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The Oklahoma Chapter of the AMTA's winter 2011 newsletter
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Chapter Board Contact Info 2
President’s Message 3
The Truth About Con�nuing
Educa�on in Oklahoma
4
Con�nuing Educa�on
Opportuni�es
4
Technology is not scary! 6
Member Opinion 7
Chapter VolunteersChapter VolunteersChapter Volunteers
Oklahoma Chapter Board • Xerlan Geiser President
Tulsa, OK(918)859-7216
• Scott G. Rayburn 1st Vice President
Oklahoma City, OK(405)408-1564
• Leena Guptha 2nd Vice President
Oklahoma City, OK(717)715-7077
• Ryan Spradling 3rd Vice President
Edmond, OK(405)513-7209
• Kelsey Bodenhamer Treasurer
Tulsa, OK
• Calvin Vose Secretary
Coyle, OK
• Christopher Deery Immediate Past President
Tulsa, OK(918)859-7216
Welcome to the Chapter!Welcome to the Chapter!Welcome to the Chapter!
Paula BowenPaula BowenPaula Bowen
Leoncio Curva, Jr.Leoncio Curva, Jr.Leoncio Curva, Jr.
Sherry JohnsonSherry JohnsonSherry Johnson
Brenda Mar�nBrenda Mar�nBrenda Mar�n
Aleaha McAllisterAleaha McAllisterAleaha McAllister
Jacquine0e MoodyJacquine0e MoodyJacquine0e Moody
Roderick NeherRoderick NeherRoderick Neher
Ruby PrioreRuby PrioreRuby Priore
Alice ReynoldsAlice ReynoldsAlice Reynolds
Elizabeth StallsworthElizabeth StallsworthElizabeth Stallsworth
Wendy Ann SullivanWendy Ann SullivanWendy Ann Sullivan
German VillagranGerman VillagranGerman Villagran
Debbie BillingtonDebbie BillingtonDebbie Billington
Adrian ButucAdrian ButucAdrian Butuc
S
av
e t
he
Da
te!!
AMTAOK State
Chapter Mee�ng
May 14th, 2011
Tulsa Technology
Center
Stay Tuned for
more info!
Mike BachusMike BachusMike Bachus
Derek JonesDerek JonesDerek Jones
Mary Elizabeth LeBlancMary Elizabeth LeBlancMary Elizabeth LeBlanc
Tim MorrisTim MorrisTim Morris
Scott LemmonsScott LemmonsScott Lemmons
Happy New Year!Happy New Year!
The new year has arrived and with it the weight of what is to become 2011. I want 2011 to
be the year the Oklahoma Chapter of the AMTA gets off the comfortable plateau, past the
precipice and upwards past 200 members. We are so good at being a small chapter and we
don’t want to be comfortable with that. We keep hovering around 194 to 198 and never
really reaching the 200 mark. Consistency is good but, frustrating.
We know that many of you want to see changes. We know most of you want Oklahoma
to become a licensed state. We know you want more opportunities for continuing
education. It is going to take more members to make these things happen.
So, growth is our option at this point.
When 10% of the members show up to meetings and educational events in larger chapters,
it can be hundreds of therapists. They still make money for their chapter and still want to
break out and bring in larger numbers of members to participate. When smaller chapters
get 10% of the members to show up to meetings and educational events we usually do not
even break even. This makes it much more challenging to create events and bring in quality
educators without charging more.
Massage Therapists seem to like progress. We love to help people and see incredible
improvements in ROM and pain levels. We adore hearing praise. We depend on clients not
only returning and becoming regular clients but, also referring others to our practices.
Naturally we want to see the same thing in our chapter.
The 200 number should be easy to reach this year. The 335 number is the one that will be
our next challenge. When our chapter reaches 335 we get to have another Delegate at the
National Convention. That means one more person gets to go to the National Convention
and more importantly Oklahoma gets another vote in the House of Delegates. This is one
of the places we have a voice in issues, progress, and changes in our association.
So, what will it take to make this growth occur? Only us and more consistency.
From the President...From the President...
Stoney Creek Inn
2601 S. Providence Rd.
Columbia, MO 65203
573-442-6400
You don’t have to be a Massage
Therapist very long before you
realize there doesn’t seem to be
any continuing education classes
in Oklahoma.
There is always education for
AMTA OK members available at
the annual meeting but, other
than that it is few and far
between.
Why is this, and why don’t we have continuing education classes here? There are several reasons, the most prevalent one is that anyone that teaches anything that could possibly be construed as occupational educational and charges any amount for it must be licensed by the Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools. This may not seem to be a challenge until you actually try to muddle your way through all the paperwork and pay the fees. The fees can be daunting considering they are nearly as expensive if you teach one class one weekend as it is for a full time ongoing massage school. This is not going to change until we get a state license that changes it.
Schools and educational institutions that are under The Oklahoma Board of Regents could offer continuing education as well as those schools licensed by The Oklahoma Board of Privates Schools. Please note; Renting a room one of these schools does not count! You and any other educator you contract or bring in under these circumstances could be fined. This is one reason why classes either disappear or people are told to keep quiet about it. Neither of which helps progress or creates more opportunities for Massage Therapists to participate in continuing education.
If you had been paying attention the last 10 years, you would have noticed that there were a handful of Massage Schools that were locally owned, most that actually had continuing education offerings on a regular basis. Then there were suddenly over 20 Massage Schools, (most not locally owned) that did not offer continuing education. There are now 8 or 9 Massage Schools in Oklahoma, most of which are not locally owned, and do not seem interested in providing continuing education for the public or their graduates.
Annual Spring Annual Spring Annual Spring Annual Spring Annual Spring Annual Spring Annual Spring Annual Spring MeetingMeetingMeetingMeetingMeetingMeetingMeetingMeeting
Continuing Education Opportunities!Continuing Education Opportunities!Continuing Education Opportunities!
Cost:
By 3/10 AMTA Member - $225
By 3/10 Student - $120
By 3/10 Non-Member - $285
A�er 3/10 AMTA Member - $240
A�er 3/10 Student - $130
A�er 3/10 Non-Member - $300
Michael McGillicuddy - Introduc"on to Pain Management and
Sports Massage for the Lower Extremity
Brenda Griffiths—Lomi Lomi
For More informa�on:
visit
www.AMTAMo.org
Also, curriculums of massage schools have changed. Instead of the basic core education students are now being told they are certified in a large number of things that used to be exclusively continuing education. Topics like Prenatal, Geriatrics, Sports, Lymphatic Drainage, Cranio Sacral and so on. The education the students get in schools on these topics today is for the most part very limited, or is an introduction compared to what they could experience attending a real continuing education class. Most stu-dents really do not know that. Actually, many instructors do not know that. So the misinformation continues and a lot of Massage Therapists do not see the value of continuing education.
Another unfortunate fact is that some continuing education is offered in Oklahoma, without becoming licensed by the Oklaho-ma Board of Private Vocational Schools. If the learned technique (s) or education is only used at the place of instruction, and is on-ly for the use of the staff or employees of that place of business, it may be considered staff development, and is legal per the OBPVS. Otherwise, it is not a certified educational unit, and the educator, the sponsor, and all the class participants can be con-sidered legally liable of breaking Oklahoma law. The credits gained from this unregistered class may not be eligible for contin-uing education credit with the licensing municipality, or profes-sional organization.
There are huge debates about all of this. What it comes down to is that we, as the AMTA Oklahoma chapter can legally offer con-tinuing education to our members only. This is what the law and The Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools allows. This is a common practice for many professional organizations. So it is very important that when we do offer continuing education that you, as members participate and benefit from it. The more peo-ple we have participate the more we can offer continuing educa-tion. The good news is that for the first time, this year, the AMTA OK will be able to allow non-members to come to our annual meeting and educational offerings. So, save the date...May 15, 2011! And watch for more information very soon. If you have any questions, call a board member we would love to chat with you.
If you have questions about this, please feel free to contact;
The Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools
3700 N Classen Blvd # 250 Oklahoma City, OK 73118-2864 (405) 528-3370
Save the Date!!
AMTAOK State Chapter Mee�ng
May 14th, 2011
Tulsa Technology Center
Stay Tuned for more info!
Technology
is not
SCARY! Technology does not need to be scary….but at the frighten-
ingly quick pace that it is growing, it is easy to be in"midat-
ed. The key is to be informed and research our needs ver-
sus what is available. There are a plethora of free and low
cost programs that are easy to use and easy to download
that can benefit us, and can make a virtual office prac"cal
and, in some cases, totally paperless. With the popularity of
“smart phones” such as iPhones and Android phones, you
can even receive credit card payments! Understand, most
of this is personal research, and is in no way officially en-
dorsed by the American Massage Therapy Associa"on, they
are just programs that I have personal knowledge and ex-
perience with that work for me.
Se>ng up an office has concrete basics that all prac"ces
have in common—namely a place to do massage, and the
skills necessary for you to prac"ce. These recommenda-
"ons are just ways to make your business opera"ons a bit
easier. The first topic is how do your clients get in touch
with you?
First off, professional members of the AMTA can have a
free website through the AMTA. Although basic, it is one
great way to get yourself listed on the internet, and in addi-
"on to the Find a Massage Therapist Locator Service, is a
great way to adver"se yourself for free! Make sure this is
updated as o�en as you change any informa"on! Some
people do have issues with lis"ng their personal phone
number on the locator service, or on the internet (which is
really not a good idea - unless you want to risk people call-
ing you at random "mes in the evening or on the weekend)
but they don’t have a dedicated office phone line. Consider
using an internet phone number—such as Google Voice.
Google has quite a few resources for small businesses, of
which, Google Voice is one of the best—you can get a free
incoming phone number, tailored to your area code, and cus-
tomized with your own personal message! Incoming messages
are transcribed to text and can be emailed to you at no cost,
which allows you to screen incoming calls and even save mes-
sages in your email!
Many massage therapists also have the need for a good word
processing/spreadsheet / presenta"on so�ware suite, but
don’t have the funds to pay for Microso� Office - yes, MS
Office is a great product, but let’s face it, not many people can
shell out that kind of cash when star"ng up their business.
Open Office is a great alterna"ve that is free! It not only al-
lows you to generate documents, but will also allow you to
open Microso� documents, excel spreadsheets and Power-
point presenta"ons.
So—let’s recap: your new client found you on the internet (via
your free website) and contacted you via your google voice
phone number (also free), you typed out your notes with
Open Office, and now they want to pay with their credit card.
Hmmm…..how do we do that? Easy! One of the best addi"ons
to the IPhone that I have acquired is the Square. You can find
it at www.SquareUp.com . Currently Square only works with
IPhones and Android based phones, but there is no fee when
using the ‘Square’ reader. As with most credit card processing
systems, there is a small commission - in Square’s case—
2.75% per transac"on, but that is low compared to most. And
one of the best features of Square—there is no setup fee, no contract, and no credit check to get you accep"ng credit cards! Come
on, one of the most frustra"ng things when researching credit card processing systems was that most all of the programs out
there (including PayPal) want you to pass a credit check before you accept money, and let’s face it, most of us have some credit
issue….and—Square is secure. Started by the people that invented TwiNer, they realize how important security is. I’ve personally
been using Square for over a month, and can accept payments wherever my phone has recep"on!
The most important thing to understand is that most of these technology providers want you to use their products, and want you
to use them well. It is in their best interest to keep you happy and informed, and they have phone support. There are no stupid
ques"ons, and you can ask them anything about their product or service! Don’t fear technology—let technology work for you! If
you have any ques"ons, please email me - [email protected] . Next installment will be free marke"ng do’s and don’ts…..
Member Opinion Ryan Spradling is a massage therapist working in the Oklahoma City area, and is currently serving
as the third vice president of the AMTA Oklahoma Chapter. Any response to this ar"cle should be directed
to the editor at [email protected]
Management of Massage
The road to finding a respectable place to work at for many massage therapists can be trying one. One thing
that I have seen lately is a change in the businesses that employ today’s massage therapists. When I first
started as a massage therapist I was used to seeing more small massage businesses that were owned and
managed by massage therapists. Now there are chains of massage businesses that are owned and managed
by people who have no massage background. I am not trying to be cri"cal of people who want to try and
start a massage business, but I do pay aNen"on to how the business is run and who it is run by.
I went to work for a massage business for a short amount of "me and saw how everything in that business
was affected by people who owned and managed it without any knowledge of massage. One of the biggest
drawbacks with this type of management is not being able to understand how a massage therapist thinks and
works. This business was also very unfamiliar with the supplies and equipment that are used by massage
therapists. So preNy much any "me there was a problem with the equipment it was up to one of the massage
therapists to take care of it. Now I realize we have to take care of par"cular problems ourselves, but when
you do more than the management does, then something is wrong. I believe that the management of any
business should have a respectable amount of knowledge about the field of employment that they are work-
ing in and with.
Overall, I can say that businesses with owners and managers that have an educa"on in massage therapy run
much smoother than ones without any knowledge of massage. So when you go out looking for a job, make
sure that you find out a liNle about the background of the people who own and manage the business that
you are looking at. The people who own and manage a massage business can be a difference like night and
day.
