The Oregon Massage Technicians Association was formed in early 1985 when the Oregon Legislature was preparing a Sunset Review of the Oregon Board of Massage Technicians (OBMT).

A group of LMTs formed a professional corporation and communicated with massage technicians throughout the State of Oregon. On March 14, 1985, Susan Kerr Shawn, Doug Montgomery, Jo White and Ray Siderius signed the Articles of Incorporation, and the Oregon Massage Technicians Association was born. This early effort helped retain the Massage Board and our licensing process, as well as raising our professional standards.

Since that early effort, we have grown into a well-defined, articulate professional organization.

A variety of member services have been developed, including: Touchstone (our professional journal), a membership directory and this website.

We have sponsored several major information and educational conferences and a number of professional workshops.

A less tangible but no less important outcome of our organization is stimulating and supporting our visionary process. Questions are raised about the future of massage, our place in the workforce, our professional standards and our ideals. Through discussion, controversy and action, a greater recognition of our interdependence as a community is born.

When the OBMT changed our licensing from technicians to therapists, we changed our name to the Oregon Massage Therapists Association.