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 Massage Therapy Boards was in good shape; AMTA lost a lot of money in their investments, but not to the point of endangering the organization, and the Alliance hasn’t been in existence long enough to report on. The COMTA return contained items I didn’t understand, and I’m waiting for clarification on that, but it seems they haven’t had anything earth-shaking in their financial situation, either. Based on the lack of feedback, I wonder if people even care. If you’re affiliated with any of them, you should.
The MTBOK blog has not been updated since October. Maybe I’m not the only one who’s had writer’s block here lately. I’d like to know what’s happening with that project, and they don’t seem to be forthcoming with much information.
Elizabeth Langston, the Exam Development Director at the NCB, updated her blog about the Advanced Certification project this week, but it was a general blog of thanks to those who are participating, except for her closing statement that ” the data from the Needs Assessment Survey is being collated and reviewed for accuracy by an independent psychometric consultant.”
I have seen the NCBTMB making a good attempt this year to clean up their act as far as service to the stakeholders, and I’m extremely glad about that. I do wish the chair, Neal Delaporta, would update his communications, as he has not said anything since his “It’s an honor…” statement back in January. Maybe he thinks I’ll pounce on whatever he says, and I probably will, but that’s no excuse for not communicating.
There’s no recent news from the Federation; they’re ending the year with 33 member boards and 21 of those now accepting the MBLEx, an amazing feat for such a young organization.
The newly formed Alliance for Massage Therapy Education has extended their founding member campaign until Dec 31, but other than that and announcing their initial conference, which will take place in Park City, UT June 3-5, and their announcement a couple of weeks ago that they had raised 40K so far, no big news from them, either. I don’t expect them to have much to report, other than the success of their membership drive, until after the June meeting, which I hope to attend.
So, in wrapping up this year on the political home front, maybe no news is good news. No meltdowns, no new lawsuits on state boards that I’m aware of. Maybe everyone’s busy with holiday plans. I wish you and yours a good one, whatever it is you celebrate (or don’t), and a Happy New Year.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
