AMTA-Vermont Chapter Spring 2024 Newsletter

AMTA-Vermont Spring Newsletter

Seeds of Change

Past, Present, Future

We had a small but productive Annual Meeting Event. With new faces on the board & bright plans for our chapters' future it is safe to say we've got a spring in our step. In this newsletter meet our new Leadership Board Member & hear some of our plans for 2024.

Welcome new volunteers!

We swore in two new volunteers at our annual meeting in April.

Hercules Liotard is a 35-year veteran of massage and bodywork and has worked as a mentor, trainer, and educator in various areas of massage therapy. He currently has his own long-time practice in Williston, VT as well as being a lead therapist at Massage Envy Williston.

He joined the AMTA-VT chapter to help give back to the massage community he loves and share the many years of experience he has.

In his spare time, he spends time meditating, gardening, and enjoying the wonders of Vermont. If you have any questions for him, please feel free to email him at aholisticbalance@gmail.com

See below for our other new board member

President's Message

Greetings Vermont Members,

I’m honored and excited to introduce myself as the new president! I was appointed at our Annual Board meeting on April 27 in White River Junction, where I was happy to see many familiar faces, as well as many new faces.

Returning to the board as secretary is Laura Morley, Jennifer Findley Smith as a delegate, and we welcomed new board members Hercules Liotard and Lynn Guibardo. I’m grateful to have these dedicated individuals volunteering their time to our chapter.

I want to recognize our outgoing President Deb Shearer. She did a wonderful job and will be missed. Thank you, Deb, for your contributions to our Chapter.

The National Convention will be here before we know it! This year it is in Tampa, FL, from September 12-14. Classes are filling up. If you are interested, don’t wait too long to register. If you plan on attending, contact the board so we can meet in FL.

We are always looking for more volunteers, so if you are interested in helping out our chapter and working with a great group of people, please reach out!

amta.vt.pres@gmail.com

We need you!

We nearly have a full Board of Directors but are still missing a Financial Administrator.

We also could use volunteers to head up some committees: Government Relations, Communications, Education, and more.

Lend us your strengths and help our chapter thrive!

Get in touch with us! email: amta.vt.pres@gmail.com

About Laura Lynn Giubardo, new board member:

I have been a member of AMTA since 1986.

I have worked as a Massage Therapist and Trager Practitioner full time with a brief break while raising 7 children. I attended the Annual meeting this year NOT planning to volunteer yet the people that were there inspired me to put my name on the list! I am a Trager Instructor and would love to share Milton Trager's ahead-of-his-time wisdom about the body. I know it can assist massage therapists in lengthening their careers. I have worked on over 35,000 bodies and mine still feels great! I love to trade so please call me to schedule. I was shocked to hear that there was no licensing required to practice in Vermont when I moved here almost 10 years ago, after living in Hawaii for 34 years. www.NaLimaVermont.com I look forward to meeting you!

Government Relations update:

Hello AMTA-VT Chapter,

Over recent months OPR - Office of Professional Regulation has had various public meetings to discuss a variety of topics and concerns within the area of Massage Therapy & Bodywork in the state of Vermont. The main topic of discussion lately has been about registration in Vermont and whether to keep continuing with state registration or to have state licensing.

OPR has decided to continue to stay with registration and not go with licensing. Attached to the newsletter is a link to the OPR Assessment report that they have put out to share and their findings.

https://legislature.vermont.gov/assets/Legislative-Reports/Act-178-2020-OPR-Assessment-of-Massage-Therapy-Bodyworker-and-Touch-Professional-Regulation.pdf

It is AMTA-VT stance and hope to have state licensing. This will be a continued effort on our part to get this pass in Vermont. For this effort, AMTA-VT will be working with a lobbyist to help address our concerns within the state legislature. We look forward to collaborating with them and we will keep our members apprised of our progress.