Hello APTA Montana. I will take over as president at the fall membership meeting in Missoula. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. Before I do so, I must recognize the contribution of others.

Thank you, Jay Shaver, for serving as the president of APTA Montana for the past 8 years. Your leadership and commitment to the profession is unmatched. Thank you! On a personal note; thank you for your mentorship during the past year. I only hope that I can perform the duties of this position as well as you.

I would like to thank the membership for APTA Montana for electing such a fantastic board with whom I get to serve. The current board comprises individuals representing the many different fields of our profession and from many different geographical areas in the Last Best State. I expect each board member will bring varied view points and perspectives to our discussions. I encourage good professional dialog and debate amongst our board and membership. APTA Montana will be stronger and more successful when we have good professional dialog and debate.

My first challenge is setting the agenda for our membership meetings. We meet 3x/ year for 2 hours. During which time we eat, hear reports, old business, new business, motions and professional discussions. Two hours passes quickly! The board members and I want to encourage and engage in discussions with and amongst our members. We must follow Roberts Rules of Order; which will allow meetings to proceed in an organized manner and allow organized professional discussion. Moving forward we will be looking at ways to leverage technology to continue good discussion following our meetings.

At our November board retreat we will be reviewing our strategic plan, committees and governance and outlining how we will successfully meet the needs of APTA Montana during the following year. We look forward to working for you and with you. Yes, WITH you! We will be looking to bring members on to committees and to help serve in other roles as well. In this way, when we transition off the board, there will be other members who are ready and excited to step into our positions.

A little about me; I am an old has been that never was.  My wife and I are both graduates of the University of Montana PT program class of 1991. I have previously served on the MT board as vice president, served 2 terms on the MT board of physical therapy examiners, have served on other boards unrelated to our profession and have been appointed to collaborative groups to help resolve issues at local, state and national levels. I currently am co-owner of an outpatient orthopedic, sports and women’s / pelvic health clinic in Bozeman, MT. I will do my best to keep the APTA Montana ship sailing on course under the power and momentum created by our members.

Thank you APTA Montana!

Christian Appel