SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Seventy-six has such a nice ring to it. The American colonies declared their independence in 1776; the Sioux massacred General Custer and his 264 troops at the Little Bighorn River in 1876; and of course "76 trombones led the big parade" in the "Music Man."
This is, of course, mostly irrelevant, but 76 was the number of state association delegates representing 37 chiropractic state associations that met in San Antonio, Texas Nov. 7-9, for the annual meeting of the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA).
With the backdrop of San Antonio's most notable landmark, (David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs, or, if your historically-oriented, the Alamo), the delegates discussed topics that would make most of us woozy: association management; public relations; insurance reimbursement; communications; marketing chiropractic, and legislative action.
The COCSA meeting was also the forum for the kickoff of the ACA/ICA 1998 Alliance advertising campaign (please see "Alliance Unveils First Year of PR Campaign" in this issue). The two national associations have created the Alliance for Chiropractic Progress as a non-profit organization designed to be the national umbrella for marketing chiropractic in the United States.
The National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company (NCMIC) made a presentation providing details of their recent reorganization.
Among the highlights was the announcement of a 16% dividend in 1998 for NCMIC policyholders. NCMIC also granted $5,000 per year to the Congress for the next five years, and $7,500 for the following five years.
Gene Schayer of Lady Americana presented the Congress with a check for $2,131, which represents their royalty on mattress sales for October. Lady Americana's contribution to COCSA so far this year is over $23,000.
Additional support for the Congress was presented by Kent Greenawalt of Foot Levelers who provided the Congress with a check for $1,500 from their seminar grant program. This brings Foot Levelers total COCSA contribution for 1997 to $3,000.
During the business meeting, the Congress delegates elected the new board of directors:
| President: | Dr. Len Suiter | Missouri |
| 1st Vice President: | Dr. Dale Cohen | New York |
| 2nd Vice President: | Dr. Tom Klapp | Michigan |
| Secretary: | Dr. Terry Peterson | Arizona |
| Treasurer: | Dr. Kevin Donovan | Rhode Island |
| Past President: | Dr. Mario Spoto | Pennsylvania |
| District 1 Director: | Dr. Stephen Simonetti | New York |
| District 2 Director: | Dr. Dave Mason | Michigan |
| District 3 Director: | Ms. Doris Christman | Florida |
| District 4 Director: | Dr. Harold Tondera | Texas |
| District 5 Director: | Dr. Bob Argyelan | California |
The COCSA re-appointed their representatives to the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters:
| District 1: | Dr. Ken Harling | Massachusetts |
| District 3: | Dr. Gene Lewis | North Carolina |
| District 4: | Dr. Harold Tondera | Texas |
| District 5: | Dr. Craig Little | California |
As a growing chiropractic organization, COCSA is looking to extend their effectiveness on the state level. A motion was passed:
"The Congress will investigate getting involved with groups such as the National Conference of State Legislatures, Southern Legislative Conference and Council of State Governments."
This year's meeting was a tremendous success, largely because of the tireless efforts of COCSA Executive Director Janet Jordan.
Next year's COCSA meeting (Nov. 5-8) will not be near the banks of the San Antonio River, but in a city near a much more interesting sounding river -- the Chattahoochee. Hint number two: General Sherman took a personal dislike to this southern city. Final Jeopardy hint: the 1996 Olympic Games were held there.
