ILOTA Communique 2019 Third Quarter | Page 6

Growing ILOTA with Jacob Garrison, OTR/L, Continued from Page 5 • Staying up-to-date on current state-level legislative updates affecting the practice of OT; • Accessing quality professional development through CE courses offered; • Participating in mentorship and leadership opportunities; • Attending annual conferences, student-only programs and events; and, • Accessing research and other happenings in IL OT through the member’s only newsletter, “The Communiqué.” What’s new with ILOTA? ILOTA is always seeking new opportunities to expand and ways to engage or re-engage its members. ILOTA has plans to: collaborate with various state organizations and even organizations across state lines, develop and implement an online learning database to organize and house CE credits, as well as launch a new mentorship program. Tips for current ILOTA members to encourage other IL OT practitioners to join ILOTA: There are many ways to draw in other IL OT practitioners. Several things that current members can do are to: bring a non-member to various ILOTA programs, activities, or conferences, be a co-presenter with a non-member at a conference or event, as well as, if you attended a conference, spread the word to those at your workplace about what valuable information you learned. The main takeaway is to show that being a member of ILOTA is worthwhile for its benefits, as well as for its large role in advocating for our profession in IL. ‘Approach membership conversations with an open mind and a kind heart; this would really benefit you as an OT’ Legislative Updates Are you looking for Legislative News for Illinois OT Practitioners? Current information can be found on ILOTA.org written by Maureen Mulhall, ILOTA Lobbyist. On the top banner of the website, click on Resources, then Government Affairs, then Legislative Update. Maureen’s information is helpful to various practitioners around the state promoting understanding of current proposed laws and how the changes may affect different practice settings. Please take a moment to review the Legislative Updates. Page