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 meeting:

Representatives from 34 boards were present, as were representatives of AMTA, ABMP, and a few other interested parties. PCS (Professional Credentialing Service), which processes candidate applications for the Federation, is based in Nashville, and assisted in every facet of the meeting. They did an excellent job, as did the Board members. The whole thing ran like clockwork. Chair Kevin Snedden welcomed everyone, including the four Boards who have joined since last year's meeting: GA, CA, PA, and AZ.

Dale Atkinson, the Federation's legal counsel and an expert in the area of boards and federations, conducted a training session. Susan Beam, my fellow Board member from NC and treasurer of the FSMTB, was pleased to report that the Federation is much stronger financially than ever before, as we head into our 5th year of existence. Indiana and Louisiana were given membership grants, as their state budgets did not allow for the (very reasonable) member dues. The Federation will soon be getting new office space and hiring additional staff.

Sally Hacking, who is an absolute ball of energy, has been hired to work in government relations, her area of expertise for many years. Debra Persinger, the executive director, has worked tirelessly for the Federation since the beginning, and I am sure Sally's presence will be a great help to her. Incidentally, in my report from the AMTA convention in Orlando, I mentioned that Sally had received an award, and I failed to say that it was the AMTA's President's Award. Sally informed me that she had gotten about 50 phone calls wanting to know what award she won, so it looks like she got plenty of mileage out of my omission, anyway! It is well-deserved. Sally also introduced the concept of a model practice act--a template, basically, that states can of course modify as needed--but meant to represent the ideal for enhancing portability of licensure from state to state.

A report and template for the national disciplinary database was unveiled, including a video presentation of how this will work. This is still in the beginning stages, and will definitely require a lot of help from the member states. The burden will be on state boards to update the database regularly and diligently, in order for this massive project to work, but it is a great step forward in safeguarding the public and keeping those people who don't need to be here out of our profession.

Chip Hines, director of the Body of Knowledge Project, gave a report of the status of that initiative. He was pleased to note that an impressive number of comments on the first draft of the document have been received. I've sent in my comments; have you?

Mike Hinkle, fellow North Carolinian (for the moment, anyway, Mike is like a rolling stone!) gave a great report on the World Massage Festival. The 2010 Festival will be held in Berea, KY. Yours truly will be there teaching ethics and marketing. There will also be the annual inductions into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame, bluegrass music on the town square, cheap accommodations and meals available at the college, and a very impressive lineup of teachers and classes for continuing education. Scott Miller gave a wonderful video presentation on Social Networking.

The state delegates shared so much valuable information with each other, and time was set aside for a question and answer period, with Debra Persinger moderating. This is the true beauty of the Federation: representatives from all states coming together to collaborate and share ideas to address common problems and issues.

It was reported that the NCBTMB had interfered in four states during the past year, issuing challenges in FL, PA, IA, and OR. I was personally present at the meeting of the FL Board during which that lawsuit was settled, and reported on that in a previous blog. Patty Glenn, the immediate past chair of the FSMTB and an OR Board member, in fact did not come to Nashville, and sent her regretful decision to resign from the FSMTB Board in order to focus on the present problems in OR. Craig McMillin, who is an attorney and the current public member of the OR Board, was present and is an interesting and colorful character who's almost as opinionated as I am! I enjoyed talking to him.

The delegates and Board members are a great bunch of dedicated people. I spent the weekend sitting next to Kathleen Doyle, the delegate from New York--and incidentally, I'm thrilled that New York has joined us, in light of the fact that their extremely high standards put a lot of states to shame--and also time visiting with friends and family who live in Nashville. Champ accompanied me for the weekend and we had breakfast with Connie Shanks-Knight from Mississippi, who is just a wonderful lady and dedicated member.

I had a bittersweet moment this weekend when I was asked by a member of the nominating committee if I would be willing to serve on the Federation Board of Directors. I would have loved to say yes, but I felt that it would detract from my ability to appear as my usual fair self on this blog! In my ideal massage world, all the players get together and play nice! And most of them do...I've been unabashed in my admiration for the Federation, but I felt that it might appear too partial for me to write about them if I was on their Board, so I regretfully declined. I have caught a little flak in the past because I am a member of the North Carolina Board and I'm out here expressing myself, but that is only one small part of who I am; I do not express opinions of any kind on their behalf, have never done so, and never will.

I have written much about the NCBTMB in the past couple of years, most of it criticism. I would in fact like nothing better than for the NCBTMB to regain the respect and confidence of the entire massage community, and to come to peaceful co-existence with the Federation and all the rest. They have not been welcomed to the Federation's meetings, due to their campaign against the MBLEx and their interference in the above-mentioned member board's governance, and their antagonistic referral to ABMP as "just an insurance company", as well as their reaction to AMTA's and ABMP's endorsements of the MBLEx as the path to licensure. Paul Lindamood, CEO of the NCBTMB, has stated to me personally that he and the NCBTMB Board of Directors support the Federation, and expressed a wish that the two entities can be able to work together in the future. It appears that the ball is now in the Federation's court, and it will be up to their Board of Directors of whether or not to dialogue with the NCBTMB. The Federation, as well as the AMTA and ABMP, have always expressed that they recognize national certification as a cornerstone of the profession. They are not trying to make certification, or the NCBTMB, disappear from the planet. I think there is a place for everyone. Friendly competition is a great thing, but it does not serve us to have serious rifts of this sort going on. I hope that a reconciliation can be reached.

The Federation meetings that I have attended in the past two years have been models of what cooperation and collaboration are all about. If your state has not yet joined the Federation, I urge you, as a massage therapist, to contact your state's board members and encourage them to join. If you're a state board member yourself, put it on the agenda for your next meeting. Portability of licensure is just one issue that the Federation is working on. Your state board could not make a better investment than joining.

This is my only term as North Carolina's delegate, but I do expect to continue to attend future meetings as an observer, as I have in the past, and to support the Federation in whatever way I can. I believe it is a wonderful organization, and to see all these Boards come together in the spirit of helping each other is just a beautiful sight to see. May they live long and prosper.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

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