Jeremy Angaran "National & Regional Delegate"

by Jeremy Angaran

Hello all, I have been asked to write an article regarding what it is that I do with our PT professional association. In order to better understand the level of relative insanity that someone must have to take on additional tasks within their career, I think it is of value to understand a simple economic principle: cost vs. value. It is this very principle that drives a majority of the decisions we make on any given day.

The cost in this instance is a personal one of time. The values are improved communication and organizational skills, deeper understanding of all aspects of the profession, and developing contacts and friendship of other professionals both locally and across the country. To me this value is worth the cost, though admittedly I do not always do the best job of staying on top of my roles. This leads me to answer your next question, “What are your roles?”

Role 1: Chief delegate. In this role I coordinate the Washington delegation to national house of delegate (HoD) meetings. The HoD is comprised of member representatives (having been in good standing continuously for the last 2 years, if any of you should be interested) from each state, and special interest groups (i.e. orthopedic SIG).  Each state is allocated a number of delegates based on percentage of membership.

Washington has 13 including myself. We discuss all of the issues of the association, and generate the association’s policies, procedures, standards, guidelines, and by-law documents.  Debate is typically awe inspiring.  Standing in front of just over 400 of your peers to discuss the merits of an issue is daunting.  Every time I have done so in the past 4 years, I have instantaneously reverted back to my infant days, heart rate at 200, legs trembling, loss of control of bodily fluids. Luckily everyone there understands “goo goo” and “ga ga.”

Role 2: Secretary, PTWA BoD. This is a new role for me, with primary duties of taking formal minutes at meetings, and acting as a liaison for several committees.

Role 3: Membership committee: I am in the process of getting this committee started, and decreasing my role once it is fully functional. This is a new committee, and will work closely with districts.  We are always looking for members who are willing to help and this is a great place to do it with minimal time commitment.

Editorial Comments:
The role that Jeremy plays outside the walls of OSSR is an essential and important role that benefits everyone involved in the physical therapy  profession.  We are immensely grateful for all you do and value your time and service put in to this cause. Thanks Jeremy!