The Massage Pundit

We are in a time of massive financial upheaval, generated by the failure of those who are in key decision making positions to act in the best interests of their constituents. While most of the attention has been focused on Wall Street and the for-profit sector, we have our own nasty situation going on in the massage therapy profession.

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCB) is a tax-exempt non-profit organization; as such, its annual IRS returns are public record. I recently obtained NCB’s most recent Form 990, the official IRS statement that is filed by non-profits, and it is truly shocking.

The 2008 form has not yet been filed, and it has been NCB’s practice over the past several years to delay filing until the last legal date. These figures are from 2007, and to put them in perspective, I’ll compare it to previous years.

From 2005 to 2006, NCB ran a surplus of $1.4 million. However, from 2006 to 2007, the organization ran a deficit of $93,000. That’s a shift of $1.5 Million! Is business down? Heck, no. In fact, last year when my approved provider certificate was late in arriving, and I called the NCB to check on it, I was told that the organization had received four times as many provider applications as usual and that staff was overwhelmed. In 2006, NCB administered more than 22,500 exams, and that number increased to more than 24,500 in 2008. Since business wasn’t suffering, it must be that expenses are up, and how.

Here are some of the significant changes that occurred between 2006 and 2007 that caused this deficit:

• Legal fees increased by 331%. Hardly surprising, since the NCB has hired lawyers and lobbyists all over the country to interfere with the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards and the states that have adopted, or are considering adopting the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Exam.
• Conference and meeting expenses increased by 273%. Gee whiz, apparently it costs more money to hold a Board meeting when you fly everyone to Honolulu or camp out in ritzy destination resorts with hotel rooms costing hundreds of dollars per night.
• Promotions, marketing, and exhibit booth expenses increased by a whopping 1363%! That’s called damage control, in my opinion. NCB has really pumped up its marketing efforts since the Federation introduced the MBLEx. The problem is that the campaign has been mostly negative, specifically aimed at undermining the Federation, as well as spreading false information about the MBLEx and the state boards that have chosen to use that new exam. The problem is, no amount of spin can overcome a fundamentally flawed position.
• Total compensation to the Board of Directors and key personnel increased by 80%, and CEO compensation increased by 72%. While that may seem like a big jump, it’s nothing compared to the whopping 260% increase that went to Board Chair Donna Feeley. A mere two years earlier, the Chair was given just $21,075 in compensation. How in the world could NCB Board of Directors justify paying Ms. Feeley $103,800/year plus more than $4,500 in expenses for a volunteer position that is officially listed on Form 990 as 10 hours per week? What is wrong with this picture? And let’s not forget that this is the same group of Directors that voted to DOUBLE their length of time in office.

Here’s the bottom line: NCB’s leadership is spending unsustainable amounts of money in a futile attempt to keep fighting a losing battle. As I mentioned previously, our two largest membership associations have spoken clearly, and have issued a ringing endorsement of the MBLEx as the single solution for our profession’s entry-level licensure exam.

The money that NCB is rapidly burning through is not their own, it belongs to you and me… the certificants. Outrage is an appropriate emotion when this kind of behavior is happening in plain view. Don’t be shy when expressing your feelings to NCB on this important subject.

I am betting my money that NCB’s 2008 financial picture is going to look even worse than what has been described here. I’ll be reporting on that as soon as I have the information. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting to hear if NCB is lining up behind the banks and the automakers to ask the Obama Administration for a bailout.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

The sordid story of the National Certification Board vs. the Rest of the Profession grinds painfully on. I am both amazed and distressed at the public relations claptrap the NCBTMB is continuing to manufacture, and distressed that the leadership of this organization is apparently unable to stop fighting what is most certainly a losing battle. NCB continues to base its campaign on distortions, innuendo, and wildly stated accusations directed at our two most respected professional organizations and the state massage regulatory boards that are members of FSMTB.

It took them long enough, but the powers that be at the NCB have finally responded to AMTA’s decision to endorse the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx) as the best choice for the path to licensure and portability. The problem is that NCB has come forth with the ridiculous statements that AMTA’s decision was based on “passion rather than reason”, and that the MBLEx is a “threat to the viability of certification and the profession at large.”

On the first claim, it took AMTA a couple of years to finally get around to making this endorsement. Anyone who is familiar with that particular Board of Directors knows they are not prone to making impulsive or passion-based decisions. And NCB’s ongoing assertions that certification is superior to licensure is pure fiction. Each of these credentials have their place in a well-structured profession, and no one organization gets to have all the marbles.

In a separate email sent to certificants, NCB also makes accusations that the MBLEx is “easier” than their certification exams, a claim that is totally without merit. Along with that, NCB is making the bizarre suggestion that state massage therapy boards somehow stand to profit financially from accepting the MBLEx –– another statement that has no basis whatsoever in reality.

By the way, we’re seeing exactly what happens when a professional certification agency hires a “spin doctor” as its CEO: you get “all spin, all the time.”

When leaders sling this kind of mud, it’s called dirty politics. Now that our national election is over and the new president installed, it’s just the kind of thing we’re all sick of hearing. There’s an interesting aspect about this particular fight, however, and that is that the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards isn’t participating in it. They stand quietly by and attend to the business of administering exams like they were created to do, instead of responding by slinging more mud.

The press release sent out by the Federation in response to AMTA’s endorsement states, “Like AMTA, the Federation continues to see voluntary certification as a cornerstone of the profession,” and goes on to express hope that the NCB will realize that the profession has evolved, that their true mission rests in certification, and that they will support the Federation.

As a NCB certificant, it saddens me to see this organization resort to the same kind of strategy of truth-butchering and spreading of baseless claims that is typically practiced by mudslinging politicians.

The campaign is over, our two largest professional membership associations have spoken, and they support the Federation and its licensing exam. NCB should stand down and face the reality that the massage therapy landscape has fundamentally changed. This new era requires an atmosphere of communication and the spirit of collaboration to move our profession forward. Do NCB’s leaders really think the hostility they are cranking out is endearing them to the thirty state boards that have now joined the Federation? That’s thirty agencies that see the value of working together for the advancement of our profession, and for improving portability of licensure. If anyone can make an honest case for that being a bad thing, please post it here.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen