The MTAA Board of Directors is proud to recognize members that have contributed to and excelled within the profession of Massage Therapy.
2020 MTAA Member Recognition
.png)
Beth Barberree
Beth Barberree has been a Massage Therapist since 1995. She built and maintained a busy clinical practice in Calgary from 2000 until its sale in 2018.
Beth has spent many years on the Boards of both provincial and national massage therapy organizations. In addition to her time as President of the MTAA, she also served as Chair of the Professional Development and Legislation Committees. She served four years on the Massage Therapy Foundation’s Writing Workgroup, was co-chair of IN-CAM’s Massage Therapy Special Interest Group and the MTAA representative on the Alberta government’s Motor Vehicle Accident Task Force.
Throughout her clinical career, Beth has been a champion for high standards of education and practice of massage therapy. She spearheaded the initial work that was done on the application to regulate our profession that was finally heard by the Health Professions Advisory Board in 2008. In 2012, she was asked to be the Alberta representative at the Canadian Massage Therapy Planning Summit, collaborating with colleagues from across North America to formulate a new national research agenda for the profession.
Beth had the honour of being invited to present independent research that she conducted her own clinic at the American Massage Therapy Association Convention in 2012 and the International Massage Therapy Research Conference in 2013. She also had the pleasure of speaking at the Massage Therapist Association of Saskatchewan 2016 Research Symposium. Currently, Beth sits on the Editorial Board for Massage Therapy Magazine and is an annual contributor to that publication as well.
Seeing massage therapy become regulated here in Alberta continues to be a passion of Beth’s. She co-founded the Alberta Support Council for Massage Therapy (ASCMT), which in 2016 was partially responsible for resuscitating the conversation about regulation. Recognizing that eventually, the physical demands of clinical practice would obligate retirement, Beth completed a Master of Arts in Health Leadership at Royal Roads University in 2016. Her final research project explored leadership strategies to advance regulation of Massage Therapy in Alberta.
Recognizing that change often occurs from the inside, Beth ran to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 2015 and again in 2019. Although not elected, she was successful at bringing increased profile to the issue by ensuring that regulation of Massage Therapy was part of the election promises in the Alberta Party platform.
2020 MTAA Member Recognition
Linda McGeachy
Linda McGeachy is responsible for maintaining the quality of curriculum materials and resources for MH Vicars and keeping them current with the latest industry standards as they prepare for national accreditation.
Linda worked health care as a medical technologist in both public and private facilities for over 20 years before completing her massage therapy training in 1998. Her massage practice has included both clinical and spa work. She has trained spa therapists in the private spa industry and taught at Metro Community College and the Alberta Institute of Massage before joining MH Vicars in 2003. Linda has helped to develop the curriculum material for both first and second-year students, instructs both first and second-year classes. She teaches at the Calgary campus.
More about Linda:
Before becoming a massage therapist, I trained as a medical laboratory technologist and worked in teaching and private laboratories for 25 years. During that time, I gained knowledge and respect for the importance of scientific reasoning and an appreciation for anatomy, physiology, and pathology.
After deciding to leave laboratory work, I became interested in massage therapy. At the time my knowledge of massage therapy was limited, but a previous co-worker had started a massage training school in Red Deer and through her and her partner, I realized how rewarding massage therapy could be as a career.
Now, after more than 20 years as a massage therapist, I am still as enthusiastic about massage therapy as ever.
My massage therapy career has always combined practice and teaching.
I have worked in clinical and spa settings, while at the same time teaching at the Alberta Institute of Massage, Metro Community College, and MH Vicars School of Massage Therapy.
Since 2003 I have held several positions in both the Edmonton and Calgary campuses of MH Vicars School until currently, I hold the titles of instructor and director of curriculum.
In the role of curriculum director, I have become aware of the importance of minimum standards of training for massage therapy, especially in the absence of regulation in Alberta.
In 2012, while at a meeting of the Canadian Council of Massage Training Schools, the owner of the school (Maryhelen Vicars) and I became aware of the “Interjurisdictional Practice Competencies and Performance Indicators for Massage Therapists at Entry-to-Practice” document. At that meeting, we decided that in order for our students to have the best education they can, we would have to adopt the standards in this document.
Since then, I have been involved in having our program approved by the MTAA as well as beginning the steps toward national accreditation with the CMTCA. Seeing the results of picking our program apart and bringing it up to a national level has been the pinnacle of my career.
My next goal is to bring more research into massage therapy training so massage therapists can integrate science and the amazing soft skills of manual therapy.
In my free time, Ross and I enjoy our three grown children, four semi-grown grandchildren, and two large dogs. I like to cross-country ski and hike in the mountains and spend time at a wonderful second home in the Slocan Valley, BC.
Congratulations Linda on being our first member to receive our new MTAA Member Recognition!
About Member Recognition 2021
The MTAA Board of Directors has decided to take a new approach to how we recognize our outstanding members. At the 2019 AGM Chair, Josh Shaw announced that a new recognition program would commence in early 2020. This change enables the MTAA to shift the focus from solely recognizing members for their longevity of membership and allows us to focus on acknowledging our members’ efforts to support and advance the profession of Massage Therapy. MTAA members are encouraged to nominate any member that they feel has had a positive impact on the profession. In addition to nominating MTAA members, all MTAA members have the opportunity to self-nominate as well.
The MTAA is very proud to recognize the excellence of its members and their remarkable contribution to the profession. Each quarter one member will be recognized by the Board of Directors with a profile of the member’s achievements, career highlights, future goals, personal interests and more. A picture of the recognized individual along with their profile will be shared with all MTAA members through email, shared on our website and shared through our social media. It is our way to shine a bright light on those that have worked so hard to contribute to the profession and have made a lasting impact.
To nominate an MTAA Member for consideration, please complete the following steps:
Step 1: Inform the MTAA Member of their nomination.
Step 2: Request the Nominee to complete the downloadable Nominee Waiver & Media Consent form.
Step 3: Complete the downloadable Nomination Application.
Step 4: Submit the completed Nominee Waiver & Media Consent form and Nomination Application to the MTAA Office by:
Email: info@mtaalberta.com
Mail: Suite 2, 7429 49 Ave, Red Deer AB T4P 1N2
Nominee Waiver & Media Consent
Nomination Application
For more information, please contact the MTAA office info@mtaalberta.com.