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 like the organization was on at the time, and what they intended to do about it; I asked their opinions on the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards and the MBLEx, and a few other issues that were important to me personally as a certificant. Nathan Nordstrom, the candidate from Oregon, was the only one of those people who gave me a decent answer, and unfortunately he was not elected. The rest of them sounded like politicians on the stump trying their best to do a little double-speak. One candidate fed me such a line of BS that I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. As soon as I posted a blog supporting her, within minutes I was receiving phone calls and emails from all over the country asking me what the heck was I thinking, and detailing many of her past actions that were totally out of integrity. I had to post another blog entitled "Laura Allen Eats Crow."

I'd like to see some new blood at the NCB. Does that mean I want the "old blood" to get out? Yes, it certainly does, because some of these people have responsibility to own up to in the messes that have been created at the NCB, and they haven't done it. If the NCBTMB is truly ready to turn things around there, as they claim, make improvements to the bad service we have received, and rectify some of the bad decisions that have been made there in recent years, it's time to do a housecleaning, in my opinion.

So here we have Leonard Gaffga running for public member. I don't know Mr. Gaffga personally, or any of the other candidates, for that matter, but my concern with him is his statement, "The goal is to assure that the NCBTMB has a place at the table in every state where massage is regulated." Translation: He does not have respect for the wishes of the states who have decided to support the MBLEx as their path to licensure, in spite of the fact that both AMTA and ABMP have both made the decision to support that as the entry-level licensing exam. Maybe it doesn't mean anything to him that our two largest, most credible, and long-standing professional associations have spoken, because it seems he is choosing to ignore that.

Ronni Burns is also running for public member, and has an impressive resume. She may have the same party line as Mr. Gaffga, but if she does, she has failed to say so. She could be hiding something, but I'd prefer to give her the benefit of a doubt, and cast my vote for her in order to unseat Gaffga.

Then we have Monica Reno. In case your memory needs refreshing, she and the present chair, Neal Delaporta, were both relieved of their positions on the Board a couple of years ago for failure to renew their certification and continuing to participate in Board business, contrary to the bylaws of that organization. They both claimed ignorance that they were expired because they hadn't received a notice (lack of service was at fault, one presumes). Personally, my own certificate is hanging on the wall in my office, and I have enough common sense to look at it once in awhile to see where I stand, especially in light of the fact that I, too, have failed to receive notice of renewal in the past.

The chair at the time, Liz McEntyre, was acting in accordance with the NCB's own bylaws when Reno and Delaporta were dismissed; then along comes Donna Feeley to reinstate them, supposedly based on the recommendation of an "independent governance panel". Who was on that panel? I emailed Feeley at the time to ask her that question, but along with all the other emails I ever sent her, I never got an answer. Mr. Delaporta is not a candidate again this year--he has nowhere else to go but to the immediate past chair position when his time there is up, and thank God the NCB made a decision in May to remove that position from all policies and procedures. He gets to serve two years because Feeley's administration voted to double their own terms. The certificants didn't get to vote on that issue. Sort of like the president re-electing himself, isn't it?

Craig Knowles states that he intends to "listen to the needs of massage therapists." As he has been on AMTA's Government Relations Committee in the state of Georgia, I will trust that he has some respect for AMTA's support of the MBLEx...however, I have a number of friends in the GA Chapter and I will be calling on them to get the real scoop on him before I decide to say yay or nay.

David Munsey made a much longer candidate statement than Knowles, but he manages to make it sound like his primary mission is a marketing plan. He has also in the past been very involved in AMTA, although there is no mention of recent activities on their behalf. He does state that the NCB "must continue improving and adapting." Now there's a statement I could support: improve and adapt. Although I don't have a definite opinion yet on Knowles or Munsey, the election of either one would unseat Reno, so take your pick.

I have continued to have high hopes for the NCBTMB, in spite of all the past problems there. I believe seating new members is an important avenue to distancing the organization from some of those problems, and is a vital step in their turning over a new leaf. I urge you to carefully consider the candidate statements, and I urge you to consider adopting the strategy of out with the old, in with the new, when you cast your vote.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen