At the recent AMTA National Convention in Denver, a group of trailblazers came together who all hold Massage License #1 in their respective states.

This honor is generally given to the person who has spearheaded the effort to secure licensure in that state. This was a first gathering for this group (left to right):

• Maureen Mulhall, LMT, Illinois
• BTI Founder & Co-director Rick Rosen, LMBT, North Carolina
• Jane Johnson, LMT, Georgia
• Paul Weston, LMT, Idaho
• Beverly May, CMT (who gets special credit for staying with the process for more than 20 years until California finally got state regulation)
• AMTA National President Nancy Porambo, LMT, Pennsylvania
• Deb Kimmet, LMT, Montana

All of these people still remain active, whether serving on their state massage board or holding other leadership positions in the field. 44 states plus the District of Columbia now have laws to regulate the practice of massage therapy. In each state, it’s taken a coordinated group effort to not only get a law passed, but to support the process of forming a new state board and developing the administrative rules that spell out the regulations for the board, schools and therapists alike.

This September, Body Therapy Institute begins its 32nd year of training massage therapists. From the early days as the first school to offer professional massage education in the Carolinas, BTI has become a national leader in the field.

We welcome our newest group of students in our Massage Therapy Diploma Program who began Class 65 last week. Here’s a photo taken after they completed their first full weekend of training, in the course called Introduction to Embodied Touch:

1st Row: Diana Currin, Sarah Galfano, Carrie Iandola, Emily Gardner-Hill, Marisol Legaria, Paty Kelly, Augustina Pablo Baldwin.
2nd Row: Ryan Prather, Gabi Prohn, Jeff Fife, Nathan Toptine, Jillian Diffenbaugh, Jill Peden, Paula Wald, Kathleen Wyatt.
3rd Row: Kristin Posson, Kate Dallas, Julie Anderson, Chantee Antar-Joyner, Michele Edwards, Amy Purcell.
4th Row: Christy Porter, Gabriele Gambill, Morgana Moore, Alex Barbato.
5th Row: Cadie DuPaul, Melinda Hunt, Bill Wright, Haley Booterbaugh, Regina Marie Letonek.
(not pictured: Jenni Reiff)