Last weekend was the annual NATA Hit the Hill day in Washington DC. Combine that with several NATA committee meetings, the athletic trainer education conference, and the new program iLead for promising young students and there was a great deal of activity in and around our nation’s capitol that involved athletic training. This year at Hill Day we had the largest attendance since its inception.
First let me tell you my saga getting there. It’s funny now. It wasn’t then. If you’ve ever flown out of DFW airport you know that departure times and your gate assignment is really only an estimate and they are never really set until you get on the plane. My first flight was cancelled so I got put onto another flight that was to leave about nine hours later. As I tried to go stand by on an earlier flight I got bumped to a different flight going to a different airport. After boarding that plane we were quickly off loaded because the oven in first class caught on fire. If you’ve ever been on a plane and the flight attendant says the word “FIRE” over the intercom in reference to where you are currently sitting it’s kind of unsettling. We then proceed to sit in the terminal for about two hours until the airline locates a plane which was less incendiary in nature. The flight was uneventful and I get to my new airport which is an hour from the NATA hotel. As I go to the Super Shuttle desk the cashier tells me that it’s “your lucky day” because my shuttle would be leaving immediately. If he only knew. Eventually I arrive at the hotel and proceed directly to have a high level meeting with SWATA President Dan O’Connor in the public gathering establishment located within the confines of the hotel.
On Sunday I was privileged enough to help with the execution of the iLead conference. I led a roundtable discussion on the secondary school setting in the morning and did speed interviewing in the afternoon. District Six was well represented during this time. TSATA Board Chair Cathy Supak, National Director Brian Conway, former National Director Pete Carlon, and CEPAT member Terry DeWitt were just a few of the participants in the conference from our great district and they all represented you all very professionally. There were many students from Arkansas and Texas at this conference and I was very impressed with their knowledge of the profession and also their passion for the association. The future is very bright for all of us.
Monday was game day so to speak. We loaded up the buses and took off for Capital Hill. There were around 40 athletic trainers from SWATA in attendance. The SWATA Executive Board was represented by National Director Brian Conway, SWATA President Dan O’Connor, and myself. We all met with the offices of our representatives and our Senators. I felt very positive about my meeting in particular. In each meeting the athletic trainer asked that the elected official do three things. They were asked to co-sponsor the Athletic Trainers Equal Access to Medicare (ATEAM) Act or HR 1137. We also asked that they sign on with the Congressional Fitness Caucus, and finally we asked if they would read a statement into the official record regarding the profession of athletic training. I ask that if you were unable to attend that you please contact your representative to ask for the same three things that we did in person. Please go to http://www.nata.org/ and click on the “Alert Center” in the upper right part of the page.
After a long couple of days I loaded up at Reagan National Airport and headed home. No cancellations, no gate changes, and most importantly NO FIRES! I feel lucky to have been able to attend this important day in the year of the association and the profession. I am honored to be able to represent all SWATA members in this quest.
First let me tell you my saga getting there. It’s funny now. It wasn’t then. If you’ve ever flown out of DFW airport you know that departure times and your gate assignment is really only an estimate and they are never really set until you get on the plane. My first flight was cancelled so I got put onto another flight that was to leave about nine hours later. As I tried to go stand by on an earlier flight I got bumped to a different flight going to a different airport. After boarding that plane we were quickly off loaded because the oven in first class caught on fire. If you’ve ever been on a plane and the flight attendant says the word “FIRE” over the intercom in reference to where you are currently sitting it’s kind of unsettling. We then proceed to sit in the terminal for about two hours until the airline locates a plane which was less incendiary in nature. The flight was uneventful and I get to my new airport which is an hour from the NATA hotel. As I go to the Super Shuttle desk the cashier tells me that it’s “your lucky day” because my shuttle would be leaving immediately. If he only knew. Eventually I arrive at the hotel and proceed directly to have a high level meeting with SWATA President Dan O’Connor in the public gathering establishment located within the confines of the hotel.
On Sunday I was privileged enough to help with the execution of the iLead conference. I led a roundtable discussion on the secondary school setting in the morning and did speed interviewing in the afternoon. District Six was well represented during this time. TSATA Board Chair Cathy Supak, National Director Brian Conway, former National Director Pete Carlon, and CEPAT member Terry DeWitt were just a few of the participants in the conference from our great district and they all represented you all very professionally. There were many students from Arkansas and Texas at this conference and I was very impressed with their knowledge of the profession and also their passion for the association. The future is very bright for all of us.
Monday was game day so to speak. We loaded up the buses and took off for Capital Hill. There were around 40 athletic trainers from SWATA in attendance. The SWATA Executive Board was represented by National Director Brian Conway, SWATA President Dan O’Connor, and myself. We all met with the offices of our representatives and our Senators. I felt very positive about my meeting in particular. In each meeting the athletic trainer asked that the elected official do three things. They were asked to co-sponsor the Athletic Trainers Equal Access to Medicare (ATEAM) Act or HR 1137. We also asked that they sign on with the Congressional Fitness Caucus, and finally we asked if they would read a statement into the official record regarding the profession of athletic training. I ask that if you were unable to attend that you please contact your representative to ask for the same three things that we did in person. Please go to http://www.nata.org/ and click on the “Alert Center” in the upper right part of the page.
After a long couple of days I loaded up at Reagan National Airport and headed home. No cancellations, no gate changes, and most importantly NO FIRES! I feel lucky to have been able to attend this important day in the year of the association and the profession. I am honored to be able to represent all SWATA members in this quest.
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