	Newsletter November 2007

Happy Holidays

Greetings from the Past-President

It is hard to believe that more than a month has gone by since we were in Salado. Your Board of Directors has been busy since our annual conference. Your new board met November 3, 2007. We were able to address key issues brought up at the conference including our plans to expand the student base, the dues increase, and we welcomed our two new Board members, Dian Peavey and Natalie Thomas.

The conference did more than break even largely due to the hard work of Jana Downum, our program chair, Helen Alexander, our newest Emeritus Member, and Mardie Barnard, our administrative assistant. We learned, laughed, and danced and had a generally wonderful time. Thank you to those who came and to those who did not, come next year. We had several past presidents in attendance. Everyone was good enough to be in a group photo for posterity (see picNatalie Thomas, our new Board member has agreed to be Program Chair for the 2008 conference to be held most likely in San Antonio. Another new member, Mary Ann Lovett, has agreed to be her helper since she lives in the Alamo City. Jana Downum and I will serve on her committee. Thank you, Natalie and Mary Ann.

JD Massingill is your new president. Besides being a biofeedback aficionado, he is also a Harley-Man. Just look at your new prez.

Some sad news

Our friend, colleague, and Board member, Dr. Jerry McGill, has died. The Society sent his family well wishes and Pam White and JD went to the viewing to represent us and let the family know how much Jerry will be missed. Jerry was good enough to ask that donations to our scholarship fund be one option for those wanting to mark his passing.

Helen Alexander's mother has also died. You may want to wish her well and let her know you are thinking of her.

Business

The membership voted at the annual conference to increase the dues. We have not raised them for many years and the Society needs the support of its membership. The dues for 2008 are $50.00. Keep your membership current by sending in your dues to Mardie Barnard's attention at BST (address below).

JD will be writing the newsletter from now on. Look for information up close and personal about your Board members. I thank you once again for allowing me to serve as President of this wonderful organization. Let us continue to grow and enjoy the work that we do. We help a lot of people and I for one am proud to belong to the Biofeedback Society of Texas.

Happy Holidays to All (can you believe they are here?)

Lora Chandler, LPC- BCIA-C
Past president

JD Massingill Lora Chandler 07-08 BST Presidents

JD Massingill, President, Lora Chandler, Past President,
and JD's Harley.

WHO IS J.D. MASSINGILL?

Father to two. Therapist to both. Professional therapist to many others. I am a contract biofeedback provider, distributor of and trainer for biofeedback equipment. Although, I admit it, my childhood dream was to be a chocolate tester in the Hershey's Chocolate Factory. Alas, I settled. While Biofeedback is no Hershey Bar, it's still one heck of a profession. A sometime Numismatist (when I can keep those little invisible hands out of the piggy bank), I like to continue on that metal theme by being a semi-professional collector of aluminum cans, scraps and pieces of foil and tin (you never know when you may need a tin and foil head protector), and, so as not to tie myself down with collecting only one of the basic elements, other bits and bobs that, have been devoured by my storage closet over the last 10 years. I'm sure I'll find them by Christmas and give them to whomever I bought them for in the first place. Something about a high school ring for my daughter keeps rolling about in my head. I think that's what she's asked about. Although, it could have been her college graduation. Not to fear, in a year she will have an MBA and there's a ring here somewhere for her. I love to go to movies. My son and I see about 50 to 75 a year together. What? It's male bonding. That makes it quality family time, not escapism. I also love to read books. I read, again, about 50 to 75 a year, although I do that without my son. He stopped letting me read him bedtime stories a few years ago. He has a problem with long phone conversations. On the other hand, my daughter, who I can't get off the phone, reads upwards to 100 herself. So she reads to me, well, maybe "read" isn't the verb but "pester" can be so harsh. I have lived in Dallas or within 90 miles of it all my life. As you can tell, I like to shake things up. Well, I do. I was in the Army and have trekked through 12 or more countries. My first wife was a flight attendant back when they were called stewardesses and we island hopped on a regular basis. Recently I fell in love again. I never thought it would happen to me this late in my life, but folks, believe me, it can happen anytime. The first time I saw her, that was it, love at first sight. My Mean Green Harley Machine. We've honeymooned through 49 states this first year and as soon as she gets that riding on water thing down, we're heading to Hawaii. Baby, I love you. It's a good life. In a nutshell I'm the old guy I used to see when I was a kid and say "man, I hope I'm like him when I grow up". Dreams do come true, even if you do have to work especially hard to make them do it.

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