|
This document has been prepared to assist Chapters as
they consider and prepare recommendations for submission to the House of
Delegates of the American Massage Therapy Association. A carefully
considered, well crafted recommendation has a much better chance of being
adopted by the House and will minimize confusion and debate on the floor of
the House during its annual meeting.
What is a recommendation of the House of Delegates?
The policies of the AMTA state it is a function of the
House of Delegates to make recommendations to the National Board of
Directors. An individual member or group of members develops these
recommendations. They are considered by a Chapter and must be
submitted to the House of Delegates Operations Committee by that Chapter. An individual member may not submit a recommendation without a vote
and approval of the Chapter or Chapter Board of Directors. The HOD
Operations Committee reviews the recommendation and forwards it to all of
the delegates. After receiving the recommendations it is the responsibility
of each individual delegate to solicit feedback on the recommendation from
the membership they represent. This can be done at a Chapter/Unit meeting
or per chapter guidelines for delegates, or in any other way the
delegate chooses as appropriate. It is a responsibility of being a delegate
that you solicit this feedback. Using this feedback to help form an opinion
on the recommendation, the delegate goes to the House of Delegates meeting
where the recommendation is debated and voted on. If the recommendation
passes the House of Delegates, it is submitted to the National Board of
Directors for consideration. It is up to the National Board of Directors if
they would like to act on the recommendation or not. They may accept the
recommendation as is, modify it, or reject the idea completely. The
recommendation does not have any force of action until the National Board of
Directors chooses if, when, and how to act upon it. Therefore, it is in the
best interests of the author of the recommendation to keep certain ideas in
mind. What follows are a few ideas to consider in assuring your
recommendation is passed and implemented.
The first thing to consider when planning on making a
recommendation is this: Is it needed?
Is the issue you are attempting to address covered in the
current by-laws and policies of the organization? Before beginning the long
process of drafting and offering a recommendation, it is wise to review
these, and any other relevant documents of the organization. Being familiar
with these instruments will help you answer the second question.
Is the recommendation consistent with existing policy?
How does the issue you are addressing relate to the current
policies and by laws of the organization? Does the idea you want to promote
agree with or conflict with these policies and bylaws?
Frequently, recommendations are rejected, or sent back to the Chapter
because they violate some provision of bylaws or national policy. It is
permissible to submit a recommendation that would promote a change in the
bylaws or policy (Bylaw Amendment Recommendation). If this is your
intention, the recommendation should clearly state it is intended to change
policy with an explanation of how and why.
Is a recommendation in the House of Delegates the
appropriate forum to discuss this issue?
There are many avenues to provide feedback to the National
Board of Directors. Any issue regarding the actions and functioning of the
organization or issues related to the profession are permitted to be brought
before the House of Delegates. Recommendations of the House of Delegates are
not appropriate forums for personal vendettas or criticism of the
organization, its' board or individual officers or members.
Is it
legal?
The House of Delegates will not consider recommendations
that violate local, state, or federal statues. Recommendations that would
alter our tax-exempt status, or result in lengthy litigation would be ill
conceived and be rejected.
Do you
have a clear idea of what you hope to accomplish?
Recommendations should have clear goals and address specific issues.
Carefully consider what your desired outcome will be, and be able to express
that outcome clearly.
Recommendations are considered as presented, they can
not be amended on the floor of the House of Delegates.
If you do not clearly present what you hope to accomplish, and why this
organization should attempt to accomplish that goal, debate will be
difficult and frustrating and your recommendation will flounder. This is not
to say that your recommendation must include exacting specific ways to
accomplish your goal. Let us say your recommendation would be to accomplish
a specific goal. You may choose different avenues to achieve this. One
avenue would be to write a very specific recommendation that the National
Board of Directors change national policies and specifically state what
sections of policies are to be changed and how. A less specific way to
approach the issue would be to have the recommendation ask the National
Board of Directors to accomplish the goal by changing polices or procedures
as they see appropriate. There will also be times when a clear problem or
goal is appropriate for a recommendation but a clear solution is not
evident. An appropriate recommendation might be to suggest the formation of
a Task Force to investigate the issue and make their own recommendation on
how to meet the goal of the recommendation. Each approach has its advantages
and disadvantages. A very specific recommendation might be needed if you
have a very specific goal in mind. However, a better solution to the problem
might be presented in debate at the House of Delegates meeting. In this case
the recommendation might fail because the specific solutions presented in
the recommendation are not the best way to handle the problem, even though
the problem clearly needs to be addressed by the National Board of
Directors. You only get one shot each year, make it count.
Is
your recommendation well crafted?
Sometimes English can be a frustrating language. However,
words do have an exact meaning, and there are rules of grammar. The document
that you submit to the House of Delegates becomes a part of our
organization’s public record. Individuals outside of our organization may
have access to those documents; they should be well written and properly
formatted. Beyond the potential for embarrassment, the tragedy of a good
idea being rejected because it is poorly presented is completely avoidable
with a little groundwork up front.
Remember that recommendations are considered and debated as presented. You
will not have the opportunity to explain what you really meant to say. Once
presented, recommendations cannot be amended. Use the spell checker and
grammar check on your computer. Before you begin the process of moving
through the Chapter’s consideration of the recommendation, have
disinterested third parties read and comment on your draft.
Recommendations that include good ideas but are written with hostility or
negativity are usually defeated on the basis of the way they are written
regardless of the intent of the recommendation. Remember we are a
professional association and present your ideas in a clear way with
supporting facts rather than emotions.
Is your recommendation feasible?
On the surface it may seem like a good idea to raise the
bar and require that members hold a Master of Science degree in Nursing,
Health Care, or Wellness. However, to actually adopt such a standard would
reduce the number of therapists eligible for membership to a point where the
organization would no longer be viable. A well-intentioned idea can, in
practice, be impossible to implement. Look at the costs and practicality of
your recommendation before submitting it. Look at the ultimate goal of your
intention and try to suggest the most efficient and practical way of
reaching that goal.
Does
your recommendation deal with the practice of massage?
We are the American Massage Therapy Association. Avoid
recommendations that take a political, social, or religious position; or
deal with any issue not related directly to massage therapy, or the policies
and practices of our association.
How do
you write a recommendation?
First, the definition of a recommendation is a suggestion
or suggestions that something need(s) to be done or considered for change,
clarification or improvement to our organization. A recommendation should be
written in a specific format. There are two sections of a recommendation.
The first paragraph(s) begins with "Whereas." The definition of whereas is
"it being the case that." So the paragraphs would give a general view of the
issue. The following paragraphs would begin with whereas and would include
statements of fact that would indicate the need for action to be taken on
the recommendation and support for the conclusions of the recommendation.
This portion is where you formally state your case for the recommendation.
The next paragraph begins with the statement, "Therefore, be it resolved
that the House of Delegates recommends to the National Board of Directors
that...." This is the portion where the actual recommendation or action
request by the document is stated. Remember to be clear in stating your
goals. If you see a clear solution or direction for the organization to
follow then state clearly your specific recommendation(s).
Conclusion
We hope this document helps you in preparing and submitting
recommendations to the House of Delegates. These recommendations are a vital
form of member input into the association and have resulted in many
favorable changes and improvements in our association. We look forward to
receiving your input through recommendations to the House of Delegates and
also for suggestions on how to improve this guide. If you have any
suggestions, see any member of the House of Delegates Operations Committee.
An example of a recommendation format is attached to this document. |
American Massage Therapy Association®
