When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
Election Results
The chiropractic members of APHA were granted full section status by the governing council in 1995, and spent all of 1996 ensuring participation in APHAs structure at all levels. Dr. Mitchell Haas, immediate past chairman of the Chiropractic Health Care section, announced the following election winners who will hold office in 1997:
Rand Baird, DC, MPH | Section Chairman |
Craig Nelson, DC | Chair-elect |
Cheryl Hawk, DC, PhD | Secretary |
William Meeker, DC, MPH | Governing Council |
Mitchell Haas, DC, MA | Governing Council |
Also elected to the section council were
Fred Colley, PhD, MPH;Drs. John Pammer, John Hyland, Margaret Seron, and Michael Loader serve as officers in the Radiological Health section, with Dr. Pammer holding the governing council seat.Maria Hondras, DC, MPH;
Robert Mootz, DC;
Patricia Bender, DC;
Joanne Nyiendo, PhD;
and Mike Perillo, DC, MPH.
Drs. Rand Baird, Mitchell Haas, and Craig Nelson were appointed to the intersectional council, and Dr. Baird and Dr. Christine Goertz served on the action board.
These leaders will plan and coordinate activities this year; terms of office are for two or three years.
Section Awards
The Chiropractic Health Care section presented its first Distinguished Service awards for leadership and accomplishment, recognizing early pioneer efforts and ongoing achievements. The honorees were: Drs. Rand Baird, Karl Kranz, and Herbert Vear.
The Radiological Health section presented awards to Drs. Beverly Harger of Western States Chiropractic College, and Dr. Michael Loader.
Membership: Chiropractic's Lamentable Showing
Despite making its presence felt in the APHA, 1996 membership in the Chiropractic Health Care section declined to under 400. For the chiropractic profession to maintain full section status and to keep our two governing council seats, chiropractic must maintain at least 500 members. It took years of effort to get enough chiropractors to join the APHA, which then allowed chiropractic to have full section status; now that position is in jeopardy. If chiropractic can maintain 500 members (a measly one percent of the profession), we can continue to be an influence, and with a bit more growth, could gain additional governing council votes and a proportionately larger share of APHA budgeted funds allocated for our section's activities.
"We need new members, renewal of expired members, and volunteers for officer and committee positions," said Rand Baird, DC.
Editor's note: For information on how you can help chiropractic maintain a position in the APHA, contact: Dr. Rand Baird, Section Chair, at (310) 325-7246; or Dr. Lisa Killinger, Membership Chair, at (319) 327-0198.