In the latest edition on NATA News, we take a look at the event-filled 2015 NATA Convention, which took place over three days in June in St. Louis. Throughout the 80-page August/September edition, you’ll find photographs and stories revisiting this exciting annual event.
This year, more than 10,500 members attended the convention – 19.85 percent of which were first-time attendees. Among the 375 convention events held were the pre-convention workshops, a full-day look inside the world of emerging settings; a live Tommy John surgery demonstration performed by Jason Browdy, MD, of the Advanced Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in St. Louis; and the always popular AT Expo, which featured more than 330 exhibitors in about 645 booths this year.
As part of the annual Johnson & Johnson Day, event-goers were able to learn about the experience of keynote speaker Amy Purdy, professional snowboarder, dancer and New York Times best-selling author. Purdy lost both of her legs below the knee at the age of 19 because of meningococcal meningitis and went on to be the first woman to earn a bronze medal in snowboarding in the Paralympic.
A new class was inducted into the Hall of Fame. As David Carrier, MS, AT, ATC, Malissa Martin, EdD, ATC, LAT, Terrance Noonan, MS, ATC, ART, Russell Richardson, EdD, ATC, Sandra Janine Shultz, PhD, ATC, FNATA, and Thomas Weidner, PhD, ATC, FNATA, each took to the stage, they shared what led them to athletic training and fueled their passion for the profession.
“This career has brought out the best in me,” Carrier said in the May edition of NATA News. “It has allowed me the opportunity to help young men and women succeed with their dreams, athletically and academically.”
Christine Bonci, MS, ATC, LAT, who passed away in March 2014 after a long battle with a rare form of cancer, was also part of the Hall of Fame class of 2015 and was honored on stage for her contributions to athletic training.
In addition to convention coverage, in this month’s edition readers will find the latest news for NATA and the districts as well as the 2015 Fall Buyers’ Guide. There is also an article explaining the history of the first NATA – the NATA formed in the 1930s before the association that exists today. While the original NATA didn’t succeed, it did provide lessons to the current association that have helped form its legacy. Preserving NATA’s legacy was a theme this month as the association office welcomed volunteers who came together from across the nation to organize the NATA archive. Their efforts can be seen in the Sendoff section on p.78.
With so much going on in our double issue, be sure to look for your copy in the mail. You can also view the Auguest/September NATA News as well as past editions online on the NATA News webpage.
Posted by Beth Sitzler, NATA News Managing Editor (beths@nata.org)
