Diana Thompson, 2nd Vice President

 

Diana, a licensed massage practitioner for 30 years, has a private practice in Seattle, WA, specializing in post-operative care. She authored "Hands Heal: Communication, Documentation and Insurance Billing for Manual Therapists", fourth edition, and wrote a regular column in Massage and Bodywork Magazine, titled "Somatic Research". Diana lectures at massage, acupuncture, midwifery, chiropractic, physician and physical therapy conferences internationally and is a consultant for massage therapy research with The Research Institute at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. She is a past president of the Massage Therapy Foundation and the proud recipient of four National awards in 2013, including Massage Therapist of the Year, One Concept, and Humanitarian of the Year, Performance Health.

 

 

Michael Mandell, Secretary

 

I am a licensed massage practitioner in Washington State where I've lived since 1996. I studied at Brian Utting School of Massage, class of 2004. My background includes elective work in knee and ankle injury and advance treatment massage, certified in SRT, Onsen Therapy, muscle energy technique, thoracic outlet and carpal tunnel syndrome advance treatment and Thai massage. I am currently enrolled in the Barral and Upledger Intituite.

 

My prior employment includes extensive experience in Customer Service Management in multiple industries, receiving many service awards dealing with the public and private sectors. I left the high tech industry where I was working with fortune 100 companies as a project manager before starting massage school.

 

Since moving to Seattle, I've worked with 3 failed "startups" during the Tech Boom and met many great people. It was a great ride while it lasted. I have worked with the AMTA board since 2004 through MERT and left to concentrate on my Massage Clinic employing 19 therapists. I'm glad to be back on the Board. Our industry is changing so fast and I want to be a part of the change and protect our industry.

 

This year's convention was attended by over 400 area LMP's and students. Thursday's Kick Start Program for students and first-year LMPs was sold out with over 150 attendees. This year an Employer Panel was added to the Kick Start lineup and was a great opportunity for students to get a sense of what massage employers are looking for in a recent grad applicant.

The convention classes were well-received with excellent class evaluations overall. The Intraoral class was filled to capacity, with a small waiting list. It was the first time a two-day class was offered at convention and class attendees are now eligible to receive their intraoral endorsement from the state.

This years "green" handout change saved the chapter hundreds of dollars and was well received by most. The handout link will remain live to allow attendees continued access to the class information.

This year's convention wouldn't have been the success it was without the hard working committee that worked throughout the year. I want to thank Tyghe Armstrong, Bob Anderson, Ryan Edwards, Rina Clark, Teri Mayo, Patty Phillips, Linda Bucher, Susan Cook, Cathy Olson, Marybeth Berney and the numerous others who helped with tote stuffing and room monitoring.

Next year's convention theme is titled "Shaping the Future" and is once again at the Tacoma Convention Center, April 23-25, 2015. We are facing a pivotal time in the massage industry and will be focusing on ways to shape the future.

As we are planning 2015 we need your input and ideas of what will make the perfect convention for you. Please complete your surveys or leave an email at convention@amta-wa.org. 

Veronica Hildebrand, LMP
Convention Chair

Spring is right around the corner and exercise and fitness is a big part of our Northwest culture, so we need to be ready to help our clients reach their wellness goals. Our varied presenters have engaged our group in topics we can use virtually every day, expanding our knowledge and expertise, while at the same time connecting fellow massage professionals in our local area. Snohomish County Massage Therapists Network meets the 2nd Monday of each month and the Everett PUD building. Students attend free and licensed professionals pay only $10 for each meeting, earning 2 CEU's and helping us to grow as therapists in our expanding community of professionals. For more information and upcoming topics please visit our website: http//www.amta-wa.org and under networking link, click Snohomish County. Hope to see you there!

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