Chapter CE Convention and Upcoming Meetings

Connecting Hands

December 8, 2022

Letter From the Chapter President

Season’s Greetings to all my fellow Wisconsin Massage Therapists!

What a year 2022 has been?!

Looking back at the past year fills me with a sense of pride, nostalgia, and hope. I feel so completely

blessed and privileged to be part of this amazing organization and profession. As a massage therapy

instructor I have seen 2 classes of students graduate and enter into their new careers with a sense of

accomplishment, excitement, and vision for the future. It’s a quiet reminder for me that there is always something new to experience and learn and that we have such an amazing opportunity to touch people’s lives in such significant ways. As a manager and massage therapist I get to see the difference having personal, yet professional, relationships with your staff and guests makes in the way they feel about themselves and how they treat other people. Massage is not just about pain relief; human connection is not something that can be duplicated by a machine.

As your Chapter President, I have been able to meet many of you at our conventions and massage gatherings. We really have the best massage therapists in our state. At National Convention this year many people were commenting about how friendly, fun and excited the massage therapists from Wisconsin were. I have to agree. Volunteering has been an incredible journey for me. I love that I get to encourage other therapists and share my big ideas with you. One of the biggest goals when I began volunteering was to get more people involved. I want to see more volunteers and just more massage therapists attending events and connecting with each other. We are well on our way to part of this goal with our education events. Our November event had such a high demand we had to ask if the instructor was ok having more students. Our goal for the January Convention is 300 participants. We are well over half way there and a few classes have completely filled. It is exciting! I think as more people connect we will be eager to reach out to new therapists, or therapists who have been struggling, or even those thinking about starting a new career. When we help each other our entire profession benefits. There are more than enough clients/ patients for all of us. Ask most employers and everyone is looking for more massage therapists.

We are so very fortunate to be in this profession of helping and my motto has always been, how can I

help you?

Yours in Service,

Dr. Heather Thom

January WI Chapter Convention

Join us in Oshkosh

January 20-22, 2023

Get all your CEU in one weekend! Ethics & CPR/AED classes offered.

Unlike elsewhere, CPR taken at Convention count for CEUs!!

Best Western Premiere Waterfront Hotel & Convention Center

1 N Main St. Oshkosh, WI 54901

(920) 230-1900

Please book hotel rooms early. $109.99 Standard $229.99 King Reference AMTA WI Chapter when booking for group rate. Hotel may be full at this time, call to inquire.

Breakfast, Lunch, Beverages, and Snack will be provided each day.

Earn up to 24 CEU in one weekend! Including Ethics & CPR/AED.

$5/ CEU for Members & $20/ CEU for Non-Members

Some classes are already full. Here's what is currently still available:

Fijian Barefoot Massage with Ellen Meyer 24 CEU Friday, January 20, 9a-6p, Saturday, January 21, 8a-5p, Sunday, January 22 8a-5p
Peter Hess Sound Massage Module 2 with Gina Armstrong 14 CEU Friday. January 20 6p-9p, Saturday, January 21 9a-6p, Sunday, January 22 9a-3p
Evidence Informed Clinical Cupping with Paul Kohlmeier 16 CEU Saturday, January 21 8a-5p, Sunday, January 22 8a-5p
Core Principles of IASTM Lower Body 0702 with Dr. Nikita Vizniak 7 CEU Saturday, January 21 9a-5p
Core Principles of IASTM Upper Body 0703 with Dr. Nikita Vizniak 7 CEU Sunday, January 22 9a-5p
Trauma Informed Language with Dana Christy 3 Ethics CEU Friday, January 20 2p-5p
Trauma-Informed Bodywork: Embodying Resilience - Healing Trauma with Dana Christy 12 CEU Saturday, January 21 9a-4p, Sunday, January 22 9a-4p
CPR/AED for Adult, Children, and Infants with Justin Hockwell 3 CEU Friday, January 20 9a-12p, 2p-5p and 6p-9p (3 different session options!)
Anatomy Trains Structural Essentials Series: Head, Neck, & Jaw with Deborah Dower 16 CEU Saturday, January 21 8a-5p, Sunday, January 22 8a-5p

November Anatomy Trains Event

Anatomy Trains Structural Integration Shoulders & Arms class held November 12 & 13 at the Milwaukee Downtown Hilton. We had 33 participants from Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Colorado, New York and British Columbia. Meredith Stevens was our ATSI instructor. It was an amazing weekend of AMTA - WI sponsored education.

Delegate Corner

In the last two newsletters we explained our role as Delegates. The Assembly of Delegates (AOD) consists of one or two Delegates elected from each State and the District of Columbia. We connect virtually in a forum whenever a new discussion topic is presented. In October 2021 the Nebraska chapter submitted a question on Title Language that was approved and submitted for discussion in two parts. The discussion was open for 10 months. It then went to the Assembly of Delegates Advisory Committee (AODAC) who compiled the discussions into a report. Part of your annual AMTA membership goes to hire a lobbyist, Steven Lyons, in Madison that keeps our Government Relations committee abreast of any pending legislation that could impact

all Licensed Massage Therapists in our state. We feel that our Chapter is very proactive in

promoting the Massage Therapy industry.

A delegate from Illinois started a discussion during September on State Requirements for

Credentialing. Specifically, in her state all licensed professionals are required to take 1 CE Hour in Sexual Harassment Prevention every renewal term. The continuing discussion shows that some states require no Continuing Education at all, and many are in transition of adding CE requirements. In Wisconsin we are required to complete 24 hours of CE every two years, including 2 hours of Ethics. We will continue to report on this discussion and welcome any thoughts that you may have.

Wisconsin's credentialing period ends / renews in February of 2023. Please join us in Oshkosh January 20-23, 2023 for our state convention and education event. There will be many classes to choose from for an unheard of price of just $5/CE for AMTA members! See above for link to register!

We look forward to seeing you in January!

Martha Karban & Kathy Ginn