance of member participation in the National elections coming up soon. It is important as a member to use your vote and partake in the election process as these are the people who are representing us at meetings with other health care representatives. They are also the people involved in helping establish reciprocity from state to state. You can read more about elections here.
Mary presented on law and legislation and spoke about the bill we currently have in the state house. The bill would add electronic advertising to our current law which would help bring attention to those that practice elicit behaviour and do our profession a very large disservice.
Gail Dobinski presented plans for NMTAW Legislative Awareness Day. The event, where AMTA-MA Chapter members provide massage to state legislators, will be held on October 24 from 10am-2pm. Information and registration can be found here.
Education Chairperson Deb Baker shared that Tracy Walton will be presenting The Cases and Conversations in Massage Therapy series on December 7 and 8 in Hyannis. Information and registration are here.
The 2014 New England Regional Conference will be hosted by the CT Chapter AMTA who has chosen the theme, Massage: it makes a world of difference. Registration will open in late October and the website will be updated here.
Lisa encouraged the attendees to visit the AMTA-MA Chapter website frequently, and connect in LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
2nd VP and Membership Chair Kelly Dalbec spoke about the Membership Committee and discussed the committee’s need for volunteers to assist with school visits. Any interested members may contact Kelly at mkdalbec@gmail.com. Visit the Volunteer Page for more information.
All the attendees enjoyed a complimentary lunch, gift bag, and a few lucky people left with great door prizes from At Peace Media, Performance Health and ASAP productions.