Thank you for the prospect to serve as the next TATS President. For the last seven years, I have been employed in the great state of Tennessee at Lee University in Cleveland as the Clinical Coordinator of Education. I served on the TATS Ethics committee 2019-2022, with the last year serving as the chair. In 2021, I joined the Professional Education Committee (PEC) for TATS and assumed the role of chair in 2022.
I have been a certified athletic trainer for nearly 24 years. I gained my undergraduate degree from Lambuth University in Jackson, TN, my master’s degree from University of Central Missouri, and my doctorate degree from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. I have had the pleasure of working within many settings of athletic training over my career, from professional baseball, collegiate, secondary and clinic settings. My passion for athletic training continues to grow now that I get to teach young athletic trainers and mentor them into this amazing profession.
If elected, I would like to see TATS continue to improve our local community’s understanding of athletic training and the need for every institution who supports athletics to employ our services, whether directly or indirectly. I would like to see more work done in governmental affairs and our hiring institutions to progress our stance on financial reimbursements, while looking at the chance to potentially open our practice act to update and accommodate our current and future athletic training needs.
There is much work to be done in the athletic training community. I hope to be able to reach out to many of you for your insights. The state of Tennessee has so many great athletic trainers and I look forward to the opportunity to serve all of you.