The Massage Pundit

Are you one of the 3%?

3.3, actually. That’s the percentage of the membership that voted in the recent AMTA election. 51,299 AMTA members are eligible to vote, and yet just 1737 exercised that right.

I wonder if this is complacency…I wonder if people are “too busy” to vote. I wonder if people have the attitude that it will all be the same no matter who’s at the helm. I  wonder if they just don’t care.

Since I’ve been reporting on the politics of the profession for the past couple of years, I have come to realize how important a role leadership plays in our professional associations.  Having the wrong people in positions of authority can take a formerly stable organization and send it right down the path to destruction. Having excellent leaders in place is important to growth, and facilitation of whatever is the highest good for the membership.

I put this out on my Facebook page earlier this evening, and garnered several comments from my network of therapists. One said she felt a little stupid voting because she knew nothing about the candidates other than the little bit that’s on the ballots, and wondered if the trade journals couldn’t do a more in-depth interview with the candidates so people could make a more informed choice. Another pointed out that she did know some of them, and couldn’t support them. Still another said she just felt like people are busy running their practices and their lives and don’t care about AMTA except for the liability insurance and cheap CE they provide.

It’s scary to me that 3% are speaking for the whole organization. I’d like to make it clear that I am personally acquainted with and think very highly of Glenath Moyle, the president-elect, and I have every confidence she’ll do a great job. I’d just like to point out, though, that she ran unopposed. It’s incredible that in an organization of over 52,000 people, only one of them stepped up to the plate to run for that position.

I also supported Cynthia Rebeiro,  re-elected as vice president, and my fellow North Carolinian Rachel Mann is now a member-at-large. Rachel is the immediate past president of the NC Chapter and has been in service to the organization for years.  Jeff Smoot and Maureen Moon were also reelected.

The 3% here seems like it’s not only 3% who are voting, but there’s 3% of that three percent who are willing to be in service to the organization.

This is one time when I’m not thrilled to be part of an elite group. There’s another election in 2010, and I hope more people will take an active part. I’d like to see the chapters have an election committee charged with calling every member and encouraging them to vote. It’s evident that sending emails and paper ballots didn’t do much to get the voters to turn out. Maybe a live person talking to them would make a difference. I’d welcome any suggestions, and will pass them on to the leadership.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen