Inside this Issue

• Letter from the President

• CATA Leadership

• Thank You Kelli Sheehan

• New CATA Treasurer

• Service Awards

• Committee Reports

• Vacancies within the CATA

• Nuggets & Avalanche to Sponsor a High School Athletic Training Program Award

• Upcoming Events

Letter from the President

Thank You Kelli Sheehan  by Chris Mathewson

After seven years of dedicated service to the Colorado Athletic Trainers Association (CATA) Kelli Sheehan passed me the torch of leadership this past May. She was an excellent president and the CATA is lucky to have her direct our organization. Every member of the CATA is in debt to Kelli Sheehan for her tireless service to our association.

In my previous role as newsletter editor and webmaster I have had the privilege to take part in the board of directors meetings and conference calls since the fall of 1998. During those meetings I have had the opportunity to experience the leadership of Kelli Sheehan. I hope I can be as on top of and handle everything as well as she did.

It is only now, two months after taking over, that I truly understand just how hard she worked for the CATA. She has been a wonderful asset to me in the transition, and continues to be concerned with the welfare of the CATA. She is a very special professional.

Kelli’s reputation has obviously exceeded our state boundaries. This past May she was elected President of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers Association (RMATA).

The board of directors would like to thank Kelli for all of her efforts. We owe our future success to her.

New CATA Treasurer

At the annual business meeting Mike Goeglein resigned as the Colorado Athletic Trainers Association (CATA) treasurer. He has served the CATA well for many years, and decided it was time for a change. We thank Mike for his hard work and dedication and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Connie Larson expressed interest in the vacancy. She has served the CATA in various roles throughout the years. In June she was appointed by the president and unanimously selected by the board of directors on June 22, 2003.

If you have any financial issues regarding the CATA please feel free to discuss them will Connie.

Service Awards

At the June RMATA board meeting held in St. Louis there were announcements of awards the following service awards:

Mark Adams - 25 Years

Mary Ann Erickson - 25 Years

Ed Ryan - 25 Years and Distinguished Athletic Trainer

Darly Martin –25 Years

Committee Reports

Robert Ryan

The CATA elected a new President and At-Large member this year. 378 ballots were mailed members and 64 valid ballots (17%) were returned. Chris Mathewson won the presidential race with 81% of the votes while the At-Large position went to Dominic DiManna with 64% of the votes.

The next CATA election will be held in April 2005 for the Vice President, Secretary, and one At-Large position. There will be an official call for nominations in the Fall 2003 newsletter with nominations closing at the 2004 business meeting.

The CATA constitution and By-Laws set the following guidelines regarding eligibility for office and term limits.

All officers shall be certified members of the NATA for a period of not less than five (5) years immediately prior to their nomination, and shall have resided and practiced professionally within the State of Colorado for a period of not less than two (2) years immediately prior to their nomination.

Nominations for the officers of President, Vice-President, Secretary, and at large members, may be submitted in writing prior to, or received from the floor during the annual business meeting of CATA for the year prior to the year of completion of the current term of office of the persons holding such offices.

The same person may be elected to not more than two (2) successive terms of the same office.

Wendy Mathewson

Jim Conboy Memorial scholarship

Jessica Fierberg- Jessica is a freshman at Mesa State College with a 3.8 GPA. She received outstanding ratings from her supervising ATC.

Dan Libera Memorial Scholarship

Jennifer Gettig- Jennifer is a student at Elizabeth high school with a 3.6 GPA. She plans on attending CSU. In between her sophomore and junior year she attended the CATA student workshop to learn more about being an ATC even though she did not have one at her school. In her senior year when her school hired an ATC she worked in the training room showing great initiative.

Congratulations both Jessica and Jennifer.

This year we had 2 applicants for the Jim Conboy scholarship and 9 for the Dan Libera. Please continue to encourage your students to apply for the scholarship. The requirements and application are posted on the web site.

Public Relations Committee
Bob Tim

Thank you to everyone who made this past National Athletic Trainers Month a success.  We engaged in a wide variety of activities which included: the Governor's proclamation, the Mayor's proclamations from two cities, Channel 9 Health Fairs, freshman orientations, school in-services,  a TV interview, public service announcements, and the promotional items give away.  Our hope is that this effort continues to grow each year.

We are excited about some new activities to help in our efforts to promote our profession.  Recently at a Colorado Springs Sky Sox baseball game, (the Rockies triple A affiliate) the organization recognized our profession by having me (Bob Tim) throw out the first pitch. During the 3rd inning, two athletic trainers (PJ Gardner and Joe Fine) participated in a golf competition with the chance to win $20,000.  Unfortunately there were no winners.    The event was attended by athletic trainers from the Olympic Training Center, the Air Force Academy, Centura Health, and some local high schools. 

We are also excited about the activity that Jim Gillen introduced to us during the CATA annual symposium involving the Nuggets and the Avalanche. This activity is still in the early stages of development and more information will be given to you as it becomes available.

And finally, we are asking for your help as we continue to try and make a promotional video for our state.  We have met with people who can produce the video and with potential big name athletes to be included in the video.  We would like to include athletic trainers at all levels, so once again we are asking for your help.  If you have video, or can have someone video tape you at work, please send me a short clip so we can have a variety of athletic trainers represented in this video.  Our goal is to have this completed and ready to present at our next CATA conference. Send these clips to me, Bob Tim, at Widefield High School - 615 Widefield Drive - Colorado Springs, CO 80911.

Vacancies within the CATA

The Colorado Athletic Trainers Association (CATA) is an organization of volunteers who generously donate their time for the advancement of the profession of athletic training across the state. The CATA has many areas where they need YOUR volunteer help. Please review the position descriptions below. If any of the opportunities to serve the CATA sounds particularly interesting to you please send a short letter of interest to chrismathewson@peoplepc.com. Thanks for your help.

Colorado will host the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers Association (RMATA) annual clinical symposium and members meeting in March. The meeting will be March 26 - 28, 2004 in Broomfield, Colorado at the Omni Interlocken Hotel.

q As the host state it is our responsibility to assist in various duties regarding the convention (notebook set up, speaker introductions, registration booth, etc).

q Carrie Haugen and Dominic DiManna will be directing the efforts of the Local Convention Committee. They are in need of 8-10 individuals who they can call on for various tasks.

q I have regrettably decided to resign the newsletter editor and webmaster position upon my election as president. The duties of both positions would be too great for me to give the effort each deserves.

q The CATA needs an individual who is moderately proficient in word processing and e-mail software.

q Managing the web page does NOT require significant web knowledge. I use the Microsoft FrontPage program. It is virtually identical to MS Word or any other word processing program. It is very easy and user friendly.

q The CATA, if necessary, will purchase this software for the individual who accepts the position.

q The CATA is planning on seeking some limited corporate sponsors for our association.

q We are in need of an individual who is capable of contacting both local and national sports medicine vendors and seeking sponsorship for the CATA. This person would then coordinate all the details of the sponsorship agreement.

q At this time the board of directors (BOD) is still working on the exact agreement. But most likely it would entail: acquiring logos and printable materials from the sponsor, listing the corp. sponsors on our website and in our newsletters, and presenting a booth/table at our annual clinical symposium.

q The CATA BOD would like to meet and begin a relationship with the various state associations of: physicians, nurses, physician assistants, physical therapists, athletic directors, chiropractors, emergency medical professionals, etc.

q The BOD feels it is important to increase other associations and group’s awareness of the CATA.

q We need an individual who can search out these groups and make contact with them to provide: information on the profession of athletic training, CATA leadership information, dates and locations of our annual clinical symposiums and members meetings, and let them know our desires for a positive mutually beneficial relationship between our associations.

q The NATA has asked that each state association appoint a committee on reimbursement representative.

q The state COR representative will support the District COR representative in completing their functions and will assist their state, the district and the national organization in reaching their goals. Some of the duties that the state representative may be required to perform are;

1. Provide a list of settings in their state where ATCs are currently employed and being reimbursed. (Hospitals, Colleges, Clinic etc.)

2. The state representative will be the communications conduit for information regarding reimbursement. Communication may flow from the state to the district/national organization or vice versa.

3. The state representative will be the reimbursement education/training coordinator. The representative will inform both the district and the national organization of any training needs or desires and will coordinate state efforts to obtain needed assistance.

4. The state representative will help both the national and district organizations to obtain any needed time at state meetings for reimbursement presentations or seminars.

5. The state representative will promote involvement in the reimbursement process through all levels and situations throughout their state.

6. This representative will provide reports to the district or national representatives for COR as required.

7. This representative will be the single source of contact for all reimbursement matters in their state.

8. The state representative will assist the district and national organizations with any other reimbursement duties as required.

9. Assist in maintaining a complete and accurate national list of third party payers who are reimbursing for ATC services.

Nuggets & Avalanche to Sponsor a High School Athletic Training Program Award

At the Annual Members Meeting this past May, Jim Gillen, Head Athletic Trainer of the Denver Nuggets, made an exciting announcement. The Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche will sponsor TWO high school athletic training program awards.

Jim has been working with the community relations department of his organization on the details and finalizing some of the efforts. At this point we have the following information to release:

Each award will be $1000 presented to head athletic trainer of a Colorado High School.

The awards will be given in March at a Nugget’s and an Avalanche game.

The winning program’s athletic trainer will be the teams guest for the day (will include a small block of tickets for the program).

They will also go to the school to make a presentation of a plaque to the head athletic trainer and one for the school at a pep rally or a game.

The CATA will be allowed to set up a booth on the concourse of the Pepsi Center during the 2 games promoting “Athletic Training Month”. A promotion will also run on the Diamond Vision in the arena during breaks.

Jim is currently working, with the CATA and Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) , on finishing the criteria for applying for the award. Please keep an eye on the CATA website for further information.

The CATA BOD would like to thank Jim Gillen and his organization for the support of such an award.

Upcoming Events

The CATA is dedicated to making information available to our members about upcoming educational opportunities for certified athletic trainers. We are happy to place notices on our website and, space permitting, in our quarterly newsletters.

Saturday August 16th. Dr. Tom Noonan and Dr. Douglas Wyland of the Steadman Hawkins Denver Clinic will be hosting a free symposium on “Shoulder and Elbow Injuries in the Throwing Athlete”. The location and exact CEU total are yet to be determined. Please watch your mailboxes for symposium flyer.

To post an announcement please visit our website at www.prolynx.com/cata

Please send all questions and comments to: Kelly Brick, ATC, Webmaster