Board Members Attend Leadership Training

Valerie Rowen, Amber Rasmussen, and Dawn Menning

On June 6th-8th AMTA Board Members Dawn Menning, Amber Rasmussen and Government Relations Chair Valerie Rowen (pictured to the right) attended a Leadership Planning and Training for Chapter Presidents, Financial Administrators and Government Relations Chairs in Evanston, Illinois.

“I had the opportunity as Financial Administrator to attend the June Leadership Planning and Training Meeting in Chicago this year. It was absolutely amazing to see so many wonderful people in our profession that want to help their Chapters.

We had the opportunity to do break out sessions and I got to spend a day with all the other Financial Administrators. It was great to learn that we have come a looooong way in the digital and paperless world. Even though National controls a few things they truly have a vested interest in protecting our money and doing what we need them to do. I also learned how important it is to send our board and volunteers, no matter the expenses, to workshops and meetings as they are beneficial to our growth as a Chapter! We went through several slides breaking down what they need from us and what they don't. Everything is really electronic at this point. I love that National invited me to this meeting as it was so informative and well worth the money spent!

We had a couple free evenings as well so we got to take in the sites. Chicago has the best Architectural tour I have ever been on, how Beautiful!!”—Amber Rassmussen

“June 6 th -8 th I attended a Leadership Planning and Training for Chapter Presidents, Financial Administrators and Government Relations Chairs in Evanston, Illinois where the National AMTA headquarters are located. Time was spent with all volunteers together reviewing the overall health of our organization, strategies for the future, best business practices and legal policies. AMTA currently has over 90,000 members and remains the top choice in massage organizations! Many of the decisions that the National Board of Directors make are based on data collected from member surveys. When members take the time to complete those surveys, they really are influencing the direction of the AMTA on a national level. In the breakout session with G.R. Chairs from all over the country, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with the National G.R. staff with whom I maintain long distance communication throughout the year. While some of the information presented was already familiar to me from years of working in the Government Relations arena for our Chapter, I found the networking with other G.R. Chairs to be very valuable; particularly those from neighboring states. Some states have already dealt legislatively with issues that we may be looking at here in South Dakota in the near future. I’m excited to share knowledge and resourceswith those who have that experience. Thank you to the Chapter for supplementing my expenses for this trip, which was predominately paid for by National.” submitted by Valerie Rowen Government Relations Chair