About Us

Officers of the Southwest Florida Chapter

                   Sherrie Easterly                         Teo (Teofil) Nikolov                 John Graham
President                                      1st Vice President                      2nd Vice President
LaBelle, FL                                                  Naples, FL                                                Lehigh Acres, FL
863-885-1500 cell                                     239-450-4325                                          239-560-1842
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                          Robyn Berry                                  Judy Johnson                     Terry Lowder Treasurer                                        Secretary                               Immediate Past President
Ft. Myers, FL                                                    Naples, FL                                        Bonita Springs, FL
239-939-4646                                                239-324-3699                                   239-498-4956 h * 239-948-3069 
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These officers will serve for two years, 2011 and 2012. The bylaws of FSMTA set the term of service at two years for each chapter state wide. The current officers were installed in January 2011. Committee members evolve into activities of their choice and are approved by the President. All of the work in FSMTA is done by volunteers. FSMTA has grown from virtually nothing to the largest massage association in the country through the efforts of volunteers working together to raise the standards of the profession. Members CAN make a difference by contributing just two or three hours a month. The mission statement of FSMTA is "To unify the massage therapy profession while creating, representing, and promoting standards of excellence in health care."

Committee Chairs

The following people help keep  our chapter functioning.Doing hands-on practical work, they too volunteer their time freely and use the opportunity to network and grow, both personally and professionally. There is always room for new creative committees to evolve. If you are inspired, contact any one of the people on this page and see how you can become involved and have your name posted here too.

            
Sydney Sheaffer                  Terry Lowder                       Ron Stephens
By-Laws Committee               Continuing Education             Legislative & Insurance
239-566-7111                                    239-498-4956 h * 948-3069 c       239-410-1245
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Member Services                    Registration Desk                   Snail Mail Distribution
239-887-5021                                    239-560-1842                                     239-272-8539
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To see who the people are who sit at the hub of FSMTA's Central Office, click on the link:
http://fsmta.org/current-news/elections-for-fsmta-executive-commmitte/.The Board of Directors which governs FSMTA includes the presidents of the 19 Chapters. The Board of Directors meets four times a year, which our president attends. 2012 is an election year for state offices.

History of FSMTA

Since its inception on July 15, 1939, the FSMTA has grown to become the leading professional state massage therapy association in the country, becoming a trend-setter for the rest of the nation. Due to the efforts of FSMTA, the Florida State Massage Law was passed in 1943, and in 1945 committees on Ethics, Membership, Finance, and Constitution/Bylaws were created. Local chapters began to form in the early 50's to help educate members and address issues that popped up. In 1953 education programs began to be held at chapter meetings and eight hours of continuing education courses were incorporated into the annual convention. The Association stabilized throughout the 1960's and 1970's, and in the 80's the FSMTA became more centralized. It grew to 14 chapters and in 1986 it was re-incorporated as the Florida State Massage Therapy Association. That same year the "Massage Message" magazine was published as the official magazine of the FSMTA.

In 1988 the Insurance Committee made liability insurance available to members, and the Legislative Committee helped Chapter 480 of the Florida Statutes become more responsive to the needs of therapists and the public. Also in 1988, the Educational Standards Committee was developed to work with the State of Florida, the FSMTA Annual Convention, and local chapters to provide continuing education programs. The last two committees formed in the late 1980's were the Sports Massage Team Committee, known throughout the state for its service to athletes, and the Public Relations Committee, designed to promote the FSMTA and its members to the general public. The FSMTA Central Office was established in Orlando in the 1990’s to consolidate its services to its members. In 2001 the FSMTA added it's 19th Chapter, with the possibility of a 20th in the planning stages.