Educational Standards ** NAHA

[Guest guest]

Howdy Susan,

 

I was gonna stay out of this because after fighting losing battles since

1995 I became disaffected .. and I have sold my company to John Croskey and

have tried unsuccessfully to totally retire .. unsuccessfully I say because

I am still working with John as a consultant .. for a while. But .. here

are a few short comments .. folks who know me know this is a short post.

;-)

 

> I've been trying to point the members of my discussion group to resources

for the dangers of Raindrop Therapy and the Young Living company.

 

Good it is .. there are a few hundred of us who have beat our heads against

walls for years doing this. And .. there was a time when I believe NAHA

had embraced YL .. in fact, I believe they had been compromised by YL.

This was back in Jade Shutes time .. Jade was (in my opinion) corrupt and

stupid .. and when I took her on a couple of times on the old IDMA list

there was no contest because she lacked logic and depended totally on

defensive emotions.

 

> It takes about 5 minutes on Google to realize that Young Living has done a

spectacular job of search engine optomization as have their members on their

individual websites; no matter what search

> terms you use...the web sites promoting this niche within the world of

aromatherapy come up at the top.

 

That they are good at. And as often as they have been caught with their

pants down .. fined and chastised and such .. they can not be stopped

because they are like a Hydra. Too many tentacles and too many heads.

Distributors are uninformed, misinformed, rookie groupies .. and they are

INDEPENDENT .. so they can claim anointing with YL Lavender is a sure fire,

guaranteed to not rust, bust or collect dust method of entering into the

Kingdom of Heaven .. and get away with it.

 

> So one company has done more to promote their agenda than all the rest of

the aromatherapists and essential oils companies combined. That is where I

feel NAHA and all the other organizations

> have fallen short. One many years old White Paper is not enough.

 

The White Paper is still there on the NAHA web site .. but on the Safety

page I think the NAHA stand on Raindrop Therapy is a bit sheepish. Maybe

they were told to be so by some catfish lawyer.

 

> Press releases should be sent out saying that NAHA is collecting

information on injuries, press releases should be sent out with updates on

the quantity of reports, press releases should be sent out

> saying this student is working on a report, then of course press releases

should be sent out once the actual report is done. Every NAHA member with a

website or students should be required to

> make a statment against this Raindrop Therapy as a requirement of

membership in NAHA. And on and on and on. Until this company and their

dangerous practices, which risk both the future of the

> industry as well as risk the safety of many people, there should be no let

up.

 

I agree with all you write. I was once a Professional Member (?) .. I

forget the exact category of membership as they have changed .. but it was a

bump up from normal membership. Was a time before Jade showed that she was

either incapable or unwilling to deal with problems that she asked me for

input on things I had criticized. Looking back on it now it brings to

mind our president asking the minority party for recommendations .. all the

while knowing they are not really desired and will not be acted upon. I

wrote at least a dozen pages .. maybe more .. and Sylla will remember

this because she was info on this .. she too was upset with Jade back

then. My comments were disregarded by NAHA.

 

Ideally, the organization that claims to be the voice of Aromatherapy should

do all the things you listed .. but realistically they can not. They

reasons why have not changed since I gave Jade those recommendations on how

to save NAHA. NAHA does not have the staff or the money to do all these

things. Unless it has changed a lot, there are not more than 3 paid

positions in the organization .. everyone else is a volunteer. NAHA has a

tough time monitoring their own web site .. much less playing an

investigative role in the industry.

 

I give them the benefit of the doubt here .. they are understaffed and lack

the budget to do these things. I do not support them when they claim to

be what they are not and can not be because they are understaffed and lack

the budget to be. In that regard I agree with Martin's comments about why

NAHA is still in existence.

 

What I am saying is that I don't fault NAHA for not doing what I know they

can't do but I fault them for attempting to appear to be more than they

are. I find it easy to make this statement because during my 30 years of

military service and later working in a corporate environment .. and

founding and managing two private sector companies and a Non-Governmental

Organization .. I became accustomed to having to tell it like it really was

and making clear to myself (and others) the limitations of an organization's

capabilities.

 

> The people who get sucked into this multi-level-marketing plan are

clueless. They believe this is a gift from God, if you believe one of these

quacks websites.

 

That is not likely to change. One of the problems with the AT and EO

industry is lack of control .. and one of the strengths of the AT and EO

industry is lack of control. One must be careful of what they wish for ..

they might get it. The Big Brother Socialist EU Parliament has tried to

control the industry in Europe and they have failed miserably. The U.S.

Government has a history of failing to control everything they touch .. and

they want more control. Here in my neck of the woods .. the State of

Tennessee and the County of Henry and the City of Paris (County Seat) have

great control on all governmental matters .. they exercise responsible

fiscal management and they respond to the will of the people. Not since

Ronald Reagan have we seen anyone in Washington .. regardless of party ..

function as well as the states and counties and cities in America. So

government control of AT & EO is not something we should wish on ourselves.

 

> Where are the articles about this in national magazines?

 

One must be knowledgeable to criticize others .. the magazines lack the

knowledge. And they fear lawsuits .. which I think is not realistic

because YL has proven time and again that they are not willing to wash their

dirty laundry in public.

 

> Why does every massage licensing board not have this information available

to give to every new massage therapist?

 

I know nothing about massage boards but if they are like organizations like

NAHA then we have the answer.

 

> Why is Dr. Oz on Oprah and/or Martha spreading misinformation about

lavender EO in the ear for wax and not overwhelmed by a mass email or phone

campaign from NAHA Members to retract this

> bad advice?

 

See my notes on government control and NAHA's limitations. If I was the

president of NAHA I would not take on Oz publicly .. they have big bucks to

spend on attorneys. Oz is a hero in Turkey (he is Turkish American)

because of his exposure in the U.S.A. and he is a big bucks draw to the

LameStream Media. Actually .. his name is pronounced Oaz .. like in Ouz

but with an A instead of an O. He has allowed Americans to mispronounce it

because we use a different set of vowels. ;-)

 

> I left NAHA back during the " drama years " and my career went into a

different direction, and aromatherapy is just one of my many hobbies these

days.

 

I left them due to Jade Shutes antics. I was scheduled to speak at the

North Carolina shindig put on by NAHA East Coast or whatever they called it

... Doug Rasmussion (a good man) was putting it one then. I had planned to

return from Turkey to the U.S.A. for a visit around that time anyway but

when Doug asked me to speak I took him up on it .. they would have paid my

airfare and hotel and such. But after I had a public knock down and drag

out with Jade on IDMA .. I decided to make a statement by withdrawing total

support of NAHA and it would have been two faced for me to appear in

North Carolina even though Jade had little to do with that. Doug

understood my position then .. he too (like most folks in NAHA) was fed up

with Jade.

 

My hobbies today are hunting, fishing, gardening and landscaping .. and

spending time with my family. I am working with John and still reply to

posts off line (mainly) and on line occasionally .. but I have no great

desire to be a part of any attempt to revolutionize this route step cottage

industry. Telling it like it is does not win a lot of hearts and minds ..

Martin can attest to that. Helping John to maintain the same standards of

quality and fairness the company I sold him has maintained since I got into

the business in 1995 is all the attention I am willing to give to this

industry.

 

Odds are good that John and I will take a trip to the Rose Fields in

Isparta, Turkey this summer. After visiting there each year during the 19 +

years of my last trip to Turkey .. I've not been since I left Turkey in the

summer of 2007. I miss my second home. If the trip comes off we plan to

also stop off in the UK to visit a grower/distiller friend there and make

Martin take us out to dinner. This is a part of the continuing assistance

I am willing to provide for this industry .. its a narrow focus but

something I can control and an area in which I can guarantee success. What

might seen to be an unintended consequence to this is in fact assistance to

this industry.

 

This News Group is sorta (?) non commercial .. but I will mention that our

14th Annual Turkish Rose Absolute Bulk sale was announced on Natural

Perfumery yesterday and will be announced on Oils & Herbs tomorrow. ;-)

> But I still care and I still want the truth about Young Living to be in

the hands of every person buying essential oils or laying down on the table

for a massage.

 

Good it is .. and I feel the same way. But its like peeing in the wind.

 

Y'all have a good one .. and keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch ... http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/>

 

AROMATIC JOURNEYS: If you would like to take a trip through the Rose Fields

and Stills of Turkey, go to the following links ...

 

My writings on distillation of Turkish Rose Otto can be found at URL

https://www.av-at.com/stuff/distillation/rosadamascena1.html

 

Here is a URL with lots of good photos of wild aromatic plants of Turkey ..

taken during Chris Ziegler's trip to Turkey

https://www.av-at.com/stuff/triptoturkey.html

 

Martin Watt visited the Turkish Rose Fields in Summer 2000 - the following

article on his trip was published in the Winter 2000 edition of the European

magazine " Aromatica " .

http://www.aromamedical.com/articles/rosedistillation.htm

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

> NAHA does not have the staff or the money to do all these things. Unless it

has changed a lot, there are not more than 3 paid positions in the organization

... everyone else is a volunteer.<

 

I understand that, and all I can do is compare NAHA to the Handcrafted Soap

Makers Guild. As you may know, I used to " run " the Soap Guild. I was the office

manager, webmaster and later VP, Secretary and Treasurer. When I was hired

there were about 330 members. When I left, thanks in no small part to my

efforts, there were over 1,000 members.

 

When I was fired, there was annual income over $100,000. So other than the

President, I was the only paid employee other than the accountant who was paid a

small fee. I did everything from processing memberships, to updating the

website, to moderating the online discussion list, to planning the annual

conventions. I was not a soapmaker any more than I am an aromatherapist now. So

from my personal experience, NAHA has more than enough money to keep their

website up to date, whether they have one employee or three. They have 704

members in the database. If all of them were individual members ($50) then there

would be income of $35,200. So realistically they probably have closer to

$90,000-$100,000 in income. That is more than enough money to have a

professional administrator doing for NAHA what I did for the Soap Guild, and

always have an updated website.

[Guest guest]

I agree with the website design and maintenance.

 

 

 

I am by profession veterinarian, DBA ( database administrator) and web designer

and coder for years and years now...and I love essential oils and plants.

 

 

 

There is no way you cannot find out there a volunteer coder that will update the

website for you.The thing is, you have to have will to find that peson and to

work hard on the composition(which as a coder we all hate do do - we are more in

design, math and other cool stuff).I found that as a developer the problem

starts with the missing wording and the idea that should bring the words

together.then for the web developer the things become very dificult because if

you put garbage out there it is under your name...GIGO ( garbage in garbage out)

 

 

 

yeah, sorry if I make someone unhappy..

 

 

 

marta

 

 

 

PS as far as school is concerned I personally will start with martin because it

seems to me more at the point and probably go to tampa ( florida)and do some

hands on blending.

 

it seems to me that martin and Canada west atomatherapy school are the most

serious.

 

That is just what my nose tells me.

 

Thanks for listening

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the

world.

 

~ Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATFE

sueapito

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:43:13 +0000

Re: Educational Standards ** NAHA

 

 

 

 

 

> NAHA does not have the staff or the money to do all these things. Unless it

has changed a lot, there are not more than 3 paid positions in the organization

... everyone else is a volunteer.<

 

I understand that, and all I can do is compare NAHA to the Handcrafted Soap

Makers Guild. As you may know, I used to " run " the Soap Guild. I was the office

manager, webmaster and later VP, Secretary and Treasurer. When I was hired there

were about 330 members. When I left, thanks in no small part to my efforts,

there were over 1,000 members.

 

When I was fired, there was annual income over $100,000. So other than the

President, I was the only paid employee other than the accountant who was paid a

small fee. I did everything from processing memberships, to updating the

website, to moderating the online discussion list, to planning the annual

conventions. I was not a soapmaker any more than I am an aromatherapist now. So

from my personal experience, NAHA has more than enough money to keep their

website up to date, whether they have one employee or three. They have 704

members in the database. If all of them were individual members ($50) then there

would be income of $35,200. So realistically they probably have closer to

$90,000-$100,000 in income. That is more than enough money to have a

professional administrator doing for NAHA what I did for the Soap Guild, and

always have an updated website.

 

 

 

 

 

_______________

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

ATFE , " SUSAN " <sueapito wrote:

>

> > NAHA does not have the staff or the money to do all these things. Unless

it has changed a lot, there are not more than 3 paid positions in the

organization .. everyone else is a volunteer.<

 

>

> So from my personal experience, NAHA has more than enough money to keep their

website up to date, whether they have one employee or three. They have 704

members in the database. If all of them were individual members ($50) then there

would be income of $35,200. So realistically they probably have closer to

$90,000-$100,000 in income. That is more than enough money to have a

professional administrator doing for NAHA what I did for the Soap Guild, and

always have an updated website.

>

Hi Sue,

 

Like other things that need updating on the website, there may be 704 members in

the database online, but that doesn't mean it is entirely accurate. When I was

a director for NAHA I was given a list of all the members in my state. I called

each one of them to introduce myself and to see what I could do for them in my

new role. The majority of the " members " on my list were on longer members and

had no intention of renewing, yet they were still on my list (and in the

database).

 

As for being paid, I didn't know that anyone was ever paid, but it would explain

a lot with regard to their increased fees. As an officer of the AIA I can tell

you that it is all volunteer. No one in the organization is paid a salary and

it is not out there to be a " money maker " . We charge tuition for our

conferences and educational events, but there is very little profit made and any

profit goes to operating expenses. We rely a great deal on our volunteers and

are grateful to our sponsors and advertisers for supporting us.

 

Lora

[Guest guest]

> Like other things that need updating on the website, there may be 704 members

in the database online, but that doesn't mean it is entirely accurate. When I

was a director for NAHA I was given a list of all the members in my state. I

called each one of them to introduce myself and to see what I could do for them

in my new role. The majority of the " members " on my list were on longer members

and had no intention of renewing, yet they were still on my list (and in the

database).<

 

That explains A LOT!

 

I don't mean to keep repeating my stories from the past, but one of the things I

took very seriously when I ran the various organizations I ran, was to always

have an accurate, true, public representation of the number of members. Why does

it matter? Because I never wanted an organization I ran to be accused of

fudging the numbers in order to look more credible and important that it was. No

matter where the fault lies, money is changing hands...someone has the checkbook

for this organization. When they took on that responsibility they took on

responsibility for making sure the public had accurate information abotu the

vitality of the organization.

 

I mean, if we discovered NAHA only had 50 Members would we even be discussing

the impact they could have on the industry? I doubt it. We'd move on. Does

anyone know the actual number of active, paid up, members?

[Guest guest]

ATFE [ATFE ] On Behalf Of

anew_kid4us

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 6:48 PM

ATFE

Re: Educational Standards ** NAHA

 

<Like other things that need updating on the website, there may be 704

members in the database online, but that doesn't mean it is entirely

accurate. When I was a director for NAHA I was given a list of all the

members in my state. I called each one of them to introduce myself and to

see what I could do for them in my new role. The majority of the " members "

on my list were on longer members and had no intention of renewing, yet they

were still on my list (and in the database).> <snipped>

 

I have long suspected this was the case, Lora, after communications with

other x-members and especially after examining 990's. If NAHA's website does

not represent the current accurate state of affairs, including membership

numbers, they are misleading authorities as well as the public, and in gross

violation of their nonprofit status especially if they are actually

providing innacurate information to the IRS. I wanted to mention (Sue is no

doubt aware of this since she's done considerable web work) that there are

many web hosting companies that provide software to users for updates that

don't require knowing or using html. There is no excuse for continuing to

present erroneous or outdated information on the internet, but it appears as

if it may be more serious than just an inability to update the website. For

anyone who wishes to know more about evaluating an IRS-approved nonprofit

organization, upon request from any individual, they are required to provide

copies of their annual IRS 990 filings, whether the requester is a member of

the organization or not. You can request up to 3 year's past filings. You

can also view these filings online at http://www2.guidestar.org/Home.aspx.

The organization can charge a small fee for copying and sending them to you.

You can also request year end reports relative to their activities, however,

this is not required by law (as they are for 990's). Most credible nonprofit

organizations not only provide substantial year-end financial reports in

addition to 990's when requested (on their websites and available by .pdf,

mail or fax), they provide year-end reports reflecting accomplishments,

activities and programs, as well as proposed budgets and plans for the

future. This is a no-brainer for nonprofits looking to garner new

memberships as well as any donor funds. The better you look; the more

support you will get.

 

For those of us who live in the real world and follow the rules, these

revelations continue to be troubling, showing that the evolution of

aromatherapy in the US still has a dark cloud hovering over it. For those of

you who weren't around, there was a petition (signed by about 80-95 NAHA

members-about 124 total sigs) for redress submitted to the state of Colorado

and IRS requesting an investigation about 5 years ago. Even though the

petition has already been submitted to the authorities, you can still view a

copy of it at http://www.petitiononline.com/naha3666/petition.html That

authorities did not take action does not set aside the possible violations,

it only speaks to the bureaucratic attention with the aftermath of 9-11 and

homeland security issues and the fact that Ken Salazar was running for

higher office and not as diligent as he might have been, with other more

pressing priorities. After all, NAHA was (is) pretty much a small potatoes

operation and the IRS agent who contacted us made no bones about other NGO's

they were investigating at the time with more far-reaching national security

issues taking precedence. Nothing says the petition cannot be updated, put

online again for signatures and re-submitted if there is compelling reason

to do so.

 

Lora, this presents a delicate question for you and one your board no doubt

will need to examine to address policy. NAHA is prominently listed as an

educational resource on the AIA website, intimating support and approval.

Why, especially now that you are president of AIA, and based on your

personal experience above, which is perhaps only one of many concerns you

may have developed while being a representative of NAHA? It is admirable

(and smart) that AIA is moving to strengthen educational standards with a

focus on clinical aromatherapy. A one-size-fits-all approval just won't do

with so many different educational approaches within myriad alternative

disciplines. It does appear as if AIA has distanced itself from NAHA, at

least in this regard. However, there cannot help but be an organizational

comparison between AIA and NAHA from people involved in the development of

aromatherapy in the US over the past 15-20 years, and especially with the

linked reference. With regard to NAHA, there has long been an attitude of

" don't rock the boat " , or " it's all we've got " and many volunteers over the

years do not wish to see their hard work for NAHA over those years go for

naught. If NAHA is nothing more than a façade that provides perceived

credibility to aromatherapy entities after paying an annual fee, this

certainly does not represent excellence and integrity.

 

Sylla, you may wish to suggest to Kelly that she join this list. She should

be able to defend herself and give folks an understanding of exactly

what/where she is taking the organization.

 

 

 

Be Well,

Marcia Elston, Samara Botane/Nature Intelligence

http://www.wingedseed.com

http://www.wingedseed.blogspot.com

http://www.aromaconnection.org

" We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. " — Winston

Churchill

[Guest guest]

ATFE , " Marcia Elston " <Marcia wrote:

>

>

> ATFE [ATFE ] On Behalf Of

> anew_kid4us

> Wednesday, February 10, 2010 6:48 PM

> ATFE

> Re: Educational Standards ** NAHA

>

> Lora, this presents a delicate question for you and one your board no doubt

> will need to examine to address policy. NAHA is prominently listed as an

> educational resource on the AIA website, intimating support and approval.

> Why, especially now that you are president of AIA, and based on your

> personal experience above, which is perhaps only one of many concerns you

> may have developed while being a representative of NAHA? >>

 

Hi Marcia,

 

I have every intention of providing a response to your question, however, for

personal reasons I am going to delay my response. Due to an earlier incident

today with the other organization, I want to wait until I have a cool head

before replying. I hope you will respect my desire to delay a bit.

 

Lora

[Guest guest]

Sue wrote:

I mean, if we discovered NAHA only had 50 Members would we even be discussing

the impact they could have on the industry? I doubt it. We'd move on. Does

anyone know the actual number of active, paid up, members?

 

 

I think we've arrived at the day where it isn't necessarily the quantity of

membership, but the web-presence. As had been mentioned in previous posts, NAHA

has the appearance of being _the_ aroma organization for the US. I found ARC

and AIA a bit after finding NAHA. I have joined none of them thus far, and when

I started seeking out a " formal " program I actually looked to the

international/foreign organizations and sought out a common denominator amongst

them because of my unease/distrust/uncertainty of the US-based organizations.

 

To their credit....it is because of NAHA that I found out there were formal

programs available.

 

Jessica, NC

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