ATMA 2000 President's Award

As presented at the National AMTA Convention by AMTA President, Maureen Moon. 9/21/00

The President's Award was founded in 1988 and is selected by the AMTA President to openly honor someone who has contributed to the massage profession in an outstanding manner. This year's recipient has been a pioneer in the field of massage therapy providing innovative thinking and leadership in an emerging profession. He has provided significant education to the general public, made numerous contributions within the profession as an educator, writer, and leader, and has been active in a leadership role within the AMTA.

He has been a practicing massage therapist for 37 years and received his Ph.D. in Sports Medicine and Education from Union Graduate School in 1979. He founded the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts, in 1974.

He is the well-known author of : Are You Tense? The Benjamin System of Muscular Therapy; Exercise Without Injury; and Listen to Your Pain: The Active PersonŐs Guide to Understanding, Identifying, and Treating Pain and Injury.

Over the past 26 years he has made dozens of radio and television appearances to educate the public about massage therapy. He has been very involved in the professional ethics of massage therapy and bodywork, addressing issues of ethics, standardization of training programs, and regulations/licensing of practitioners.

He is a leading educator in the massage therapy profession regarding assessment and treatment of pain and injury problems, giving workshops at massage therapy schools in the U.S., Canada, and Spain, and presenting at numerous state and national conferences and conventions throughout the country.

He has been a major contributor to the AMTA Massage Therapy Journal since 1987 in his famed "Ben's Corner", addressing issues of concern to practitioners.

He is an advocate of professional supervision for massage therapists in training, and post-graduate practice.

His active leadership role within the AMTA consists of serving on the leadership team of the AMTA Council of Schools as Vice Chair from 1991-1994; he started and chaired the "Professional and Sexual Ethics Task Force" in the AMTA Council of Schools which produced many significant articles and papers; significantly contributed in improving licensing standards in Massachusetts, working with the AMTA MA Chapter and MA Coalition of Hands-On Practitioners; and was very involved in ongoing efforts to further establish the profession by working with the Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages on the advertisement section for massage therapists.