I’ve been waiting with bated breath for the announcement from the NCBTMB about who won the two seats in the long-delayed board election, but that information hasn’t materialized yet. I keep checking the “press release” section of their website to no avail. The last post was the response to the passage of the new massage practice act in Pennsylvania, another diatribe about the NCB sticking its nose in where it doesn’t belong.
While I was perusing the old press releases a few weeks ago on their website, I couldn’t help but notice how many important events seemed to be missing, so I sent an email to NCB to ask about the omissions I noted, but I have not had the courtesy of a reply.
I wondered if there was a press release concerning the firing of CEO Christopher Laxton and Director of Education Mark Lausch…no such luck. I didn’t see anything about the fact that the NCB certification exams are being phased out in North Carolina. Nor was there anything about the NCB Board voting to give their outgoing Chair Donna Feeley $20,000 to pay for her medical care, since her “volunteer” stipend of around $100,000 didn’t cover the cost of health insurance.
That brings to mind another issue—the finances of the NCB. I’m beginning to be concerned about the amount of money going out versus the amount of money coming in. Between all the Board and committee members flying around the country and their other efforts to step up PR, the hiring of expensive lobbyists and lawyers and filing lawsuits in an effort to stop the FSMTB and the MBLEx from encroaching on “their” territory, the Board meetings held in luxury hotels from coast to coast, and the number of states defecting to the MBLEx, they’ve got to be feeling the pinch. I guess that’s why they just raised the fees for approved providers.
NCB has also taken on the appearance of a revolving door, personnel-wise. Counting the new CEO who is about to be named, NCB will have had six chief execs in last five years. This does not contribute to the operation of a stable organization. There is never any information forthcoming from NCB about the good people who have resigned in frustration or those who have been given the boot. Since we only hear about the replacements, one has to wonder what the problem has been with these people, all of whom have come to the NCB from other high-paying and high-powered positions and were seemingly competent and qualified .
Feeley’s self-extended term as Board Chair of ends on New Year’s Eve.. I’m looking forward to watching Chair-Elect Neal Delaporta as he assumes the position and and will report on his leadership in this column. I’m hopeful that there will be fewer shenanigans and more positive changes under his watch, but only time will tell.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
I’ve received a lot of e-mails and a few phone calls since my previous post about the NCBTMB elections, about the fact that I supported Pua Gillespie for one of the open seats. I am ashamed to say that I must now eat crow on that decision, and I feel compelled to give some background.
When I received my ballot from the NCBTMB, I made it my business to contact the candidates and ask them their position on the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. Nathan Nordstrom, whom I also supported, politely responded to me that he was prohibited from “campaigning” in any way other than his candidate statement, according to NCBTMB rules, and he’s actually right on that. However, Nathan’s candidate statement impressed me enough with his references to the fractures and dissent on the board that I figured he was the right man for the job.
I also heard from the other candidates, who apparently weren’t worried about the rule Nathan quoted, or, didn’t feel that answering a simple question was a violation of it (I didn’t think it was). In any case, they all sounded like political double-speak to me, totally evasive about the question…everyone of them came across as sounding like a politician on the stump trying to appease everyone by saying something vague instead of offering a definite opinion, with the exception of Pua Gillespie. I received a very nice e-mail from her. She assured me that she had established a good relationship with the Federation board members, and intended to work harmoniously with the FSMTB’s new chair, Kevin Snedden. Pua also went on to tell me about following the path of ”Aloha,”, the Hawaiian spiritual tradition of not being in judgment and not saying anything bad about anyone. I believed, as she totally meant for me to, that she intends to work with the Federation and not against it.
Then the calls and e-mails started coming in, along with copies of the documents about the Federation that Gillespie has personally handed out at state board meetings. It’s a piece of propaganda from the NCBTMB, and to make a long story short, the ending statement summarizes their (and apparently Gillespie’s, since she was handing it out and her business card was stapled to the paper) attitude about the FSMTB and the MBLEx. In short, it says that the MBLEx has created public confusion and distrust, and threatens to set the profession back 16 years (the amount of time the NCBTMB has been in existence). It also includes a number of other distortions. Aloha, indeed.
I’ll just address a couple of these. One comparison states that the NCBTMB’s job task analyses have included state board members, educators, subject matter experts, etc., and points out that the last job task analysis was contributed to by over 4,000 people. The comparison states that the FSMTB’s website lists “40 individuals” as contributors to the test development process. Funny, but it doesn’t say a word about the fact that the Federation’s job task analysis was from over 7,500 practitioners. And, that the 40 individuals who are in fact listed include state board members, educators, subject matter experts, etc.
It also goes on to imply that due to the fact that the Federation received money from ABMP that the ABMP owns the Federation in some way. That would be like saying that because the NCBTMB gave $50,000 to the Massage Therapy Foundation this year, they now own the Foundation. There is no truth in it whatsoever. There’s not one word there that sounds like the spirit of Aloha to me; the entire paper is a slam against the Federation and the MBLEx.
I am ashamed that I was fooled in this manner. I’ve already cast my vote, and I can’t take it back. I apologize profusely to the people who voted on my recommendation. I will not recommend anyone else in place of Gillespie, because I could be fooled again.
On another note, the NCBTMB has lost yet another dedicated volunteer this week in the person of Elaine Calenda, who has tirelessly served that organization for 14 years, most recently as the chair of the School Outreach Advisory Panel. Her letter of resignation expressed her distress at past and recent turns of events at the NCBTMB, and that she felt she could no longer defend their actions. It is very sad that someone who has worked so hard for so long is reduced to resigning, rather than to keep serving an administration that has become an embarassment to her.
While I’m having my dinner of boiled crow, I will be watching with interest to see the outcome of the election. Whomever gets voted in, I’m watching you. I’ll be watching Mr. Delaporta when he takes over, and I’ll be keeping up with, and reporting on, the actions of the NCBTMB in relation to interference in state governance, the exorbitant waste of the stakeholder’s money in holding staff meetings in Hawaii, the exorbitant “stipend” of the chair, the lawsuits and the sniping between board members, the departure of valued volunteers, and the service to stakeholders. Incidentally, I heard through the grapevine that the new CEO is going to be one of the spin-doctors from the PR firm the NCBTMB hired to spruce up their image. I’ll be watching him, too. It’s going to take more than PR window-dressing to satisfy me that this organization is back on the right track.
I do not want the NCBTMB to dry up and blow away. I want them to do the job they are supposed to do.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
