ATRS HISTORY
On October 8, 1993, Mary Jean Erwin, then President of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA), spoke to a group of certified therapeutic recreation specialists at the North Little Rock Veterans Administration Medical Center. Following this presentation, a group of peers began the process of planning an Arkansas ATRA Chapter Affiliate.
This initial meeting led to more and more meetings, mainly held at Arkansas Tech University, in Russellville. Tasks involved establishing the application to become an ATRA Chapter Affiliate, deciding on the chapter's name, developing organizational structure, writing by-laws, determining membership fees, and creating an official newsletter.
The Arkansas Therapeutic Recreation Society (ATRS) became an official ATRA Chapter Affiliate in March 1994 at the Mid Year Forum held in Indianapolis, IN. Initial officers were elected in October 1994 and consisted of the following members: Connie Jaros, Cheryl Frazier, Sandy Thomas, Greg Dockery, and Cathi McMahan.
Today, the Arkansas Therapeutic Recreation Society continues to make progress as a state professional organization. Past boards of directors and the current board of directors are working hard for the state of Arkansas as well as the Recreational Therapy profession as a whole.
One of the major focus points for ATRS includes strong advocacy for inclusion of recreational therapy in community based and institution based settings. ATRS has developed committees and task forces committed to addressing the professional issues facing the recreational therapy clinicians, educators, and students in Arkansas. ATRS offers two opportunities annually for individuals to attend state conferences in order to promote the profession, allow for professional networking, and to acquire continuing education units (CEUs).
ATRS also sponsors worthwhile programs and events statewide; such events include the Disabled Hunt in northeast Arkansas and the Little Rock Arts Festival. Each year is something different so if you have an event you would like ATRS to sponsor, chances are ATRS would like to sponsor it. An annual student scholarship is available to select students at any of the three state universities offering a degree in recreational therapy. ATRS also publishes a quarterly newsletter to inform its members of statewide and national trends in the profession.
Most recently, ATRS has developed this website to further insure that members are able to get the most up to date announcements concerning the profession as well as local events information. Another modality for disseminating information is the establishing of a membership e-group for those ATRS members with current e-mail addresses; members are able to receive the most recent updates in their e-mail, as they are available.
ATRS is a non-profit organization and is only able to function as long as its members support it. The board of directors is comprised of elected professionals with CTRS credentials who work for ATRS on an entirely volunteer basis for the betterment of the professional organization including the benefit of the state recreational therapy professionals. In addition to the board, ATRS members truly make the difference by volunteering their time and energy to promote the profession and ATRS with the hopes of ensuring the best possible future for recreational therapy.
Some highlights of ATRS' history include:
- Established tax exemption status from both the state and federal government
- Received official proclamation from the Governor's office for National TR week in July 1995
- Hosted the 1996 Mid Year Forum for the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (our parent organization)
- Received grant program from Training Community Organizations for Change (TCOC) -Established routine yearly retreat for strategic planning and goal setting for ATRS Board Members and Chairpersons
- Received ATRA's Chapter Affiliate of the Year Award in 1999
ATRS PAST PRESIDENTS
Corey Jones- 2009
Carolee Cook - 2008
Shelly Zellner - 2007
Eric Ascough - 2006
Cathi McMahan - 2005
Cindy Covey - 2004
Angie Richardson - 2003
Kelly Parker - 2002
Sandy Thomas - 2001
Leesa Freasier - 2000
Shelly Zellner - 1999
Debbie Cummings - 1998
Cathi McMahan - 1997
Cheryl Frazier - 1996
Connie Jaros Interim Board - 1995
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