Attending My State Association Meeting—OTAC’s 35th Birthday Celebration
I recently attended the Annual Meeting of the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) and joined in the celebration of its 35th birthday. Yes, OTAC was formally incorporated in 1976 and now, in 2012, 750 participants attended the meeting. And what a great occasion it was! As AOTA President, I presented Dr. Shawn Phipps, OTAC’s current President, with a letter conveying how pleased AOTA has been to partner with OTAC in responding to state regulation concerns. The letter noted that AOTA was particularly proud of the unprecedented joint effort on the part of OTAC and AOTA that resulted in the enactment of the California Occupational Therapy Practice Act in 2001.
I felt so proud to be present at this celebration, not only as President of AOTA, but also as a founding member of OTAC. Yes, there was a time—can you believe it?— when state occupational therapy associations in their current form did not exist. Occupational therapy in most states had neither licensure nor the organizational structure to support it, and most of us looked only to the national association for legislative leadership. How great it is that this is no longer the case and we can enjoy two professional homes—our state associations and AOTA. They constitute a vital and dynamic duo assuring that consumers who need us continue to have access to our services.