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Laura Allen's Blog (160)

10 Questions for Liz Lucas, CEO of AMTA

This is my first in a series of interviews with the folks at the top of our professional organizations.

Last week I was accused of “handing the microphone” to Paul Lindamood, CEO of the NCBTMB. This week, I’m handing it to Liz Lucas, CEO of AMTA, and in the weeks to come I’ll be handing it to a few others. You just can’t please all the people all the time!

Liz Lucas is the CEO of the American Massage Therapy Association, which represents over 56,000 members. AMTA had its… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on January 19, 2010 at 4:00pm — No Comments

10 Questions for Les Sweeney

This is the second in my series of interviews with the leaders of our professional associations.

Les Sweeney is the fearless leader of Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP), a national membership association that provides comprehensive liability insurance and practice support for massage/bodywork practitioners and students. Founded in 1987, ABMP is now the largest massage therapy membership organization in the country with more than 70,000 members.

LA:… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on January 18, 2010 at 5:38am — 1 Comment

A Reality Check for Employers

I was tempted to continue last week’s theme and title this “Employers Behaving Badly.”

I constantly hear from therapists about their unhappy work situations when they’re employed by someone else, whether that’s as a taxed employee or an independent contractor. Many feel they aren’t compensated fairly for the work they do.

In the case of ICs, I also hear many horror stories of the outright abuse of the definition of that term–employers who are falsely classifying people as… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on January 16, 2010 at 8:14am — 4 Comments

Massage Schools Behaving Badly

I’ve been a student in massage school, an administrator and instructor of a massage school, a state board member serving on the committee that approves massage schools, and a continuing ed provider that visits many schools, and I have seen more than a few things that disturb me.

I’d have to say the worst of these are schools who are so misleading to students; the owners “sell” their school to prospects by promising them they’re going to be making X amount of money the minute they… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on January 12, 2010 at 5:55am — 2 Comments

The Financial Health of Our Organizations: The NCBTMB

Were it not for the fact that I have already posted a blog titled Financial Shock and Awe at the NCBTMB, I could certainly have used that for this one. The subject matter is the same: the Form 990 filing of the NCB, except this one is for the latest return, from the fiscal year 2008. The previous posting was about the 2007 form.

Here are the cold hard facts: Revenues were down by over a million dollars, while expenses were up almost that much. The NCB is showing almost $2 million in… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on January 7, 2010 at 2:00pm — 2 Comments

Palmier & Alvarado Depart NCBTMB

In a press release issued earlier today, Angela Palmier and Christopher Alvarado have announced that they have brought an end to their role as Industry Relations Specialists for the NCBTMB after just five months on the job.

Palmier and Alvarado are partners and the principals of Resource ETC LLC, a company which provides consulting, education, and training services for not-for-profit, health care, and educational institutions. Both have a long record of experience as educators in the… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on January 6, 2010 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment

AMTA Calls for Subject Matter Experts

The American Massage Therapy Association has put out the call for Subject Matter Experts (SME) in the field of myofascial release.

A statement on their website says: “As part of AMTA’s longtime commitment to provide massage therapists with ongoing education opportunities, it is seeking Instructors and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to assist in developing a comprehensive continuing education program for massage therapy in the area of myofascial release. SMEs will be expected to… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on December 30, 2009 at 5:21am — No Comments

Cleaning and Clearing

As 2010 approaches, I’m in the throes of one of my favorite tasks at the office: cleaning and clearing. Of course, housekeeping is done daily around here, but I’m talking about cleaning out the filing cabinets of this year’s files, clearing my desk of the last of this year’s piles, and getting ready for the New Year.

I’m one of those highly organized people that has every year’s bills and records stored neatly in a labeled box by the time Dec. 31 rolls around. New Year’s Day, as has… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on December 29, 2009 at 5:54am — No Comments

Is No News Good News?

I’m wondering if the old adages “no news is good news” and “bad news travels fast” have been responsible for my writer’s block the past couple of weeks. I do tend to report it when things go wrong in our profession, although I occasionally hand out kudos as well.

I started a series on the financial health of our organizations, and it attracted very few comments. The NCBTMB has still not posted their 2008 filing, which I’ve been waiting for with bated breath. The Federation of State… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on December 13, 2009 at 6:44am — 2 Comments

Growing Pains

Massage is my second career, one that I only adopted ten years ago. Some of my fellow bloggers here were doing massage when I was still in high school. They’ve witnessed a lot of changes. As we move toward the New Year, I am reflecting on what has happened in the past decade, and I feel pretty certain that it’s been both the most productive and the most tumultuous time our profession has seen so far.

Rick Rosen, Executive Director of the recently formed Alliance for Massage Therapy… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on December 1, 2009 at 5:04am — No Comments

Thanksgiving Thanks

It’s that time of the year when a lot of people pause to give thanks for those things they are grateful for. I need to throw in my two cents.

A few months ago when I checked in at the AMTA National Convention in Orlando, I was thrilled when I opened my registration packet and found that instead of just my name badge, some kind soul had put the word “PRESS” in big letters underneath my name. To whomever that was, thank you.

Since I have been blogging about the politics of… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on November 23, 2009 at 6:32pm — 6 Comments

The Financial Health of Our Organizations: FSMTB

This is the second in my series on the financial health of the non-profit massage therapy associations.

What a difference a year has made to the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. In the 2007 fiscal year, the FSMTB’s Form 990 showed gross receipts of just over $43,000. The 2008 shows those revenues as exceeding $355,000. Looks like it was a good year, and the expectation is that income will continue to grow as more boards join (there are currently 33) and more students take… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on November 14, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Reno Rides Again

Although the official election results have not yet been announced by the NCBTMB, the grapevine has it that Monica Reno has retained her certificant seat on the Board, and the new public member is Ronni Burns.

I’m very pleased to hear about Ms. Burns, and less than pleased to hear about Reno. As I’ve stated on a previous blog or two, she is in my opinion part of the Old Guard That Needs To Go. The NCB seems to be making some good strides forward here lately, and I think the more they… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on November 7, 2009 at 6:29am — 1 Comment

The Financial Health of Our Organizations: AMTA

This is a follow-up to my blog of June 19 about AMTA’s fiscal responsibility. In the next couple of months I will be reporting on the financial condition of all our non-profit professional organizations.

Someone from AMTA asked me why I didn’t pick on ABMP, and the short answer is, they are a not a non-profit organization. When an organization holds itself out as non-profit, the membership (and the public) has a right to know. Incidentally, I am a member of both… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on October 31, 2009 at 2:00pm — 3 Comments

NCBTMB Advanced Certification Process is a Bumpy Road

The National Certification Board hit a bump in the road this weekend when Whitney Lowe resigned from the Advanced Certification Task Force, citing differences of opinion over how the project should proceed.

In a letter to NCB staff and fellow Task Force members, Lowe acknowledged the effort that has been put forth during the process, and expressed his concern about the timeline of the process, which he feels is being rushed to the detriment of the project.

His resignation… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on October 25, 2009 at 10:24pm — 16 Comments

Is the NCBTMB Turning Over a New Leaf?

There is something big happening at the National Certification Board: THEY ARE LISTENING!

I caused a little uproar earlier this year when I scooped their announcement on this blog about the membership organization the NCB was planning to launch. The response to that announcement wasn’t very cordial on any front; everyone from the certificants to the other professional associations spoke out about it, and I am glad to say that the plan is on hold, according to their press release of… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on October 22, 2009 at 6:57pm — 2 Comments

State Boards and Criminal Record Checks

Most state massage boards are now requiring criminal record checks and fingerprints from their applicants; some have been doing it for years, so it’s not exactly news. Some therapists are resentful of this, mainly due to the extra expense, and some view it as unfair, especially if there are other licensed occupations in their states that are not subject to the same rule.

There are a couple of bigger issues here: most of those boards don’t have a procedure in place that would allow a… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on October 18, 2009 at 8:30pm — 12 Comments

NCBTMB Suspending the Requirements on Instructor/proctor for Home Study and DE Programs

This ought to make a lot of people happy: The NCB is temporarily suspending their policy on requiring an instructor/proctor for home study and distance education programs, due in no small part to the outcry from the profession.

The NCB plans to revisit this issue during their 4th quarter meeting, but for the present time, the rule has been suspended. They will inform the stakeholders as soon as they reach a final decision.

The announcement reads: "The definition and… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on October 14, 2009 at 6:17am — 3 Comments

My Report from the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards Meeting

I just returned from the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards annual meeting, held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. I must say that the venue was fabulous--in fact over the top--and miraculously cheap. They gave us a rate of $110 per room, including breakfast and free Internet access. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Enough gushing about that--here's what happened at the… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on October 11, 2009 at 9:00pm — 12 Comments

The NCBTMB Election: My Views on the Candidates

Once again, it's time to vote for new officers of the NCBTMB. A lot has happened with the organization since the last election, but I will decline to blame, or give credit to, anyone who was just elected last year with those events...things have been unfolding there for a long time that no newbie could possibly have had control over.

When the ballots came out last year, I personally contacted each candidate by phone or email. I asked their opinions on the downhill spiral that I felt… Continue

Added by Laura Allen on October 6, 2009 at 5:41am — 5 Comments