Greetings ASATT Members!
I recently had the honor and pleasure of meeting with Dennis McMahon, the inaugural President of ASATT in 1990, to discuss organizational operations related to historical, current, and future perspectives. The discussion shed light on the rich history of our profession and society, which as of this year, will mark 36 years dated by the original articles of incorporation filed in California. It also gave me a great deal of context in regard to the sheer amount of time and effort it takes for milestone events to occur at the national level for allied health organizations such as ours. As an example, our examination took seven years and hundreds of hours, from a plethora of contributing volunteers, to take the idea from concept to implementation. The first exam was hosted at multiple sites throughout the nation on May 18th, 1996 with a total of 316 technicians achieving certification on first attempt, representing an overall pass rate of 77%. One site in Cleveland, Ohio had 93 candidates that flew in from 16 different states! This, at a time when the internet was in its infancy and the primary mode of communication was still via direct phone calls and mailed newsletters, marking the event as one that was truly historical and a testimony to what can be accomplished by a collective, motivated body.
We are, yet again, preparing for another milestone in which a brand new offering to our profession, as an avenue of clinical engagement and employment, will be solidified by the end of the year and announced at this year’s conference in Fort Worth, entitled “Evolution 2022”, of which I am extremely excited to have planned and be hosting, in conjunction with the Board of Directors and staff from Headquarters. It will also be an inaugural event in that it will differ greatly from historic offerings, in that there will be multiple lectures occurring simultaneously between educational speakers and vendor representatives, in order for member attendees to appropriately choose what subject matter best fits both their interests and applicability to respective workplaces, with several continuing education credits being conferred for the two day event from a myriad of sources. For those who are unable to attend, we will also continue the virtual CE offering in September by popular demand, but I assure you the live offering will not want to be missed and I very much look forward to seeing you there.
Sincerely,
David Foster Cer.A.T.T
ASATT President
7/25/2022