Executive Board meeting - day 2

Good morning! The board had an early wake up call and the board meeting started at 7:30am. The focus of this meeting is sharing information between board members and several members presented reports - Lorna Strong (District Secretary) and Doin Dahlke (Arkansas Representative). Mike Pace deferred the Texas report until Saturday after the TSATA meeting.

The board will be taking a break to attend the golf tournament around 10:30 this morning.

Executive board meeting - day 1

The SWATA Executive Board started the SWATA meeting today and went to lunch over at the NATA office. Each district provides lunch for the NATA office staff once a year and SWATA traditionally buys lunch in July. Board members already in the area for SWATA are invited to attend this lunch and socialize with the NATA staff. NATA Executive Director, Eve Becker-Doyle started the lunch off with introductions and a brief overview of each staff members duties. SWATA President, Mike Carroll spoke for the SWATA board and thanked the NATA staff for all thier hard work throughout the year for NATA and SWATA. The staff is invaluable to our mission and are the face of the NATA. THANKS to everyone at the NATA office from the SWATA executive board.

The Finance Committee had the first official SWATA meeting starting at 2pm and lasting until 5pm. There was lively discussion regarding the finances in these difficult times, but a balanced budget was presented at the end of the meeting. The committee members work diligently to protect our money for the organization and are working for the best interests of the SWATA and it's members. Committee members include: Jeff Bass, David Traylor, Chris Hall, Dan O'Connor, Lorna Strong, TC Shelton, and Sam Coward. This committee works closely with Joan Hodges of the accounting firm, McIntyre, Zeigler & Hodges. This firm has worked with SWATA for many years and a SWATA scholarship is named after J. Brooks McIntyre, a founding partner of the firm.

The first full executive board meeting was called to order at 7pm by Mike Carroll. The entire board was in attendance and Ken Cole also attended to listen to the discussion before joining the board on Saturday as Arkansas Representative. Welcome Ken! The first order of businees was to approve the minutes of the Mid-Winter board meeting from February in El Paso. The remainder of the meeting focused on the finance committee report with Joan Hodges presenting the finances for the first 9 months of the current budget year and the projected budget for next year.

Tomorrow the board meetings starts bright and early at 7am in the Wimbledon room. The board will take a break to attend the golf tournament in the late morning and return to the meeting at 12:30. The golf tournament is being held at the Chester W. Ditto golf course in Arlington. Check in begins at 9am with Al Wilson and his family members taking care of the organization of the tournament. Al and Andy Wilson always have a great tournament and everyone has a good time.

Attention Committee Chairs - the chairs meeting is tomorrow at 4pm at the Arlington Convention Center, Room M1.

Pre-registration packet pickup reception in the Exhibit Hall, Arlington Convention Center from 5-7pm.

Mitzi Laughlin
SWATA Incoming Vice President

Summer 2010 Executive Board meeting

Welcome to the SWATA Executive Board blog for the summer 2010 meeting. This blog will be updated a couple times a day throughout the SWATA meeting to give some details about the workings of the board. If you are interested in a leadership position, this is a good place to start learning about your organization and to get involved.

First off, the SWATA Executive Board consists of 7 voting members and 4 non-voting members.

Voting positions:

• President – Mike Carroll
• Vice President – David Traylor
• Second Vice President – Chris Hall
• Past President – Dan O'Connor
• National Director – Brian Conway
• Arkansas Representative – Doin Dahlke
• Texas Representative – Mike Pace

Non-voting positions:

• District Secretary – Lorna Strong (position will transfer to a voting position in 2011)
• District Treasurer – Jeff Bass
• Recording Secretary – Loree McCary
• Parliamentarian – Natalie Steadman

Each board member has specific duties, but as a whole the board is responsible to the membership to:

• Promote and safeguard the Purpose of the SWATA.
• Provide proper financial oversight. Approve the annual budget. Ensure that proper financial controls are in place. The board is ultimately responsible to the membership for the finances of the SWATA.
• Ensure legal and ethical integrity and maintain accountability to the SWATA membership.
• Ensure effective organizational planning to effectively operate the SWATA.
• Determine, monitor and strengthen the organization's programs and member services.

SWATA President, Mike Carroll sent out the board notebook last week and everyone has been reviewing the board and committee reports. On first glance the notebook is huge, but it reflects the tremendous amount of work our committees accomplish. Due to time limitations, not every committee chair presents at the board meeting. Rather committee chairs submit a written report that details the work that has been accomplished by the committee for the year. This report is mainly informational for the board members but there is an "Action Items" section for any requests for board action, such as additional members from the volunteer list, budget requests, etc.

If you want to see an executive board meeting in person, come on by because all meetings are open to the public. The meeting times for the board are Tuesday evening 7 pm - 8:30 pm, Wednesday all day beginning at 7:30 am, and Saturday afternoon at 1 pm. This is in addition to the SWATA board meeting that will conclude this year's symposium which will be held Saturday morning. All EB meetings (except Saturday morning's meeting in the lecture hall) will be held in the Wimbledon room at the Arlington Sheraton.

See you in Arlington!

Mitzi Laughlin

SWATA incoming Vice President

It is SWATA Week!

Ladies and gentlemen I have happy to say that it is finally SWATA week! The 56th Annual SWATA Meeting and Clinical Symposium is upon us and all roads lead to Arlington, Texas.

Program chair Tina Bonci has put together a remarkable program and if you haven't already registered make plans to attend because you won't want to miss it. She has secured nationally renowned speakers who are experts on a variety of subjects. For a look at the program and speaker list you can visit the SWATA Program here.

Your executive board will also be meeting during the week as well. All executive board meetings are open to the public. The meeting times for the EB are Tuesday evening 7 pm - 8:30 pm, Wednesday all day beginning at 7:30 am, and Saturday afternoon at 1 pm. This is in addition to the SWATA EB meeting that will conclude this year's symposium which will be held Saturday morning. All EB meetings (except Saturday morning's meeting in the lecture hall) will be held in the Wimbledon room at the Arlington Sheraton.

The SWATA golf tournament will tee off at 11 am on Wednesday at the Ditto Golf Club in Arlington. Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm will be the committee chairs meeting. At 5 pm all pre registered attendees are invited to a special packet pick up reception in the exhibit hall. All exhibitors will be there. We will pay our respects to longtime SWATA friend Frank Freeman as Cramer has sponsored this special night. Finally on Wednesday all SWATA committees will meet.

The educational portion of the annual meeting begins Thursday morning at 8 am. If you haven't registered yet don't worry we have streamlined the registration process and you should be able to register in no time at all. Please make time to attend the SWATA Town Hall meeting on Thursday afternoon so that you the member can ask questions to your SWATA leadership about all things SWATA. Thursday night our welcome reception is at the Ballpark as the first place Rangers take on the Angels.

Friday is a special day for the association. We have changed the honors and awards banquet to a luncheon. Please come and honor your fellow athletic trainers who are being recognized for their sacrifices to the profession. Melinda Terry and Dr. Frank Walters will be inducted as the newest hall of fame members. After the luncheon all members are in for a special treat as NATA Hall of Fame member Dr. David Perrin is the keynote address. Dr. Perrin has given much to the profession. He is currently the provost of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Friday night is set aside for alumni gatherings and fellowship time with your friends that you may only get to see once a year.

Finally on Saturday in addition to the educational sessions there is also the NATA forum, a special video put together by the SWATA EDAC commemerating the 10th anniversary of the John Harvey Award and the SWATA Business meeting.

I look forward to seeing each of you in Arlington!

Mike Carroll
SWATA President

SWATA 2010

Well, we are one week away from the 56th Annual SWATA Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium. We will be in Arlington once again, and judging from our pre-registration numbers, it may turn out to be one of our biggest meetings ever. What are those numbers? We had 810 people pre-register, including an amazing 111 students. We had 400 people say they were going to join us for our Honors and Awards Luncheon on Friday and it looks like we will have close to 675 rowdy athletic trainers as the 1st place Texas Rangers take on the Halos on Thursday evening. I am excited about the registration numbers, but I am even more excited about the opportunities for learning and socializing in Arlington next week.

Some highlights:

• Wednesday night will once again allow our members to attend a reception and have their first opportunity to see our exhibits. Those who have pre-registered will have the opportunity to pick up their packets and everyone will have an opportunity to kick off the weekend with a fun evening.

• Programming begins first thing Thursday morning and program chair Tina Bonci and her committee have put together a terrific program. Take a look at the program at http://www.swata.org/images/2010%20SWATA%20Ed%20Program.pdf and come prepared to learn something new.

• One of the sessions on Thursday afternoon is our annual Town Hall Meeting. This is a session where you will be able to get to know your Executive Board and ask any question that you may have about our organization. If you have a question that you would like answered but don’t want to ask it in public, please feel free to email those to me and we will make sure it gets covered: david.traylor@kellerisd.net.

• Thursday evening, the Young Professionals Committee is hosting a tailgate party for all members in the Convention Center parking lot. Stop by with your family on your way to the ballpark and grab some hot dogs and some cold drinks.

• Don’t forget to make plans to attend our Honors and Awards Luncheon on Friday afternoon – this is the first time we have held the banquet in the middle of the day, so it is a perfect opportunity to stop by if you never have before. Come help us honor all of our deserving award winners as well as this year Hall of Fame class of Melinda Terry and Frank Walters.

• The Honors and Awards Luncheon will be followed by this year’s Keynote Address from NATA Hall of Famer Dr. David Perrin.

• Friday evening has been left open for any alumni events that are being hosted. Enjoy the evening with your friends and re-connect with your old friends.

• Finally, Saturday will wrap up with the NATA Forum and Business meeting, adjourning around 12:30 pm allowing you to head back home or spend the rest of the afternoon with your family enjoying some of Arlington’s attractions.

As the summer winds down, many folks have a tradition of attending the SWATA Symposium. Backed by a terrific program and multiple opportunities to have some fun along the way, we hope that you make Arlington your destination of choice next week. Have a terrific weekend, travel safe and we look forward to seeing you next week!

DT
SWATA Vice President

2010 SWATA Student Senate!!!!

When I started attending SWATA as a high school student, the Student Association was an absolute beast (and when I say beast, it is in a good way!) Students were everywhere – they were engaged, attending meetings and utilizing that time to learn something new and develop skills that would assist them in their future careers. That impression will always stick with me and will always be a terrific memory when I think about attending the SWATA Annual Meeting. It also created a desire within me to get involved and serve this wonderful Association in any way I could. The recent vision of the Executive Board to return SWATA to that standing with our students has led to, in my opinion, the beginning of a wonderful tradition and component of our organization.

On Wednesday July 21st, from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, the inaugural SWATA Student Senate will call to order their first meeting. The Student Senate was created to involve the students of District 6 in the development, planning and execution of the student programming at SWATA as well as attending to student business throughout the year. Kelley Henderson, the SWATA Student Leadership and Development Chair, was charged with creating this Senate, from the drafting of the by-laws, the application and selection process and the implementation of the program. Along with a task force of college students from all around District 6, Kelley took that vision and made it a reality. The Student Senate will meet at SWATA with their own policies and procedures, by-laws and officers. They will make decisions and plan events that will hopefully allow our athletic training students to creating their memories of SWATA and encourage them to develop an attitude of service within our profession. They have also put together a program for both college and high school students, which looks terrific.

I, along with the rest of the Executive Board, am very proud of all that this group has accomplished. I know that the precedents and traditions that they set in two weeks will be part of this organization for years to come and I cannot wait to see what comes next. Along with Kelley, our Senate is comprised of:

Brad Endres, UT (Chair)
Beth Boyington, UT (Vice Chair)
Aaren Gignac, UTA (Secretary)
Zankhana Patel, ASU (Treasurer)
Kristin Saunders, TCU
Dominic Maneen, UT
Jeanenne Williams, UTA
Cassie Wheeler, OBU (Arkansas Rep)
Louis Duran, TCU (NATSC Rep)

If you see these representatives of the Senate, please take a moment to congratulate them on their selection and thank them for being trailblazers to this wonderful program.

I hope that everyone is having a terrific summer and I look forward to seeing you in Arlington in a few weeks!

DT

NATA 2010 a great success. SWATA meeting fast approaching.

Good morning fellow athletic trainers. I am writing this after returning from a great NATA annual meeting in Philadelphia. It was great to see so many District Six members there. I know that the educational sessions that I was able to attend were outstanding and will definitely help me to be a better athletic trainer in the upcoming year.

As I mentioned at the district meeting in Philadelphia if you have not already registered for the SWATA Annual Meeting please do so soon. We have set the early registration deadline as July 7. After that date the registration cost will increase. Also we are getting very close to being sold out of our room block at the Arlington Sheraton so if you plan on staying at the host hotel please make those reservations as well.

Once again it was great to see those of you that made the trip east and hopefully you didn't have too many Philly cheese steaks. See ya in less than a month in Arlington.

New look for SWATA webpgage and new AATA web address

I just wanted to drop everyone a short little note. Webmaster DJ Gililand has been working hard over the past several months and today he is proud to announce the new look SWATA webpage is live. Please go to www.swata.org and check it out. The new webpage will make it easier for real time updates to be made regarding all things SWATA. This means that committee rosters, announcements, urgent information, and news about the annual meeting can have the most up to date information that is available.

Also the Arkansas Athletic Trainers' Association is proud to announce that they have a new address for their webpage. The new address is www.aataonline.com . AATA president BJ Maack asks that you update your links to reflect the change.

Wojecki and Medina award winners announced

I would like to take this opportunity to announce two more deserving award winners that will be recognized this summer at the SWATA Annual Meeting awards luncheon.

The Eddie Wojecki award has been given annually since 1968 and is very special award in that it is voted on by you the member. This award is given to an athletic trainer who has made outstanding contributions to the Southwest Athletic Trainers' Association within the past two years. The nominee's for this award are selected by a committee of the three previous Wojecki Award recipients'. This year's winner as selected by you the member is Mike Pruitt. Mike dedicated over two decades to the SWATA Scholarship committee in addition to his other volunteer activities such as his work with the 3 day breast cancer walk.

The Frank Medina Award is a prestigious award that is given annually to an athletic trainer who has made significant contributions throughout their career to the athletic training profession. The recipient of this award is selected by a three member committee, comprised of the three previous Medina Award recipients. This year's recipient is Bucky Taylor. Throughout his career Bucky has been involved with many different aspects of association leadership. He served on the SWATA Executive Board and was president in 2002-2003. Currently he is the chair of the corporate sponsorship program.

Congratulations to Mike, Bucky, and all other SWATA award winners.

SWATA Election Results

The polling for the 2010 SWATA election is closed. The ballots have been counted and I wanted to let you know the results of this year's election. Before I give you the winners I want to thank each of you who voted for taking part in the association. We are only as good as the people who participate in the association and the easiest way to get involved/participate is to vote. This year we had an all time high number of voters as 439 of you voted. The electronic ballot has been a hit and as we move forward we will almost certainly continue to use this method because of the ease of use.

Without further delay here are your newly elected SWATA Executive Board members are:

SWATA Vice President - Mitzi Laughlin

SWATA Secretary - Lorna Strong

SWATA Arkansas State Rep - Ken Cole

Congratulations to all three new board members. I am confident that under their leadership our association will continue to grow and better meet the needs of the membership.

Finally you may notice that the new SWATA Secretary is Lorna Strong and Lorna is our current parliamentarian. Because of that the SWATA EB has appointed a new parliamentarian and that will be Natalie Steadman of Texas Tech University.

AATA meeting this weekend in Little Rock

One of the great things about being President of SWATA is that when my schedule allows it I get to go to meetings of athletic trainers within District Six. So far this year I have had the great opportunity to attend both the GHATS and NTATS meetings. This weekend I will be traveling to Little Rock to attend the Arkansas Athletic Trainers' Association state meeting. This is a great meeting I am looking forward to seeing all of my friends in Arkansas and also meeting some new ones.

AATA president BJ Maack has done a great job as their association has many tremendous initiatives going right now that will benefit the profession of athletic training in their state. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the Arkansas state representative to the SWATA Executive Board Doin Dahlke. Doin has done an exceptional job of representing his home staet on the SWATA EB over the past several years. Since he was term limited his time on the SWATA EB is up, but he will be replaced by Ken Cole who will no doubt do the same exceptional job representing the state.

I'll see you in Little Rock!

2010 SWATA Hall of Fame and awards recipients announced

I have the great pleasure to announce the newest inductees into the SWATA Hall of Fame as well as other awards recipients. In addition to the Hall of Fame inductees this is the inaugural year of the SWATA Most Distinguished Award and several well deserving SWATA members will get this recognition. There are also hard working members that will be receiving the Bobby Gunn Unsung Hero Award, the James Dodson New Horizons Awards, and the John Harvey Humanitarian Award.

The 2010 SWATA Hall of Fame inductees are Melinda Terry and Dr. Frank Walters. Melinda has worked tirelessly over her career in all areas of SWATA. She has been on multiple committees, served as convention chair, was elected to the SWATA Executive Board and was SWATA President in 2007 - 2008. Melinda is the third woman to be elected to the SWATA Hall of Fame. Our other inductee is Dr. Frank Walters. Dr. Walters is currently working as an athletic training administrator for a hospital in Florida. He started his career in SWATA and spent over a decade working and educating future athletic trainers in the district. Of note with Dr. Walters is that he was one of the founders of the original NATA EDAC and also served as the chair of the NATA Educational Degree Task Force. Dr. Walters is being inducted into the NATA Hall of Fame this summer and because of this induction he automatically goes into the SWATA Hall of Fame as well.

The inaugural class of the SWATA Most Distinguished award:
Lou Fincher
Mike Pruitt
Becky Spurlock
Cindy Trowbridge
Antoinette VanDePutte
John Ransone
Christine Bonci
John Anderson
Michael O’Shea
Brent Mangus
Catherine Ortega.

The other award recipients are as follows:

Bobby Gunn Unsung Hero Award
Lorna Strong

James Dodson New Horizon Award
David Traylor

John Harvey Humanitarian Award
David Edell

The Eddie Wojecki award and also the Frank Medina award recipients will be announced in a few weeks along with this year's election results. Check back on this blog or on the SWATA website (www.swata.org)

Oh those SWATA nights

As you have hopefully seen by now the registration for both the SWATA Annual Meeting and also the Arlington Sheraton is open now. Hopefully you've already registered for the meeting, but if you haven't because you are still trying to decide if it is worth the time and money let me give you a brief rundown of not only the educational sessions, but the evening schedule too.

Wednesday July 21 we will host the SWATA Golf Tournament again at the Chester Ditto golf course in Arlington. Lunch will be served around 11:30 am and the tournament will start around 1 pm. After the golf tournament come on over the the convention center. Last year we had an early bird packet pickup and cocktail reception and it was a huge success. Because of all of the positive feedback we had we will once again have the early packet pick up for those of us that have pre registered. It will be Wednesday evening July 21 from 5 - 7 pm in the exhibit hall. After the reception we will have our committee meetings. They will run from 7 - 9 pm that evening.

The educational sessions begin bright and early on Thursday July 22 at 8 am. Program chair Tina Bonci has put together a really outstanding program this year. Athletic trainers will be able to get 19 CEU for the two and a half day meeting. Thursday evening will be SWATA night at the Ballpark. The Texas Rangers are in town and every attendee will be given a ticket in the SWATA block. If you would like to purchase extra tickets for your family we will give you the opportunity to do that as well.

This year we have moved the Honors & Awards banquet from its traditional Friday evening time slot to a luncheon on Friday starting at 11:30 am. Please come out and honor all of the SWATA award winners and new Hall of Fame inductees. After the luncheon we will have our keynote address. This year it will be given by Dr. David Perrin who is currently the provost at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Perrin is a NATA Hall of Famer and former editor of the Journal of Athletic Training. Friday evening we have left open for alumni gatherings. If you are scheduling an alumni gathering there are plenty of great venues for it in and around Arlington, but you probably need to act now before all the good ones are taken.

Finally on Saturday we will have the NATA Forum and SWATA business meeting. It will end at 1 pm so you can leave Arlington and head back to your home and not incur another night in the hotel if you so choose.

As you can see not only will the days of SWATA be filled with great educational sessions, but every night you will have the opportunity to fellowship with old and new friends in this great profession.

SWATA Annual Meeting and housing registration open

It's that time of year again. Spring is upon us and the summer is getting closer every day. It's also time to make plans to attend the SWATA annual meeting. On Monday March 29 online registration will open up. You will be able to register for the meeting and also secure housing at the host hotel which will once again be the Arlington Sheraton.

What: SWATA Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia

When: July 22 - 24, 2009

Where: Arlington Convention Center and Sheraton Arlington in Arlington, Texas

What else: Early registration will be $90 for SWATA members. If you would like to register onsite it will be $140 for SWATA members. Student Members will be $25 for early registration and $30 onsite. Non members can register early for $340 and onsite for $390 while student non members can register early for $35 and $40 onsite.

This year we have shortened the meeting by one day, but kept the number of CEU that the athletic trainer will receive high. Attendees this year will receive 19 CEU. That comes out to a very low cost of $4.76 per CEU. By contrast other clinics and symposiums will cost in excess of $15 per CEU.

Program chair Tina Bonci has done an outstanding job of putting together a program that has something for everyone. We are also doing a few things differently this year. The welcome reception will be Thursday July 22 and it will be SWATA night at the Ballpark as the Rangers will take on the Angels. We have changed the honors and awards banquet to a luncheon and it will be Friday July 23. One of the benefits of that is that we have made Friday evening Alumni reception night. Finally the last item on the agenda will be SWATA Business meeting which will be Saturday morning. Also this year the keynote address will be given by NATA Hall of Famer and former Journal of Athletic Training editor David Perrin. Dr. Perrin is currently the provost at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Be looking for more information regarding this year's annual meeting on the SWATA website (www.swata.org) and also in an e-blast. I hope to see each of you in Arlington in July.

Memorial service for Jim Juvenal set

Memorial for James P. Juvenal
Born in San Antonio, TX on May 2, 1931
Died Mar. 14, 2010 and resided in San Antonio, TX.

MEMORIAL SERVICE: Thursday, Mar. 25, 2010
Funeral Home: Porter Loring Mortuary
Click on the link(s) above for Service Times and Maps or Directions
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James Price Juvenal was born May 2, 1931 in San Antonio, TX, died March 14, 2010. He is survived by his wife, Rosetta Dunbar, and children J. Preston Juvenal of Dallas, TX and J. David Juvenal of Eugene, OR including five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

He graduated from TMI, Texas A&M and the University of California, Berkley. He served in the USMC during the Korean conflict.

He worked in the athletic division of Mission Pharmacal . He also was an athletic trainer for Texas Tech, Alamo Heights HS, Robert E. Lee HS and Roosevelt HS.

He was a life long member of Christ Episcopal Church and the Masonic Lodge #1413.

MEMORIAL SERVICE
THURSDAY
MARCH 25, 2010
2:00 P.M.
PORTER LORING CHAPEL
1101 MCCULLOUGH

Rev. Scott Kitayama officiating

All donations and consideration should be sent to the American Cancer Society.

SWATA loses long time member and supporter Jim Juvenal

James P. (Jim) Juvenal passed away Sunday March 14, 2010 after a lengthy illness. Services are scheduled at 2:00 pm Thursday, March 25, 2010 under the direction of Porter Loring Mortuary, 1101 McCullough, in San Antonio. In lieu of Flowers, Memorial Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Many of us know Jim from his work with Mission Pharmacal and an exhibitor at the annual SWATA meeting but Jim was also first and foremost an athletic trainer. He retired from the profession in the mid 1990's, but his heart was always in athetic training

Who's Taking Care Of Your Kids?

With all the crazy snow behind us (hopefully), spring looks to be on the horizon. Baseball and softball are in full swing. Soccer is winding down. Spring break is coming up in the next few weeks. Spring football is right around the corner (and we all know how much athletic trainers love spring football!) It is also the first part of March, which has been designated as National Athletic Trainers month. The theme of this year’s festivities is “Sports Safety is a Team Effort”. This is the time of year as athletic trainers that we get out and promote our profession and make as many people aware of what athletic trainers do.

Athletic trainers are some of the most humble people that I know. They thrive at being out of the spotlight and working behind the scenes. That is where they feel the most comfortable because they know their work is appreciated on a different level – helping the kids. I would like to challenge you to do something – be greedy and selfish this month. Throw the humbleness out the window! Stand on the rooftops and shout about what you do for your workplace. If you work in a school setting, spend as much time as you can talking with administrators and parents explaining what you do and how you benefit the athletes. Make sure people understand that you are an “athletic trainer” and not just a “trainer”. Make sure that people recognize your student athletic trainers for what they are – a valuable part of the success of the athletic department and not just “waterboys” or “ankle tapers”. Use this month as an educational tool to try and make this profession attractive for those students……you never know when you are potentially influencing the next Sandy Miller or Cash Birdwell. Do everything you can to help advertise that you are part of a wonderful profession and that you are valuable.

A good friend of mine and SWATA Convention Chair B.J. Maack always puts a statement on his Facebook page that reads simply “Who is taking care of your kids?” National Athletic Training Month is also a time to try to make the working conditions better for yourself. It is a time to try to make the situation better for your student athletes and ensure that their health is one of the most important concerns of your administrators. Yesterday, two potentially tragic events occurred in the Houston area, each within a few hours of each other. A Dawson High School sophomore collapsed during a routine football practice drill around 1 p.m., officials with Pearland ISD said. Nearly three hours later, a Magnolia West High School soccer player collapsed on the practice field, according to a Magnolia ISD statement. Both student athletes were saved due to the actions of an athletic trainer who responded with an AED. What if those schools did not have an athletic trainer? There are still many schools throughout District 6 that do not have a full time athletic trainer on site – this is a good month to work towards making sure the worst case scenario doesn’t happen because there wasn’t a qualified health care professional there for those kids.

For more ideas on how to promote National Athletic Training month, you can go to this link : http://www.swata.org/pdfs/09-10_51/SWATANews51-2.pdf

This is your month to shine and promote what you do – don’t hesitate to show everyone how proud you are of this wonderful profession.

I hope you have a terrific weekend and please never hesitate to let us know what we can do for you.

SWATA Election Opening Soon

In the next day or so you should be receiving a link for your ballot for this year's SWATA election. We on the SWATA Executive Board have listened have found that you link electronic voting. It takes just a few minutes to cast your vote and I ask that you do that. This year we will be voting on vice president, secretary, Arkansas state rep, and the Wojecki Award.

A few points of interest about this year's election. We will be electing a vice president instead of a second vice president. The reason being is that after last year where we voted in a new constitution and standing rules the president will be a two year term and the person we elect this year will be the first two year SWATA president. Also you'll notice that we are voting for secretary this year which is a change from years past where the secretary was an appointed position. Finally don't forget that the Wojecki Award which goes to the member that has made outstanding contributions to SWATA over the past two years.

Once you get your ballot you will be able to see a picture of all the candidates and read their platforms. Like I said previously please take a few moments to educate yourself about the candidates and vote for your choice.

Hit the Hill Day a success

Yesterday several members from District Six who had traveled to Washington DC met with their elected representatives and their staffers in the name of athletic training. Some of the District Six leadership that attended were National Director Brian Conway, SWATA President Mike Carroll, SWATA Convention Chair BJ Maack, and NATA CEPAT chair Kathy Dieringer. There were also many other members from Texas and Arkansas in attendance. The NATA continues to fight for its members by moving forward with HR 1137 or the ATEAM legislation (Athletic Trainers Equal Access to Medicare). This is a legislative fix to a ruling made about five years ago by the Center for Medicare Services which said that physicians are not able to have athletic trainers provide "incident to" services.

I was able to meet with my congressman to discuss the ATEAM legislation and also this year's hot topic of concussions and having adequate athletic health care available for young athletes. I came away from the meeting feeling like this process does indeed work and our legislators do listen. With health care being such a hot topic on the Hill these days our cause is particularly timely.

While I understand that not all of you have the time to travel to Washington DC to personally everyone can send an e-mail to their elected representative. To communicate with your representatives go to www.nata.org and about half way down on the right is the link for the legislative alert center. It only takes a few minutes to do, but the results of this communication will benefit all of us.

Regional Association Spotlight: NTATS

As we wrap up our regional organization spotlights today with NTATS, I still would like to recognize the other groups that meet around the district. If your group has not been spotlighted, please contact me at david.traylor@kellerisd.net and we will make sure we recognize your group.

The North Texas Athletic Trainer Society was established in its current form in 2000, with SWATA Hall of Famer Doug Gibbins serving as the associations first President. NTATS hosts a yearly student athletic trainer symposium, usually held in the spring. In 2009, that meeting has its highest attendance to date with over 400 students and 150 professionals. In serving the North Texas region, NTATS has strived to help promote and enhance the profession of athletic training among its members and its communities.

The Ben Buck Memorial Scholarship was established in 2005 to honor the son of Ken Buck, athletic trainer at West Mesquite High School Athletic Trainer (and current NTATS Secretary)who passed away at the age of 7 in 2004. Two $500 scholarships are given each spring to high school senior athletic training students who are pursuing the profession in college. Applications for the Ben Buck Memorial Scholarship are due by March 3rd. Requirements and applications can be found on the NTATS website.

In 2009, NTATS established two awards to recognize members within the North Texas area who have made a significant contribution to the profession of athletic training. Named after two former NTATS Presidents, the Aubry Fisk Exemplary Service Award and the Doug Gibbins Above and Beyond Award are awarded annually at the yearly symposium. Applications need to be submitted by March 4th and can be found under the Awards & honors tab on the NTATS website.

The 2010 NTATS Symposium is being held on Saturday April 10, 2010, at Mansfield Timberview High School. Registration will begin at 7:30 am and the day will end around 2:00 pm. The event is free to all who wish to attend – 3 CEU’s will be awarded to professionals, free lunch and t-shirts will be provided for all participants and a great selection of door prizes will be given out. The day will culminate with the Annual Student Athletic Trainer Olympics as the Lewisville High School Fighting Farmers attempt to defend their title. We hope to see everyone there.
Details on everything listed above can be found at www.ntats.com.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend and never hesitate to let us know what your Executive Board can do you you.

DT
SWATA Vice President

SWATA Annual Meeting July 22 - 24, 2010 - SAVE THE DATE!

Good morning fellow SWATA members. I know that it's still February, but I wanted to remind everyone to save the dates for the SWATA Annual Meeting this summer. This year we will be shortening our meeting to a 2 1/2 day format. Even with the shortened format an attendee will still be able to get 19 valuable CEU. An athletic trainer would be hard pressed to get more CEU at a lower price than the SWATA annual meeting.

This year's annual meeting will once again be held at the Arlington Convention Center and the host hotel will be the Arlington Sheraton. Committee day and the SWATA golf tournament is Wednesday July 21 and the educational sessions begin at 8 am on Thursday July 22. The welcome reception will be Thursday night. We will be going to an Honors & Awards luncheon on Friday this year instead of the evening banquet like in years past. Because of that we have left Friday evening open for alumni receptions. Saturday July 24 we will end with the business meeting during mid day. This will allow the athletic trainer and their family to either have the rest of the day on Saturday to visit any of the area attractions such as Six Flags or Hurricane Harbor if they choose or simple leave and travel back to their home towns.

Keep checking back on the Executive Board Blog, SWATA website (www.swata.org) , and other communications from SWATA for more information.

SWATA Executive Board has successful mid winter meeting

This past weekend in El Paso, Texas your SWATA Executive Board met regarding all things SWATA. We also co-hosted a member reception with the Sun City Athletic Trainers' Association. The member reception was especially enjoyable because we on the executive board were able to meet and talk with athletic trainers that work and live in the El Paso area.

During the course of the two day meeting the executive board got reports from the NATA, the TSATA, the AATA, and all of your hard working committees. We also acted on the requests that many of the committee chairs had. On Sunday morning we heard proposals from several hotel properties in Houston that would like to host the 2013 SWATA Annual Meeting. Finally we were brought up to speed on this year's annual meeting that will be held in Arlington this July. Program chair Tina Bonci has done an outstanding job with the program and members will be able to obtain 19 CEU for a two and one half day meeting. Look to this blog and also the SWATA website (http://www.swata.com) for more information on this meeting.

There is still one more week to nominate someone for either Vice President, Secretary, or Arkansas state representative. Also nominations for many SWATA awards including Hall of Fame and the newly established Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer are open for another week. For more information check the SWATA website.

Congratulations!!!!

I want to take a moment to recognize an individual within our Association who is about to receive a wonderful honor. Mr. Aubry Fisk, who is currently employed at North Texas Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Grapevine, will be inducted into the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend. Aubry, the longtime athletic trainer at Trinity High School and Haltom High School, will be inducted in a ceremony on Saturday.

A lot of times, we talk about the people in the profession that make significant impacts in our careers, and Aubry fits that description for so many folks. Aubry and his wonderful wife Priscilla have been longtime friends of my wife and I. They immediately took us in when we moved to the area and helped get us involved in our professional associations. He has always been encouraging and never has anything but a smile on his face. My kids love when they get the opportunity to see “Uncle Aubry”.

Aubry is a Past SWATA President and a past President of NTATS. He has always been one of the first to volunteer his time towards a cause and never turns away when a favor is asked of him. But, and most importantly of all, Aubry is a terrific role model for younger athletic trainers and his selfless work in this profession has made a terrific impact on so many people over the years. So, I just wanted to take the brief moment to tell congratulation to Aubry for this terrific recognition. If you know Aubry, please make sure to express your thanks to him for all that he has done.

SWATA & Sun City Athletic Trainers' Association sponsor member reception

This weekend your SWATA Executive Board will be travelling to El Paso to have their annual mid winter board meeting. As has been the recent tradition of moving the mid winter meeting around to all parts of the district we will also be hosting a member reception on Saturday evening. All athletic trainers are invited to attend.

The Sun City Athletic Trainers' Association and their president David Montelongo have graciously agreed to co sponsor a member reception. If you are in the El Paso area on Saturday we encourage you to attend.

What: SWATA and Sun City ATA member reception

Where: El Paso Airport Radisson

When: Saturday February 6 5:30 pm - 7 pm

We hope to see you there.

SWATA Competency Workshop was a huge success

This past weekend in the Metroplex SWATA hosted a competency workshop to help collegiate athletic training students prepare for the BOC and also state licensing exams. The workshop was attended by over 70 athletic training students from schools in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. While SWATA hosted the workshop many kudos should be given to workshop chair Dr. Gretchen Oliver of the University of Arkansas and her committee. They have worked tirelessly in the planning and excution of this workshop for the past year.

You might ask "Why would SWATA host such a workshop?" I can tell you that when the idea was proposed two years ago to the executive board we felt that such a workshop would be beneficial for several reasons. As an association we feel that we need to address the needs of all of our members and that includes the student members. One of the most important things that an athletic training student can do is prepare for and pass their BOC and state licensure exams. If we as an association can host an event that helps them do that then it would most definitely be a member service for them. Another reason that we wanted to host this workshop was to make the athletic training student more aware of SWATA and hopefully because of that they will become and stay a professional member. We on the executive board feel that it is much easier to get a young athletic trainer to become and remain a member throughout their career than it is to try and get a more experienced athletic trainer who has never been a member to join. We feel like once someone becomes a member of the NATA/SWATA they will realise that their best interests are being looked out for and membership has tremendous benefits regardless of the setting that the athletic trainer works in for their job.

Once again thanks to Dr. Oliver, her committee, and everyone that helped put on this workshop. The students of SWATA and the association in general are better off because of it.

Regional Association Spotlight : CTATS

It is the mission of the Central Texas Athletic Trainers' Society (CTATS) to promote Athletic Training in and around Central Texas. CTATS will provide continuing education hours and training to Athletic Trainers in order to enhance appropriate, quality services to our athletes and patients. Creating an atmosphere conducive for the free exchange of ideas and methods for the best practice of Athletic Training is a goal for all CTATS members. CTATS is also dedicated to the future of Athletic Training by providing hands on training and fellowship for students interested in the field of Athletic Training.

CTATS was established in 2008 to serve the athletic trainers in the Central Texas Region. Many of the initial events that CTATS put together were designed to build its membership and establish the organization in a positive light to its members. The 2009 Student and Professional Workshop, held at Georgetown High School attracted over 100 students and 30 professionals.

The CTATS Board consists of:
President – Joe Gonzalez
Vice-President – Elizabeth Maybin
Secretary – Trevor Swift
Treasurer – Jessica Beeman
Regional Representatives – Andy Wilson, Chelsea Frashure, Diana Operhall, Keith Patterson and Allen Mays

CTATS also held its first social event at the 2009 SWATA Symposium in Arlington. The social was held at the Blackfinn American Saloon and an outstanding time was had by all who attended.

CTATS members Diana Operhall, Mark Salter, Nikki Vincent and Joe Gonzalez provided athletic training services to participants in the “Stiletto Stampede for the Cure” in August. The excitement of watching current and former breast cancer patients compete to raise money for research made a lasting impact on the workers.

The 3rd Annual CTATS Workshop will be held this Saturday, January 30, 2010, at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor. For more information about this wonderful workshop check out the CTATS website, www.ctats.org and click on the workshop link for all the details.

Regional Association Spotlight : GHATS

The Greater Houston Athletic Trainers’ Society was established in 1988 with the intention of improving the communication, continuing education, and organization of the greater Houston Athletic Training community, and to the furtherance, promotion, improvement and enhancement of the Athletic Training profession. Year in and year out GHATS has strived to serve the athletic trainers in the Houston area, culminating in one of the largest student athletic trainer workshops in the nation.

The GHATS Student Athletic Training Workshop was held at Manvel High School on January 9th. Over 950 student athletic trainers attended, along with their supervising athletic trainers, college level athletic training students, various colleges and vendors from around the state. The high school students (and some of the professionals) went to various lectures and labs ranging from a basic beginner’s taping and splinting lab to an advanced kinesiotaping lecture and lab. The GHATS Board would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s workshop. They would also like to thank Mark and Monica at Manvel High School for doing a wonderful job coordinating all the events and providing a wide range of current topics for the student athletic trainers in attendance.

At the 2009 Student Athletic Trainer Workshop at Cinco Ranch High School, GHATS voted to expand their membership to include college athletic training students. Carolee John of Houston Baptist University (HBU) offered to helm the College Student base. The College Student membership dues are $5.00 for the year. The benefits include accessing the newsletter, educational opportunities throughout the year as well as networking opportunities. If you are interested in joining, please contact Carolee John at cjohn@hbu.edu.

Each year GHATS presents three scholarships for use by a graduating high school student athletic trainer to further their college education, regardless of major. Information and details can be found on the GHATS website. All nominations must be postmarked by April 17, 2010.

For any additional information on GHATS, including history, award information as well as an online story with GHATS merchandise, please check the website, www.ghats.org.

Regional Associations Spotlight

It was the spring of 2001, and my wife and I were in our first year of employment in the North Texas area. We were approached by some folks asking if we would like to help with an upcoming student athletic trainer symposium called NTATS. I did not know what NTATS was nor did I have any idea about its history or what it did for the athletic trainers in the North Texas region. We went to the meeting and saw up close what it was all about – professionals socializing and sharing ideas, student athletic trainers learning new information and developing interest in the profession and a wonderful event that left everyone excited about the years to come. While that was my first experience of volunteering with a professional organization, it has led to a terrific appreciation for regional organizations and what they mean to SWATA and the field of athletic training.

I am fully convinced that regional associations one of the driving force of SWATA and the camaraderie that our colleagues share with each other. Before the Christmas holidays I attempted to make contact with the numerous regional associations throughout District 6. I made contact with a few and tried to get some details and things within their organization that they are excited about. Over the next few weeks, I am going to try and spotlight some of these organizations. If you are a member of the Executive Board of a regional association and I did not make contact with you, I am extremely interested in getting some information from you – please email me at david.traylor@kellerisd.net.

Some crazy rescheduling of events (thanks to ice) forced me to miss the trip south this past weekend to attend this meeting, but I would like to start this brief series by highlighting GHATS and the great things happening in the Houston area. Check back soon for the first installment.

Happy New Year! Many exciting events in the upcoming weeks.

I trust by now that everyone is back to work after the holidays, or very close to doing so. I wanted to say Happy New Year to all SWATA members and wish for you to have a happy and prosperous 2010.

In the next month there are a great many opportunities for you to get out and fellowship and learn from your fellow athletic trainers and also to be able to meet and discuss the current issues in athletic training with SWATA Executive Board members. Tomorrow (January 9) at Manvel HS GHATS will host their annual student trainer workshop. I plan on being there and I know that several other Executive Board members and also SWATA Committee chairs will as well. I will be giving a NATA and SWATA update during the business meeting at lunch. I hope to see you there.

In the upcoming weeks the Central Texas Athletic Trainers' Society will be hosting their student workshop as well. It will be January 30th on the University of Mary Hardin Baylor campus in Belton. For more information go to www.ctats.org

That same weekend (January 29 & 30)SWATA will be sponsoring a competency workshop for collegiate athletic training students. We on the executive board believe that the students are the future of the association and we want to do everything that we can to help them as they transition into the profession. The workshop will be held at the Wyndham DFW North in Irving. For more information or to register please go to https://www.signup4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=SWAT20E

Finally on the weekend of February 6 & 7 the SWATA Executive Board will have their mid winter meeting. In an ongoing effort to move the mid winter meeting around to all parts of the district we will be traveling El Paso. There will be a member reception on Saturday February 6th at the Radisson Airport in El Paso. All interested members are encouraged to attend so that you can meet your leadership.

Once again let me say Happy New Year and hopefully I'll be able to see you at an event in the near future.

Mike Carroll
SWATA President