American Massage Therapy Association^®

AMTA President Judy Stahl
National Convention Opening Session Speech
September 24, 2009 – Orlando, FL

Good morning and welcome everyone to the 2009 AMTA National Convention at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in magical Orlando, Florida.  Isn’t this a beautiful place?  

This is AMTA’s biggest event of the year.  It’s our opportunity to gather together to express our passion for the massage therapy profession and for our Association.  And, I’m delighted to share with you that the Governor of Florida has sent us a special greeting and welcome. 

I would like to thank the Governor and I’m sure our AMTA-Florida Chapter helped make this happen.  Thank you Florida Chapter for being our host.  

We come to our annual convention to learn, see each other, network, take care of business and have a good time.  We also celebrate what we’ve accomplished in the past year and what we are doing now.

It is humbling to be speaking to you as the American Massage Therapy Association’s National President.  Truth is, it’s a long way from my private practice in Prescott, Arizona to this podium!  I started volunteering with the Arizona Chapter of the AMTA in 1992 because there were things I wanted to see happen in our profession and I couldn’t do them myself. I knew that AMTA was the place to go if you wanted to get something done in the field of massage therapy. Now, after years of volunteering first with the Arizona Chapter and more recently at the National level, I speak to you as your President. 

This year, I have met with and spoken to so many people and organizations that affect massage therapy.  And, recently, I have been involved in AMTA’s interactions with the National Institutes of Health.  This developing relationship will have an influence on our whole country.

It is actually a reflection of our convention theme – Discover.  I can tell you I am discovering a lot as your President.  I’m discovering things about myself, strengths and weaknesses, priorities, and valuing the fact that I am privileged to learn and grow every day.  I’m discovering more about the challenges of our profession and our association.  In a little less than seven months as president, I can tell you I have developed a fuller appreciation for the richness of AMTA, our volunteers and staff, and our members. I have learned that almost any problem can be solved when people are willing to communicate with honesty, respect, and open mindedness.

AMTA has a unique approach to advancing and shaping the profession.  We aren’t a for-profit company; our main focus as an organization is not making money.  We interact with every group of stakeholders who affect what we can do as massage therapists.  We seek collaboration, so everyone who works in massage, or wants to, can benefit.  And, we are stepping up to speak for what we feel is important in this profession and for all our members. We focus on creating opportunities for our members by ensuring that people have access to the amazing benefits of our healing work, one body at a time.

I mentioned a minute ago our interaction with the NIH.  I was scheduled as a keynote speaker at the first ever Mind Body Week, a major CAM conference at the National Institutes of Health that was to take place last week.  Unfortunately, it was cancelled.  However, moving forward, AMTA is one of the few organizations invited to have regular and ongoing collaboration with the NIH to advance massage therapy in healthcare! AMTA created an educational podcast for the NIH and the public about the value of massage therapy.  We will be developing a fact sheet on massage that they will distribute.  We don’t just have a foot in the door, we are at the table. And believe me, that table is set!

This is something we can all be proud of.  And, it is because of our professional approach, many years of continuous recognition of what was needed and developing action plans to attempt to meet that need, and our support of research, that has gotten us where we are today.  We have good reasons to be proud of AMTA and our profession for this step forward.

I’m also very proud of how AMTA and our members reach out to the community to give back.  This year we are the coordinators of massage for participants in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer 3-Day.  Only AMTA members are participating in this.  As many of you know, this is something very dear to me and I will join other AMTA members this November as the series of walks finish up, to provide massage and represent you to the public.

I am also proud of our approach to the many changes taking place in the world and in our profession.  We are staying ahead of the curve by being creative and flexible.  We also are looking ahead for what you need in the future. We are able to access information about what you want through the ongoing communication structures we have in place between National AMTA and the chapters. I attended my Arizona Chapter meeting in lovely Prescott, Arizona in August and was enthralled with the discussion that took place around the position statements that are being brought to the House of Delegates this afternoon. If the discussion in the House is anything like the discussion that we had in Arizona, it will be lively and fascinating.  If you are not a delegate, I urge you to attend whatever part of the House of Delegates meeting that you can to view the process of democracy at work. This is what makes us who we are, truly representative of the massage therapy profession. I hope you know that only AMTA does all of these things for us as massage therapists and for our profession.  It is our mission.  This is who we are as an association. 

This association is all of us working together.  We may have a variety of views, but we all want what is best for our profession.  We all want to be able to practice the profession we love or teach others to do it well.  We are all working for the AMTA mission.

There are so many people who give their time and energy to make this happen.  I want to personally thank some of them.

Of course, I must start by thanking the members of our National Board of Directors, with whom I have the great privilege to serve.  Please stand as I call your name, so we can all thank you.

Immediate-Past President M.K. Brennan, who has contributed so much to AMTA as President. She has been an excellent teacher for me on my path.  It is difficult to put into words the professionalism, the sharp intellect, and the underlying concern for the well-being of our national volunteers and staff that MK has brought to her position for so many years.   

President-Elect Kathleen Miller-Read, who will become President next March. It will be my privilege to serve under Kathleen’s leadership.  I can assure you that Kathleen will be as capable and wonderful an AMTA President as we have ever had. 

Our Vice Presidents: William J. Greenberg, Glenath Moyle and Cynthia Ribeiro.

Our Members-at-Large: Winona Bontrager, Kathie Lea, Ron McKnight, Maureen Moon, Nancy Porambo and Jeff Smoot. 

I also want to introduce and thank other National Volunteer Leaders.  Please hold your applause until I have named all of them.

Bylaws Standing Committee Chair Cheryl Siniakin

Chapter Relations Standing Committee Chair Chris Voltarel

Finance Standing Committee Chair William J. Greenberg

Governance Standing Committee Chair Brenda L. Griffith