REPORT FROM 2009 FLORIDA STATE MASSAGE THERAPY ASSOCIATION CONVENTION
The Florida State Massage Therapy Association (FSMTA) held its annual convention on July 8-12 of this year. This convention was a special one because it marked the 70th anniversary of FSMTA! I would like our readers to pause for a second and appreciate this number. It was 1939 when the Association was formed, and since then it has held the leadership position in the American massage therapy profession. Maybe it will be a surprise for our readers, but the American Massage Therapy Association was formed four years later, in 1943, using the door which FSMTA opened first. To compare, some states still don’t even have a massage therapy board established, while the FSMTA has been caring for and fighting for massage therapists in Florida for 70 years!
How does FSMTA feel 70 years later? It is a very respected age, but as the convention showed, age is not a factor in this case. FSMTA is full of young energy, optimism, and a desire to learn and help those who are in great need.
Our company has participated in FSMTA conventions for three years now, and what amazes us is the quality of its organization. This event is always run perfectly and smoothly by FSMTA officials, from the registration and opening ceremony to the FSMTA Annual Awards Banquet and Saturday Night Dance Party.
The keynote speaker of this year’s convention was Mrs. Judith DeLany, LMT (see Fig. 1). In her speech, Mrs. DeLany encouraged the massage practitioners in their professional quest to deliver much-needed help to the clients and patients.
The convention offered a variety of continuing education classes on many different topics, from the Bamboo Fusion Class to the medical aspects of massage therapy. Each class was well organized, and the delegates had the opportunity to learn new techniques and approaches while getting CEUs to renew their massage licenses.
Our company also contributed to the continuing education classes with a Russian Sports Massage class presented by Oleg Bouimer, LMT (see Fig. 2), with the help of Dr. Ross Turchaninov (see Fig. 3). The class was very popular thanks to the important topic and great teaching talent of O. Bouimer and R. Turchaninov. On the second day, the hotel security was forced to limit further enrollment of students in this class because the large conference room did not have enough space for all who wanted to participate.
The Exhibitor Hall was an important part of the convention. The delegates were able to become familiar with a variety of great products, from the educational textbooks and DVDs to stress-reduction and health-enhancing products. Many companies offered a free trial of the products or services, and the delegates enthusiastically used these opportunities.
We also had a booth (see Fig. 4) where we answered a variety of questions from the students who took the class and needed some clarification, or from those who had questions about the science of stress-reduction, medical or sports massage (see Fig. 5).
Daily raffles conducted in the Exhibitor Hall were very popular events. The Massage Warehouse provided a great variety of products for the raffles. Fig. 6 shows Mrs. A. Patrick, Director of Business Development and Corporate Sales for Massage Warehouse (on the right), waiting for the announcement of a new item (a massage table) for the raffle. Fig. 7 shows the lucky winner of this item.
Our company also participated in the daily raffles. Fig. 8 shows the announcement of the Russian Sports Massage DVD donated to the raffle by OWellness (Sports Massage DVDs and CE classes), and Fig. 9 shows the winner of the Medical Massage Volume I textbook donated to the raffle by Aesculapius Books.
The beautiful OMNI Resort, great organization and many educational classes offered to the delegates made the 70th Annual FSMTA Convention a truly memorable event. We highly recommend that massage practitioners from other states consider visiting Orlando on July 7-11 of 2010 to be part of the next FSMTA Convention.
By the way, don’t forget that Disney World is just next to the OMNI Resort, and you may use this occasion to combine family fun with a great educational experience. We will see all of our readers in Orlando next year!
Mary Preuss is our invaluable Director of Services and brings to our company an impressive professional background in sales and service, as well as a genuine love of helping people. She has been a top sales producer in several industries, is an accomplished motivational trainer and is certified in Neuro-Linguistic empowerment. She was drawn to the Science of Massage website through her own experiences.
Category: Letter From The Editor
Tags: JMS 2009 Issue #5
