|
|
| Home Certification Recertification Newsletters & Reports Handbooks & Forms About NCBTMB Media Links |
 |
Independent Governance Panel Report
For the last two months, a series of counter-productive and extraordinarily negative communications has appeared within the massage and bodywork community from five former Board members asserting that the current 2007 NCBTMB is in leadership crisis. You can be assured that NCBTMB fully embraces and welcomes the free expression of opinion. However, these actions have surpassed acceptable realms of reasonable opinion and have disparaged the individuals named, the Board, the organization and the stakeholder community.
Therefore, in the interest of preserving organizational integrity and transparency, we are responding openly and honestly with facts in a document titled Report from the Board to NCBTMB Stakeholders as a means to set the record straight and end the destructive smears that serve only to create chaos and distraction – the antithesis of what the massage and bodywork community aspires to be. Throughout the first six months of 2007, the majority of the Board of Directors worked tirelessly to move the organization forward in the face of the adversity and difficulty caused by the previous administration.
At the end of 2006, a group of volunteers with multiple concerns regarding the previous administration presented a request for an independent review of the actions of the 2006 past Board Chair. Click here to read the volunteer letter. In January 2007, the new Board voted to have the review conducted by an independent panel. In March, a full, thorough and unbiased investigation was initiated by a professional, independent panel of three experts specializing in governance and law. Selected by impartial third party sources, none of the professionals had any prior connections to NCBTMB’s Board of Directors. The panel was comprised of two respected association management professionals and one attorney, all with 25+ years’ experience working with trade associations, professional societies and certification bodies. Their independence is irrefutable; their reputations impeccable; their findings and recommendations are solely their own.
In our commitment to transparency and open governance, we have made the full Independent Governance Panel Report available in its entirety to the public. We invite you to review these findings, and to judge the merits of the Board’s actions for yourself. Click here to read the complete Independent Governance Panel Report.
After receiving and carefully reviewing the Panel report at the end of April 2007, the Board unanimously accepted the Panel’s recommendations in their entirety – both those regarding the actions of the 2006 Chair and Board, and those covering general improvements in governance. These decisions were made public in an executive summary released in early May 2007. Click here to read the Executive Summary.
Further, in the interest of ensuring the credibility and validity of the Panel’s conclusions, NCBTMB requested that its legal counsel review the Independent Governance Panel Report. In the Report, the Panel recommended certain corrective steps be taken in order to enhance NCBTMB’s governance, operations and procedures. These corrective steps have been reviewed and approved by legal counsel.
In addition, because these above-mentioned negative communications are causing damage to NCBTMB and its leadership, and are also adversely affecting its stakeholders, legal counsel is investigating possible legal actions against certain former Board members in connection with their harassment of NCBTMB, its directors, officers and staff, as well as their disparaging communications with peer organizations and the public.
You may be assured that the current leadership team has consistently and scrupulously followed NCBTMB bylaws, policies and procedures in our discussions and actions. In fact, in light of the previous administration’s misapplication of bylaws and policies and procedures, a complete restatement of our bylaws was completed in June 2007 and a reformulation of our policies and procedures manual is currently underway. Our goals for the organization are well publicized, and our management methods inclusive and transparent. We continue to work tirelessly to make service first-rate in all areas, and will not rest in our commitment to protecting the viability, credibility and strength of the organization. Our desire at this juncture is to insist that these unfounded and malicious communications cease – by all means at our disposal – so that the important work of the organization can resume for the good of all involved.
Thank you for your interest and your concern. Rest assured that the Board, staff and volunteers are working hard and in unison to elevate the reputation, credibility and respectability of NCBTMB. Our goal is to deliver the highest levels of service and value to each and every stakeholder. Even in the midst of adversity, we are making exciting progress with steps to enhancing customer service, outreach to schools, communications, government relations, and our new database initiative. We appreciate your support and encourage your feedback and questions as we continue to move forward.
Respectfully,
The NCBTMB Board of Directors
| |
Donna M. Feeley, MPH, RN, NCTMB
Chair
Neal Delaporta, NCTMB
Chair Elect
Michele Baker, NCTMB
Len Gaffga, MBA
Public Member
Monica Reno, NCTMB |
Christopher E. Laxton
CEO/Secretary
Karen Stork, RN, NCTMB
Treasurer
David Banks, PhD, MPH, RN
Public Member
E. Houston LeBrun, NCTMB
Sue Kozisek, MA, NCTMB |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Opportunities at NCBTMB Contact Us Site Map |
| Inquiries or general information, call customer care at 1-800-296-0664 (M-F, 8am-5pm CT). |
© 2007 National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork All rights reserved.
1901 S. Meyers Rd., Ste. 240, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181-5243
|
|
