Message from the President- Dianne Bowtell
The ten volunteer board members and one underpaid,
overworked part time Administrative Assistant have
been working tirelessly for your Canadian Therapeutic
Recreation Association. Within the context of this
newsletter's musings from your president, I would
like to address one of the projects I believe in ardently
- a joint provincial / national membership for all
professional recreation therapists. In the following
article, I would like to talk about the role of a
national association for it's members and how collaboration
amongst the provinces and with the national association
makes our net of professional services that much stronger
for our unique service delivery.
Why do professionals join a national organization?
There are two primary reasons why professionals join
a national association like the Canadian Therapeutic
Recreation Association.
First, members join to align themselves with what
the association stands for and to lend support for
its national role and mandate.
The mission of our CTRA is to
- Promote and facilitate communication between
and among members in Therapeutic Recreation.
- Develop and implement a plan that will lead to
national certification of Therapeutic Recreation
practitioners.
- Promote and advance public awareness and understanding
of Therapeutic Recreation
- Develop and Promote the adoption and implementation
of Professional Standards of
- Delivery of Therapeutic Recreation Services
- Support excellence and advancement in Education
and Research in Therapeutic Recreation.
The second reason, members join is for the direct
and personal benefits of membership services that
an organization offers. . CTRA has focussed energies
in creating and delivering services, which benefit
members directly, and to link members nationally through
a coordinated and valued set of services.
From incorporation in 1996, CTRA offers a hybrid
of both professional alignment and services for members.
In Canada, most health care professional organizations
have developed with some type of linkage between the
individual professional, its regional and provincial
organization and the national level. Professional
members belong to the integrated whole, not just to
one part.
Now is the time to develop this structured linkage
between the national, provincial and regional associations.
At the CTRA /ATRA Conference in 2002, a policy was
established requiring all members of the Board of
Directors of CTRA to be Professional Members in good
standing with their applicable provincial or regional
association.
Building a shared commitment
On November 17, 2004, CTRA hosted the Provincial Presidents
Meeting via teleconference. The concept of a Joint Membership
process for application and renewal of Professional
Membership was discussed. The merits of linking the
members of the provincial associations with the national
association to build a foundation for support and collaboration.
There was also the recognition that a national "collective"
approach must create something that is more than the
sum of its parts.
Changing the Culture With the initiative
of the proposed, Joint Membership Process, CTRA is
hoping to move from a national association alliance
of "Maybe Membership" to an "Must Have
Membership". (I distinctly remember that "What's
in if for me? Phase, when my Alberta Professional
Association ATRA, went through those growing pains).
By offering a process where professionals can gain
membership provincially and nationally in one convenient
process, CTRA is developing a more system oriented
perspective with a commitment to collaboration and
integration beneficial to members, the provincial
associations and the national association as collective
organizations.
Now is the time to build a critical mass of national
support for our profession. Each Provincial association
has been asked to identify a representative that will
serve on the Canadian Membership Task Force. Early
in this 2005 year, we will have cross Canada representation.
Let your provincial association know of your support
or concerns directly to your provincial association's
representative. Your representative will be identified
on your "new look" CTRA web page.
In closing, we have just entered a fresh New Year
full of promise for professional growth and development.
Happy New Year to each of you and to all those you
hold dear. I look forward to meeting with each of
you at our 2005 Conference in British Columbia.
Dianne Bowtell
CTRA President, 2006 - 2008
"Building Active Lifestyles
in our Leisure"
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