I just got back from the AFMTE 2024 convention in Kansas City and I have to say…what an interesting convention!
The opening of the first day featured the keynote speakers, Sandy Fritz and Luke Fritz (massage school owners, textbook authors, franchise owners) with a wonderful presentation that told it like it is. Our professional associations are not working very well together. My petition from last month was mentioned in the keynote speech. The general gist of the petition was a request for more transparency from each of our massage therapy associations – AMTA, ABMP, AFMTE, NCBTMB, MTF, FSMTB, COMTA (aka the Coalition of Massage Therapy Associations).
After the whole event, it is very clear that we need improvement in many areas especially around communication and sharing information. So much of the time we are left in the dark with our organizations and what they are doing and what they stand for. I guess for most massage therapists working in the trenches day in and day out and just trying to eek out a living in this profession, it is OK to leave it up to the leadership.
The event was sponsored by many different groups starting with AMTA who had two of their presidents in attendance and also one of their GR staff. AMTA took their spotlight to reiterate their bold statement regarding the Interstate Massage Compact which has been at the front of the legislative issues the last few years. At first I thought that this was not the appropriate place or time for such a statement…but then the keynote presentation started and Sandy Fritz (Facebook page) talked for 2 hours calling out our professional associations, our schools, and leadership on many issues:
I have been following the Compact over the years of development and implentation.
That was all before lunch on the second day.
AFMTE Educational Congress
Overall the Educational Congress was a great meeting of the minds and hearts! Lunches were great! I wasn’t able to attend the classes except for the one presentation on Human Trafficing put on by the Federation of State Massage Boards. It is getting worse out there in that arena. People are using the latest in technology to steal test questions and create fake schools and transripts and many are working on the issues of illicit businesses yet the problem persists and grows.
What to do about that? Join me in Hands Off Our Name. and www.lookbeforeyoubookamassage.com in working to figure out the best ways for your communities to help the many victims of this horrendous crime and shut these places down.
