by: Avry Umali
On August 24, 2008 I had the opportunity to be part of the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC). I was a student page for a day that involved the discussion and decision-making process of the board members. It was held on the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach.
I have met most of the OTAC officers and found myself intimidated by these outstanding professionals as well as excited that I had the opportunity to talk to them. They discussed their separate responsibilities of their jobs and some fieldwork discussion for students such as possible sites and opportunities. It seemed like it was a gathering of old friends and colleagues catching up on the latest issues. Shawn Phipps, the current president of OTAC, invited everyone to the boardroom after lunch so they can proceed with their agenda of the day: improving and generating growth to the organization.
Upon starting the board meeting, I noticed the unusual way it was being conducted. They utilized a parliamentary system to conduct the meeting. It was interesting to behold and to learn the nuances of how it should be conducted.
Other than the board members, various chairperson of each committee were present. Some of them that I remembered were the committee on education, practice, student affairs, and communication. It showed me that OTAC wanted everyone to be represented and they have thought of how to systematically divide the extensive responsibility to each committee.
What was my responsibility as a student page you ask? I assisted the secretary to ensure a smooth flow of the board meeting. I was responsible for providing the communication between the board members and the committees. Another task was to ensure that the charges or the responsibility assigned by the board to a person was noted and reviewed at the end of the meeting. But most of all, as most of the board members noted, it was a chance to see how OTAC functioned as an organization to encourage the students to be proactive as they would be leading the profession in the near future.
To be honest, I did not know what OTAC was working towards when I joined them as a member. It was a vague understanding that I had. When I was invited to work as a page on the meeting, it piqued my interest and curiosity so I accepted and I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the experience thoroughly and learned that they were working hard to ensure that OT remains in California.
At the end of the day, decisions were made at the approval of the board. They reviewed the current issues at hand such as the OTAC convention in Ontario, the new look of OTAC, and the distribution of responsibilities and tasks.
The theme to summarize the totality of OTAC is change. OTAC is moving towards growth and more possibilities for our profession. If you have the time and interest, maybe you would like to be part of the positive change, too.
