Dear TOTA Members,

For the past two years it has been both an honor and privilege to serve in the capacity of President of the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association. I am excited about the changes that have occurred during my tenure, which were only made possible by a dynamic and hard working executive board. During this time, we incorporated changes to the website with additional features including an online membership list with a place to store continuing education documents, online ethics and jurisprudence courses, and the re-establishment of the annual TOTA conference. I am sure there are many other things that I have failed to mention. I am also pleased with the relationships that we have developed with other organizations, from the Tennessee Disability Coalition to the Tennessee Hospital Association to the Rehabilitation Therapy Association comprised of OT, PT, and SLP. These relationships have been beneficial, as we have faced external challenges to the profession and have re-established a presence in Legislative Plaza. Our lobbyist John Williams has been instrumental in guiding us successfully through these challenges; these have included the elimination of Occupational Therapy Services for TennCare for non-pregnant adults aged 19-64, legislative challenges to the practice act from other disciplines (music therapy and athletic training), unfavorable review by the Tennessee Autism Society, public transportation issues regarding an occupational therapy practitioners ability to refer individuals for specialized services, and private insurance reimbursement issues. Again, it has been an honor to serve with an Executive Board that is extremely hard working.

During the past two years, the association has also benefited from our management company, The Ferrell McDaniel Company. Joyce McDaniel has been instrumental in handling the “day to day” operations of the organization that have allowed the Board to focus on the issues practitioners have brought forward. She has been an advocate for the profession and has used her large resource network to benefit the organization by saving money and making it more streamlined.

I am delighted that Tim Sullivan will be stepping into the role of President. Many of you know that he is primarily responsible for the re-establishment and superb quality of the annual TOTA conference. For the past several weeks, Tim and I have been in discussion regarding the future of the organization as well as planning for a smooth transition. I am excited about the plans that he has and how they will benefit practitioners in the State of Tennessee! I have no doubt that you will be extremely impressed with his leadership.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Sowers