After calling to Order / Roll Call / Introductions, Becca Torns-Barker honored Maureen Stott our 2019 Chapter Meritorious and also the AMTA National Meritorious winner.

There was then a bit of discussion about the need for volunteers and how the structure of volunteering has changed. Most people are interested in volunteering have limited time, and want one concrete task. That way you are not tied to volunteering all year long. To that end, we need some volunteers to be responsible for one distinct task on our Communications or Education Committee.

The Communications Committee will work with Board Member 2: Yvette. We would like to find three or four volunteers.

A new Education Committee volunteer would be responsible for coordinating one class a year. You work with Amy and the Board.

This is one specific event, and then you are done. If you are passionate about education, and have ideas on what the chapter could offer, consider speaking to Amy about this!

We are also seeking new volunteers to run the AMTA-CT Conference held in April

We would like to find:

• Eblasts: This person would work with both the conference chair and Yvette.
• Education: This person would work with both the conference chair and Amy.
• One person to assist Sue Barrett (who is stepping down in April) and Sue Passini in working with exhibitors
• Printed materials. Call to Conference for the fall, CE card, Schedule of Events, and Sponsorship Signage all created in late Feb, early March. All Word Docs.
• Volunteer Coordinator. This person would coordinate all of the volunteers for the weekend.

New Website
The new design for the AMTA-CT website was reviewed, especially highlighting the new legislation page where members can find all sorts of information about state legislation around massage.

In relation to that, Nikki Arel gave an update for the Government Relations Committee. She gave an update on the bill establishing licenses for estheticians and some wording that’s concerning to LMTs. It  should not be a huge deal but there is a loophole that we are working to close up.

Also we should not rest on the sales tax issue, because it might be reviewed and massage could be up to be taxed again this season. The lobbyist is monitoring it.

Awards Season
Dianne Polseno Scholarship: no one has applied yet

Who is eligible?: Student member, graduate member, professional member for less than 1 year

Bob King Scholarship: National, $5000 scholarship for students

CT Chapter Awards will be announced at the conference: If you know anyone that you think is doing outstanding work within the chapter, give recommendations to chapter leaders.

Updates from National Convention
New Position Descriptions were approved for the Government Relations position as well as Chair positions. We’ll be updating our chapter policies and budgets to follow suit.

New changes were approved to the National Policy Manual. This shouldn’t affect our chapter too much, and we’ll be updating our policies and procedures accordingly.

New Finance Policies were approved which DO impact our chapter a little bit. The biggest change that you’ll notice as a member is that some of the new policies affect how we can register attendees for events. That, combined with some changes in how “big name” educators/companies and TAs are now compensated, have contributed to us providing FEWER free CE opportunities compared to years past.

That being said, we are looking at subsidizing those education events following chapter meetings, so that they will be low-cost events. We sent an email SURVEY to all members on our mailing list. Please check your email and complete the survey and help us to determine pricing.

Tentative upcoming National Convention dates:

2020: August 27-29, Phoenix, AZ / 2021: August 26-28, Tampa, FL / 2022: August 25-27, Cleveland, OH

Committee Reports
Amy Waite, Education Chair, talked about the work that she does to bring quality education to the members in our state. We are bringing in educators from around the country to our conference.

Sue Barrett, Conference Chair, presented an update on next year’s AMTA-CT Conference.

Save the Date: AMTA-CT Conference, April 2-5, 2020

Watch your emails, Facebook, and our website https://amtactchapter.org/ct-conference/ for registration

Full registration is under $300. We will have a volunteer recognition event, our annual meeting on Saturday, and other networking time

The following courses will be offered:

• Evidence Informed Cupping Certification, Paul Kohlmeier, BPE, RMT, R.Ac.  – Thursday Evening (start time 5:00pm), Friday and Saturday Morning and Afternoon, all sessions required – 16 Hours
• Evidence Informed Clinical Cupping:  Advanced, Paul Kohlmeier, BPE, RMT, R.Ac.  – Sunday Morning – 3 Hours

• The Mystery of Pain, Douglas Nelson, LMT, BCTMB – Thursday evening – 3 hours

• Effective Soft-Tissue Strategies for Plantar Fasciitis and Plantar Fasciosis, Douglas Nelson, LMT, BCTMB – Friday Morning and Afternoon, both sessions required – 6 Hours

• Precision Neuromuscular Therapy and the Golf Swing, Douglas Nelson, LMT, BCTMB – Saturday Morning and Afternoon, both sessions required – 6 Hours

• Mastering the Essential Skills of Massage Therapy, Douglas Nelson, LMT, BCTMB – Sunday Morning – 3 Hours

• Introduction to Lymphatic Balancing, Jack Ryan, LMT, CNMT – Thursday Evening, Friday all day and Saturday morning, all sessions required – 12 Hours

• The Unstuffy World of Treating the Sinuses, Kate Peck – Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, both sessions required –  6 Hours

Next Meeting: Sunday, 1/19/20 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Windsor, CT    11:00AM -12:30PM

Followed by FREE 4-hour Education: “Stretching 101”, Scott Raymond 1:30-5:30