Much of the leadership of the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) turned over when five contenders won this year's five contested elections. The ICA now has a new president; vice president; secretary/treasurer; western regional director; and northeastern regional director. The complete election results are as follows:
President: C.J. Mertz, DC, defeated D.D. Humber, DC
Vice President: Fred Barge, DC, defeated Mike McLean, DC
Secretary/Treasurer: Chris Quigley, DC, defeated Tim Meng, DC
Northeastern Director: Elliot Foster, DC, defeated Tom Sidoti, DC
Central Director: Brian Flannery, DC, ran unopposed
Southern Director: Robert Braile, DC, ran unopposed
Western Director: John Maltby, DC, defeated Ron Oberstein, DC
International Director: Claudia Sandino, DC, ran unopposed
While there are usually a significant number of "join-to-vote" members who join the ICA for three months just to vote in the election, it didn't appear to happen much this year. Among the possible reasons may be the falling membership: reportedly, only about 1,800 ICA members voted.
The races were reportedly extremely close in many cases. ICA leaders have stated unofficially that some of the elections were decided by 100 votes or less. In viewing the outcomes of these races, one can't help but note that many of those defeated are known for their support of Dr. Sid Williams.
Newly elected President Mertz had much to say about the future of the ICA:
"I'm honored and privileged to have been elected. One of the great things about the ICA is that it is truly a democratic organization. I am grateful to the individuals that have also been elected with me. I'm also excited about the ICA leaders I'll be working with. We have an awesome team that is capable of doing great things. I also have tremendous support from college presidents and seminar leaders. We have a unique opportunity to get everyone going in a common direction. This is a real blessing, a God send. This is unprecedented for the ICA.
"I feel very strongly about putting a few initiatives in place and getting them accomplished:
"When BJ Palmer began the ICA, his goal was to make subluxation a household word. Our goal has to be to talk to the public about chiropractic. I would like to launch the first real public-relations campaign for chiropractic. We will be looking to align ourselves with a top public-relations firm that can make this happen.
"United action can happen. I can only hope that this can happen during my administration. I'd like the opportunity to meet with people and start from a new zero. We can then begin building relationships based on honesty and trust that will move us toward sharing common goals.
"I spoke with nearly 400 people who either were current ICA members or had been. Part of my mission is to put tremendous value and pride back into being an ICA member. I think this is something our team can accomplish.
"If we can do this, then chiropractic wins. This is bigger than the ICA."
Newly elected Vice President Fred Barge added his "thots":
"ICA would like to develop unified action. ACA stays with the intention to move directly towards merger. If this profession wants to finally achieve standards of care, then the profession will have to come together. We need to come together on public relations, insurance relations, legislation and standards of care (coming last). We cannot expect to produce standards of care without standards in education.
"If we followed the ACC paradigm, we will come a long way in solving our professional problems. In his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas S. Kuhn stated: 'The emergence of a paradigm affects the structure of the group that practices the field. When in the development of a natural science, an individual or group first produces a synthesis able to attract most of the next generation's practitioners the older schools gradually disappear. When the paradigm is successful, the profession will have solved problems that its members could scarcely have imagined and would not have undertaken without the commitment to the paradigm.'
"This is exactly what this profession should be seeking. The ACC's paradigm is a really good start. If we can come together, then we can secure our future."
The new ICA leadership represents significant change for the organization. What remains to be seen is just how much "reform" will actually take place in the ICA, and how it will affect the organization's future.
