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Colorado Athletic Trainers' Association |
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CATA NEWSLETTER - SPRING 2008
Legislative Update E-Blast to the Membership Student Athletic Trainers Committee
Secondary Schools
Athletic Training Committee Corporate Sponsorship Committee Answers to the Questions on Quorums and Proxy Votes NATM Month Happenings/Public Relations Committee Website Additions and Happenings
Spring 2008
I hope this newsletter finds you and yours well. It was great to see so many of you at our annual meeting and clinical symposium a few weeks ago in Colorado Springs. For those of you who could not make it you definitely missed out, this was one of our best clinical symposiums. I would like to offer a special thank you to Carrie Meyer and her committee. They worked very hard and put on a great symposium.
After our business meeting in Colorado Springs, Lisa Lear -- Member at Large, and Gregg Harper -- Secretary, completed their terms on the board of directors. They both have been very dedicated servants to the CATA and I would like to thank them for their hard work, our association is strong because of their efforts. Paul Meier will begin his term as Member at Large and Robert Ryan as Secretary.
As you will see this newsletter contains a lot of great news about all of the happenings of the committees of the CATA. A LOT of work is being done by a small group of very dedicated members, I thank them and commend them for their commitment to OUR association.
While I had hoped beyond hope to report legislative success this year, I am very sad to say that while we did make progress we will not pass a bill this session. Please review the E -blast notices, and reports from Jennifer Dougherty and Charlie Hebeler for a complete run down of the happenings this session.
I am quite certain that a LOT of you are tired of hearing about athletic trainer legislation. But the fact of the matter is that our current law here in Colorado is woefully inadequate and does not reflect what an athletic trainer can do. We need to change it. Despite our defeats over the past few years, we have come a long way. We have created relationships with legislators. We have come to reasonable compromises with the physical therapy and chiropractor groups. We have completed two reviews by the Department of Regulatory Agencies, both of which recommended for a change of the current law. And now we can report that we have the Governor’s support in an athletic trainer regulation bill.
A friend of mine once said “that you eat an elephant one bite at a time”. We are going to keep eating away at this legislative elephant until we finally succeed. We have come too far to quit.
While legislation continues to be a significant focus of the CATA I am very happy to say that the board of directors at our meetings in Colorado Springs restructured some things and I believe that the strong committee work will continue if not increase over the next year. A few select board members will work on legislation while a few select board members will manage the committee work. I look forward to seeing the results over the next year.
As always if you would like to get involved with OUR association please contact any board member and we will do our best to utilize your skills and energy.
If any of you have any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to contact me. Have a great spring.
Sincerely,
Chris Mathewson President, Colorado Athletic Trainers Association Legislative Update E-Blast to the Membership
The Colorado Athletic Trainers Association (CATA) will not be placing a bill before the Colorado General Assembly this session.
Despite our best efforts we could not get “late bill status” permission from either the speaker of the house or the president of the senate. Charlie Hebeler, CATA lobbyist, has been working franticly to try and facilitate this late bill status, but circumstances beyond our control were too large for us to overcome. Charlie said that sometimes “politics” factor into a lot of decisions as the legislative session closes.
While technically this is not a “loss” I still feel defeated and embarrassed.
The reality is that the political “game” is difficult and despite an A+ effort here and there, you don’t always succeed. I am certain that we have a good bill and am optimistic about FINALLY passing it in the 2009 session. Over the past five years We have worked too hard and accomplished too much (compromises with physical therapy groups and chiropractors; created lasting relationships at the capitol; and finally received the support of both DORA and Governor Ritter) to not continue on this quest.
I would like to thank the CATA board of directors, Jennifer Dougherty and Pat Karns co-chairs of the Legislative Action Task Force for their continued commitment to this cause. Hopefully one day we will say that this extremely frustrating effort has been all worth it.
Sincerely,
Chris Mathewson President, Colorado Athletic Trainers Association
Legislative Update
While it may seem that not much has happened in this 2008 legislative session there has been much going on “behind the scenes”! Since our bill was vetoed in 2007, we have been hard at work trying to figure out… what to do! Initially, a meeting with representatives from the CATA, DORA and the Governors office took place. This meeting was to attempt to establish what the Governor’s office would sign and what worked for DORA. The information that we obtained, although very gray, allowed the CATA Board to decide whether or not we were willing to try for round two in the 2008 session. It was decided to go forth ONLY IF the Governor’s office could make some measure of commitment about what they would and would not sign.
After an extremely long process, and Charlie hounding the Governor’s office, we finally got some answers. At this point, it was already far enough into the 2008 session that we now had to file for late bill status. Unfortunately, we were denied this request in both the House and Senate. Therefore, there was no bill in the 2008 session. The good news: the hard work put in this year will be used for the 2009 session!
GAC Update
2008 NATA Hit the Hill Day saw 300 AT’s, which is 100 more than attended last year. I was privileged enough to attend this truly impressive event. What a great feeling it is to join so many of our colleagues and represent our profession at our nation’s Capitol. If you are able to escape to DC for a couple of days next year I highly recommend joining the effort. It really is an empowering feeling to make a difference for our profession in this way. Here in Colorado, we are in a unique position to help obtain a sponsor for the Senate version of the bill. Our own Senator Salazar is on the Finance committee, which would be ideal for a sponsor. Senator Salazar is also very receptive to issues of our sort (improving access to healthcare). If you happen to have a “connection” to Senator Salazar, please contact me (Jennifer Dougherty) as we would love to encourage his support of our bill from any/all perspectives.
Goals for the next year for these committees include: Pass a favorable regulation bill! Begin a PAC! Establish an annual “Hill Day” to coincide with NAT month.
Jennifer Dougherty, MA, ATC LATF Co-Chair, GAC State Representative
Thank you to all who attended the 2008 CATA Annual Spring Symposium and Business Meeting in Colorado Springs earlier this month. It was a great success. We appreciate your feedback regarding this symposium as we are always looking to improve the educational offerings for our members. We will begin working on our Annual Fall meeting soon - tentatively set for Saturday, November 8th in Vail. Please watch for announcements later this summer and early fall. Also, I am always interested in finding people who want to and are willing to present at our meetings. If you or someone you know would like to present, please forward me your name and contact information along with presentation topic areas of interest. Thank you again and we look forward to seeing in you Vail.
Carrie Meyer CATA Vice President Chair, Education Committee
Student Athletic Trainer Committee
2008-2009 GOALS: Obtain feedback and information from high school ATCs - Plan on sending out an e-mail/paper survey Obtain more volunteers to help on the committee with ideas and planning - Continue to request and accept help from ATCs throughout the state. Put on a successful 11th Annual SAT Symposium.
If you have any input, would like to speak at next year's symposium, or would just like to help some way, I would greatly appreciate it.
Jaclyn Lucas, ATC SATC, Chair
Nominations are open for the positions of President and one Member at Large to be elected in the Spring of 2009. Nominations will close September 6, 2007.
The board members currently in the positions (Chris Mathewson and Dominic Di Manna) are not eligible for re-election.
The by-laws require that candidates be certified a minimum of 5 years and have practiced in the state of Colorado a minimum of 2 years prior to their nomination.
The following individuals have been nominated
President Jennifer Daugherty Kelly Brick
Member At Large Scott Thomas Corey Oshikoya Michael Keating Jason McWilliams Greg Holm Brian Hardy
The amendments to the by-laws that were discussed at the annual meeting (election procedures and meeting quorum criteria) have been tabled. Changes in the NATA and RMATA by-laws are expected in the near future. The CATA by-laws will then be reviewed for conformity and content with attention given to the topics discussed at he annual meeting.
Secondary Schools
Athletic Training Committee
1. Obtain data
from around the state of Colorado as to who is providing which high school with
coverage, the extent of the coverage. SSATC, State Representative
HS ATC Page
The CATA website has added a new page – the High School Athletic Trainers page – HSATC. Currently, the SSATC wants to update every high school’s information in terms of who their athletic trainer is, how they are hired by the school and whether or not they are certified. If you are a high school athletic trainer, please check this out and let Kelly Brick know if there are updates or changes to be made. And, keep checking back, as we will add new information to this page!
Corporate Sponsorship is going to add three to four different sponsorship categories for 2009. They will include different perks for each level. We are also trying to add a sponsor from Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, and Durango for 2009. We are also going to try and coordinate the spring and the fall meeting sponsors into the same system. We really appreciate the support that we have gained over the last few years and look forward to adding new sponsors this year.
Jason McWilliams, MS, ATC Corporate Sponship, Chair
I am glad to report that CHSAA announced Bethany Schott as a new assistant commissioner. She was an 11-letter winner at Overland High School, all-Southern Conference in basketball at Davidson, and played professionally and taught in Ireland. She interned with the Metro Denver Sports Commission and is a regional coordinator for the U.S. Tennis. Bethany will serve as our sports medicine contact with CHSAA.
From the NFHS sports medicine perspective, CHSAA Commissioner Paul Angelico has informed us that there are no significant rule changes with regards to sports medicine for the upcoming year.
Our committee goals for 2008-2009 are to: 1. Continue to improve communication between CATA and CHSAA 2. Increase involvement of athletic trainers at state level meets 3. Increase lead times for assigning athletic trainers to state meets.
Chad Smidt CHSAA Committee, Chair “Why have quorum, and can the CATA utilize proxy votes?”
During the 2008 CATA Business Meeting, these two questions were asked, and Matt Webber, RMATA President, provides the following information to answer those questions:
“As to what quorum you need, it is whatever is set in the by-laws. These can be changed by amending the by-laws to whatever you decide. The purpose of a quorum is to make sure that a small group cannot change things that the majority may not want to be changed, so I would caution about making it too low. You may also change the by-laws to state that some items, such as nominations, do not require a quorum to act on at a membership meeting.
An alternative is to provide in the by-laws for mail or internet voting on issues that the membership may have to vote on. In most cases anymore, mostly because of the quorum issue, the membership usually only votes in elections and by-law changes. Depending on the traditions of your association you may want the members to vote on other issues. The key is assuring that the members still have a voice on the major issues facing the association. Other issues would be handled by the board but you may certainly take a “straw vote” of the membership at any meeting to get comments and direction.
Proxies can be useful in getting a quorum. Proxies serve to give another person that members vote at that meeting. Proxies do not say how to vote but that the person holding the proxy has the right to exercise the absent member’s vote. Proxies must be written and signed, listing the specific meeting the proxy is in effect for and who holds the proxy.
It can be a pain to gather enough proxies so if you decide to do this I would plan to use them sparingly. It would be best to use them when it is time to make changes the by-laws to make them friendlier to conduct business.' 2008 National Athletic Training Month Events:
Governor Bill Ritter signed an Honorary Proclamation declaring March as National Athletic Training Month in the state of Colorado.
The 2008
“Excellence in High School Athletic Training” award was given to four high
schools in Colorado on March 29th. Jim Gillen, Head ATC Denver
Nuggets, and Kroenke Sports Charities recognized these outstanding high school
athletic training programs in conjunction with National Athletic Training Month.
The award, now in its 5th year, had two winning schools and two
runner-up schools. The winning schools each received $2000 for their athletic
training programs and the runners-up received $500. The award was presented in
a pre-game ceremony at center court.
Winners: Larry Franca, Dakota Ridge High School John Salvatore, Fountain Fort Carson High School
Runners-Up: Marni Barton, Glenwood Springs High School Shaun Carmody, Cheyenne Mountain High School
Public Relations Committee
The Public Relations Committee is seeking regional representatives throughout the state. The regional reps will be responsible for reporting any newsworthy events involving ATCs in your area to the Committee Chair. See the Chart below for the regional make-ups. If you are interested in one of these positions please contact Kevin Margarucci (kmargarucci@lewispalmer.org) , CATA Public Relations Committee Chair. The regions were divided by counties according to CATA member population.
Region 1: Region 5: Boulder Jefferson Mesa Gunnison Gilpin Arapahoe Delta Lake Clear Creek Adams Montrose Chaffee Denver Broomfield
Region 2: Region 6: Park El Paso Larimer Sedgwick Teller Lincoln Weld Phillips Douglas Kit Carson Morgan Yuma Elbert Cheyenne Logan Washington
Region 3: Region 7: Fremont Crowley San Miguel Hinsdale Custer Otero Ouray Mineral Costilla Kiowa Dolores Rio Grande Huerfano Bent San Juan Conejos Las Animas Prowers Montezuma Alamosa Pueblo Baca La Plata Saguache Archuleta Region 4: Moffat Summit Rio Blanco Grand Garfield Jackson Eagle Routt Pitkin
It is that time of year, when job postings are continually being added to the Job Placement Center page. If you are looking for a new position, be sure to check this page out! Also, if you have a job position to announce, be sure to email the information to Kelly Brick, CATA Webmaster.
In addition to the previously mentioned new HSATC page, the CATA website has also changed the look of the Leadership page. The new Leadership page now contains the Board of Directors information. The Committee and State Representative information has now been moved to a new Committee page. On this page, not only will you be able to find the Committee Chairs contact information, but you will also be able to learn more about the goals and objectives of each committee and state representative position.
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Please send all questions and comments to: Kelly Brick, ATC, Webmaster |
