Dear Stephen
This is an issue of consolidating the different organizations within the
National Office. If somebody didn’t want to join there was nobody there
forcing them to reconsider. Therefore if you want to voice your vote you
first must be a member of the organization that is holding the vote. In this
case the organization is the Academy. If you chose not to be a member why
should you have a vote? I believe you also stated this in your question
relative non voting members and why would they want to join. You seem to
make two points that contradict one another.
However, I feel the non voting membership status is silly. If somebody is
going to pay fees or dues to an orgaization then they deserve the right to
vote, period. We need to get over the letters that appear after your name
and start thinking about survival in today’s healthcare arena. Now swallow
hard, the BOC is not going away. Don’t you all think it is better to have a
unified voice when it comes to policy and fees ? If you feel you have worked
so hard to earn your letters then go out and beat the others in the
marketplace. National policy and local competion are two separate issues and
should not be considered when decieding the issue of consolidation. The base
of knowledge is doubleing faster than ever before, pretty soon your alarm
clock will go off and your spouse( significant other) will elbow you and
say,”Get up stupid” and you will be ! This faster pace is happening in our
industry as well and we must be able to respond quickly, consolidating our
resources and voices makes sense. As I’ve said in an earlier post, do not
base your vote on the DRAFT BYLAWS, base your vote on what you feel makes
sense for you industry( not just ABC conpanies) to survive in the future
healthcare market.
Brian Gustin CP.
—–Original Message—–
From: Lux orthotics
Date: Thursday, April 08, 1999 8:58 AM
Subject: Voting Issues
>I just read the fax on consolidation dated April 8 and have some serious
>concerns!
>First of all, WHOM decided that only Academy members could vote on
>something that is going to have a significant impact on the entire O&P
>field? Second, is the voting issue a power play to force the 1500
>ABC,”non-voters”, to join the Academy?
>I also have not heard anything about what the anual dues will be. Is this
>something we will be told after the fact, when we can’t do anything about
>it?
>On a final note,why would “non-ABC credentialed individuals” want to join
>an organization to become second class citizens, with no voice?
>
>Please answer
>Stephen Hartness CP
>
