Recently I provided a President's message which clarified the TCA's participation in the TMA v. TBCE lawsuit.  This posting shares the answers to another letter and lets you know very clearly what the TCA is doing currently.

You state: "I, and many others who are not as vocal as myself, feel if the TCA administration would have put as much effort into the lawsuit as they did the Nurse Practitioner program we may be a little more prepared for this suit."

The nurse practitioner program was an effort of a TCA member to achieve something that was seen as a valuable path for the profession.  A good number of other people agreed and have participated in this project, but the TCA never attempted to make this a universal project for the profession.  It was not a TCA-wide initiative.  It is not now a TCA initiative.  This is an issue which was done in the past and cannot now be undone.

I don't see what the TCA could have done MORE of to prepare for a lawsuit that was not yet scheduled for trial.  The preliminary years of a lawsuit are spent in research and the making of motions for the action by the judge.  TCA hired the best attorney available and work has been proceeding for several years.  NOW that the trial before the judge is coming to fruition, and NOW that action is being made that all can relate to, NOW is the time to start calling the profession to action; this is what we have done.  If two or three years ago we had tried to "do more", the only thing we would have had to report is "TMA is suing the TBCE and they are making a motion to have a summary judgment.  We have moved NOT to, and a hearing will be held in a year or two."  Not very exciting stuff.  But we DID keep our state directors informed of JUST THIS kind of information.  Your state director WAS privy to this information.  Unfortunately, he chose not to attend or participate in the discussion.
 
"[a previous] president let the DCs know what was going on....There were constant updates....There was communication...In today's busy world more people hear about things by checking their email.  There is not enough time to go to every site we are a member of to see if there are any updates....send email blasts."

I have no details to report to you at this time, but I CAN assure you that just such a project is in the works.  In fact, the TCA is working with a company to provide a complete service of this type to the entire Texas chiropractic profession, the schools, and the vendors.  It will be a MOST comprehensive communications system and we are moving towards its implementation.  All of this takes time, however, and we are moving as fast as we can.  In, perhaps, two to three months, if it is approved by the board of directors,  we hope to have it debuted and up and running for the entire profession.

Please bear in mind that we have hired a dedicated communications director only four months ago (this was a priority of my administration), and in that time we have been building the foundation of communication--clear ideas to share.  

After four months of work we have:

• Improved the TCA web site and continue to rapidly improve it when a way to is made clear to us. 
  

• We have created a web site for an online Journal  in which to post current news and information and warehouse it for future reference. 
  

• We have restored the Texas Journal of Chiropractic print Journal and are hoping to send it to the printer later this week or early next week for reception in the mail by ALL chiropractors in Texas at the end of the month. 
  

• And we are working with others to create just such a communications system as you have outlined. 
  

We ARE moving in the direction of an improved communications system, but we have had one consultant working only for four months to create all of this infrastructure AND the data to fill it, as well as assist the other communications needs of the TCA.  I would ask all of you to help by insuring that news and information from your district is included in the web sites for sharing with the rest of the state.
 
"My biggest irritation is not being prepared.  For the life of me I do not understand why we would not have expert witnesses prepared already."

We ARE prepared with expert witnesses.  The TCA, from the very first moment of the judgment, started gathering the commitment of potential expert witness.  Why not sooner?  Because we didn't, and still don't, have a specific trial date, and for many other reasons mostly having to do with the issue of timing.  Some things just must be decided later, rather than sooner.  We are prepared.  We are not just flying by the seat of our pants here.  (Last update from the legal team is a trial date of April 26, but this is not set in stone.)
 
"[Our State director] has given us all of the info he can.  He would constantly have to think before speaking, even more, to make sure he did not tell anything he shouldn't. "

If any member of the TCA has a question on any matter, all they need to do is ask the TCA offices, or ask the appropriate TCA department coordinator, or ask any executive officer.  This is one of the reasons why there are statewide elected executive officers.  Each member has, in effect, two direct representatives on the board of directors--their specific elected representative found in the state director from their district; and their at-large elected representative--the executive officers.  Just ask.  We'll be happy to answer your questions. 
 
In a nutshell you said this has never come up before.  That is what irritates me.  No one has the guts these days to speak up.  Because of political correctness or for fear of retaliation.  In your first response you said you would not respond with a personal letter, and you didn't.  This is not personal.  This is a business and I speak straight from the hip....I apologize for the wording but I stand by its meaning."
 
I thank you for your apology, and all is well.  I do not mind people speaking their mind in order to resolve confusion or to answer questions, but I DO mind broad unfounded accusations which paint with a broad brush without leading to any kind of resolution.  This leads to more heat than light and is destructive to an organization.  Questions asked and answered, as in this letter, give each of us an opportunity to explain our minds.  I appreciate the opportunity to address your genuine concerns.
 
"When you say you have to do what's best for the entire state I understand that...But the majority of the members are from Dallas and Houston.  Yet each only count for one vote.  I believe each district's vote should be equal to the number of paid members....It is not fair if 5 of the 12 board members are from small towns and get equal votes."

To accomplish your desires will require a TCA Constitutional amendment.  We have investigated this thoroughly within the past three years, and the interest to proceed was just not present. 

Basically there are two potentials for representation--population based or geographic based.  Our present system, like the US Congressional system, attempts to strike a balance between the two.  Like the US Congress, it is not very effective at doing so.  But to have a purely population based system would mean that decisions being made by "city doctors" would be imposed upon "country doctors" leaving an unfair balance of representation.

I'll leave this discussion for now, because it rapidly becomes an exercise in frustration.  BUT I will encourage you, if you find a way where it can work, to contact Dr. Chris Dalrymple and work with him.  He is our Internal Affairs Department Coordinator and worked diligently on this issue under Dr. Wade Brandt's administration.  He would be happy to discuss your ideas.  Also share these ideas with your State Director.
 
"Sorry for such a long letter.  My frustrations run deep and I thought you deserved to know where I am coming from."

I thank you for this letter and for the opportunity to clearly address the issues that you have.  I appreciate your frustrations, some of them are the same that I have held, and have been moving to address since my administration started.  I hope that you will work with me in trying to make the TCA a better organization for our profession, for I strongly believe that we can ALWAYS work to make something function better than it currently does. 

Lastly, I am told that you have resigned your post as a district officer.  I regret that you felt it necessary to do this.  Your energy, concern and effort are valuable assets at this point. 

I thought that the response to these questions will explain for your what the TCA has been up to these past months and where we are trying to go.  We welcome your help in the move.