OSM Staff Members Present at Professional Conferences

Margo Bowman, OSM Business Instructor – Presents at AMTA-WA Convention – Tacoma, WA

Margo Bowman, an Oregon School of Massage business instructor since 1990, recently presented four workshops at the April 2012 American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA)-WA State Convention in Tacoma WA. During her presentations she updated attendees on the IRS changes which impacted businesses in 2011 and important changes coming in 2012. When asked about her overall experience in Tacoma, Margo replied that “it was the most organized and speaker friendly State Convention I’ve participated in.”
Margo, a licensed tax accountant and an OSM graduate, regularly teaches on taxes and related topics to those who have a small business. Several times a year at OSM her classes outline in detail how to record the day-to-day business activity in order to make a tax return as smooth and accurate as possible. She has spoken multiple times at the National AMTA conventions, most recently in Portland in October, 2011, and will be doing a 12 hour workshop in Washington DC this month.

A tax accountant, Margo has helped 100’s of healthcare practitioners navigate the labyrinthine IRS details.

Ray Siderius, OSM President – Presents at ABMP Massage School Forum – Austin, TX

In April Ray Siderius joined Roger Patrizio (Colorado Institute of Massage Therapy, Colorado Springs) and Michael McGillicuddy (Central Florida School of Massage Therapy, Orlando) in presenting concepts and details about In-House School Loans. Given that many massage schools do not have access to FAFSA loans and those that do are challenged by changes in Higher Education Act (HEA) regulations there was a lively interest in the topic of In-House loans. Panelists agreed that the in-house loan programs of their respective schools have been a successful way to assist many students handle the cost of massage training. (Some Oregon students report that the OSM loan program was the only financial support available to them.)

This 16th annual meeting of massage schools sponsored by the Association of Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP) addressed a variety of topics of interest to attendees; it included two tracks, one for instructors and one for administrators. As is the case at many school conventions, several presentations covered technology issues (e.g., “Technology-Driven Marketing-Is There Any Other Kind?” and “Is Your Website Good Enough?”). The Forum is organized to provide many networking opportunities for massage school personnel from all over the United States. Oregon was well-represented with five schools attending.

Ray took advantage of the time in Austin to visit the Lauterstein-Conway School, a program that shares many of OSM’s values…especially those of body/mind/spirit integration. Founder/Co-Director David Lauterstein teaches a Deep Massage class semi-annually at Oregon School of Massage. Continuing to network, Ray also found time for a visit with Austin LMT, and OSM graduate, Jason Minnix.