Letter of Intent to be President of the AOBTA®

The I Ching hexagrams 23 ‘splitting apart’ and 24 ‘the turning point’ can be looked at as the ‘western gate’ or the move of Metal into Water, as well as rebirth and the primordial ooze, depending upon your choice of metaphor. Just as the Cycle of the Five Elements flows, it seems we have circled around into a very similar phase as an organization over this past year. I joined the board 7 years ago during a transitional period much like this, as mucky waters of change settled richly and provided a base for a period of spectacular growth. I’ve seen an incredible group of people over the past 8 years that have worked like crazy to pull this organization out of debt and into the national playing field with other like organizations. The AOBTA Board of Directors has been actively forging new procedures over the last 5 years by careful strategic planning, cleaning up details in bi-laws and refining Rules, Guidelines and Procedures, and creating a policies and procedures manual. You just can’t get more metal than that. We have been gleaning information from other organizations and moving to encourage changes within the structure of our own organization. We are now looking for a future leader of this organization.

Because I am a practitioner first and foremost, I would much rather stay in my office and work with my clientele. However, I have spent these last 7 years proving to myself that I am capable of handling the highly visible position of President by challenging myself to grow. I have learned to speak in front of large groups. I have learned that I am a person who thinks in holons and in Big Picture scenarios, whose favorite game is ‘playing devil’s advocate’ to encourage others to think deeply. After much serious reflection on the needs of our organization and my particular strengths, I realize that I am the most capable person to lead the organization forward at this point in our development. This is not a statement that I make lightly. I will continue to offer my skills to the organization for the next few years if my service in the capacity of President best serves the needs of the group.

The President often must function like a film director:
• Adhering to the spirit of the general script;
• Leading the actors – yet, knowing when to back off and let them shine;
• Keeping a running tally of all that has been done and what has yet to be done;
• Keeping everyone on task and on pace;
• Replacing failing or ill actors, as ‘the show must go on’;
• In the end, all is woven together in a lush coherent tapestry.

Here are some of the ways I view the role of directorship as applicable to the AOBTA: The President must be the public face of an organization, via attendance at events, meetings and conventions, with the goal of improving inter–organizational relationships. The President must support existing connections and forge new bridges between our organization and like organizations in both the Massage Therapy and Oriental Medical worlds. The President must be a peacemaker and mediator, able to sit down with warring factions and negotiate peace treaties both within and outside the organization.

Over the next few years, I hope to see the continued expansion of our website by adding links for our state chapters and sister organizations, which will make it the most interactive and helpful website for anyone looking for a Bodywork Therapist or information on Bodywork. I plan on continuing to improve the appearance and timeliness of our email updates to members, and would like to move The Pulse newsletter to our website, thereby saving money on paper, printing and postage costs, and ending those awful mailing delays.

It is my viewpoint that our conventions must be stabilized regarding location and time. Returning to a yearly schedule for the convention puts us in line with other organizations and will allow our membership to make plans well ahead of time to be present at conventions. Having a regular schedule will allow us to build strong relationships with hotels, keeping costs down and garnering better service.

I would like to see continued evolution of the membership levels, not only to increase the membership numbers, but also to aid in the expansion of general knowledge and acceptance of ABT overall. Opening the Associate-level membership (a non-professional level) to those with an interest in ABT but without the full training and certification may help foster better understanding of what we do on an intra-organizational level with our sister organizations.

One of the problems an organization faces as it starts to grow is keeping up with day to day operations. AOBTA is getting to the point where we need a General Director. The volunteer board members at this point seem to only have enough time to keep organizational work going in crisis mode. We need someone who can stay on top of all the important details involved in running the organization, which will free the board to do its job of helping grow and govern the organization without the current level of chaos inherent in crisis mode.

I will continue to be available to all the members via email and phone. I love hearing everyone’s ideas and suggestions. The Board of Directors takes its cue from the membership and it is your ideas and Qi that keeps the organization moving forward. We serve the membership because we are the membership.

I can not wait to see how the AOBTA will evolve over the next few years and I look forward to steeping the teakettle of change, serving to the best of my ability while continuing to push the AOBTA through the muck of transition and into the sunshine of growth. Let us share in the melting pot of ideas and marvel together at the emergence of the Water Cycle’s gifts to us.