Becoming the Change for the Future of Massage Therapy Education
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Gandhi's wisdom of becoming the change we want to see was infused into this year's Canadian Council of Massage Therapy School Conference, as evidenced in its theme, "It Starts With Us". The 2018 AGM was hosted by MacEwan University in Edmonton this past June as a three-day event.
It was yet another great turn-out as twelve CCMTS member schools from across Canada were represented for the Board Meeting on Friday night. As always, old friends reunited to enjoy dinner together and take part in hearing reports from the Board members regarding the progress and news that has evolved since the previous AGM in 2017.
Some Conference participants at the 2018 CCMTS AGM in Edmonton, AB.
After those updates, the Board Member positions including Membership Director, Treasurer and Secretary were nominated for and new faces were voted in.
Day two of the CCMTS AGM was filled with presenters whose subject matter provided a variety of practical information:
Great Expectations: Managing Theirs and Yours, presented by Paul Martin, PhD and Carolyn Ives, BA, MA
Silent No More! Midterms to Get Students Talking, Thinking and Learning, presented by Paul Martin, PhD and Carolyn Ives, BA, MA
Surviving Accreditation, presented by Roxanne Petruk, RMT, director of Okanagan Valley College
CompTracker, presented by Wendy Kostiuk, BSW, BA
These workshop presentations were broken up by a delicious catered lunch and a tour of the MacEwan University campus from the current CCMTS President Jeff Moggach. Jeff is an Assistant Professor for the Massage Therapy program at MacEwan University.
Entrance to MacEwan University, the host of the 2018 CCMTS AGM and Conference.
Participants of the 2018 CCMTS Conference enjoying a bit of fun and Edmonton's night life.
To end the evening everyone walked from the hotel, Chateau Lacombe, to dinner filled with great conversation and laughter!
On the final day of the AGM and Conference, Ian Marshall, opened and led discussion on the future direction of the CCMTS. With over 20 years in the game, this passionate discussion directed the Board and member schools to examine the positive and progressive avenues that the CCMTS will be pursuing for the remainder of the 2018 and into 2019.
During the final presentation from Mike Horne, RMT, member of the Transitional Council for the College of Massage Therapists of Alberta, we were updated on the massage therapy regulation progress in Alberta.
As the participants departed we were grateful for two main reasons; the collaborative efforts for the future direction of the CCMTS and the comradery experienced by colleagues from across Canada.
Until the next 2019 AGM in Toronto, thank you to MacEwan and the Board!
Respectfully submitted,
Dawn Sharman
CCMTS Secretary