As the Massage World Record project will take many, many (,many!) dedicated professionals to complete from even the smallest task to the largest challenges, we’ll have them all posted here – and we’ll be posting more as each of them give us permission to post their contact information. You might want to ask one of ‘em a question or two about the MWR project. We’ll let you know when there’s anyone that’s sacrificed their sanity to be listed here.
Gayla Coughlin, Event Coordinator
Gayla Coughlin, LMT
Gayla’s passion is bolstered by 20 years experience in customer service-oriented fields, including: six years collaboration in Company management and instruction of Service Training classes; 9 years of professional Massage Therapist practice: including, marketing and managing a successful private practice (Massage Solutions); and, broadening her clients’ fitness horizons by becoming a Bodyflow™ Fitness Instructor. She continuously seeks ways to expand awareness in the value of massage therapy and fitness as a lifestyle choice rather than a luxury.
“Becoming a Licensed Massage Therapist and a Bodyflow™ Fitness Instructor has taught me to appreciate the value of massage therapy as an integral part of healthy lifestyle choices. By organizing volunteer services for the Las Vegas Philharmonic, managing a private massage practice, and working to actualize the Massage World Record project, I hope to bring this same value to others.” – Gayla Coughlin
David J Otto, Event Coordinator
David J Otto, LMT NCTMB
David joins the MWR Project as an 9-year practitioner of massage therapy in both private practice (Hands In Motion) and Five-Star employment environments. Learning and integrating education and management techniques for internal Company education and earning his Bachelor’s degree in English, Secondary Education, enhances his ability to communicate to clients as a Massage Therapist, manually and verbally. His passion for helping others comprehend and understand the higher goals of touch therapy are apparent in his past achievements and current projects, including: having been an ACCET-approved Instructor with the Nevada School of Massage Therapy (2 years), Co-Organizing a local professional networking group, the Las Vegas Massage Therapy Meetup group, and being an active volunteer with the American Massage Therapy Association, Nevada Chapter.
“Fueling my ever-evolving consciousness of the massage therapy profession and my dedication to the Massage World Record project are formations and realizations of relationships between practitioners, clients, and the Public that are all interested in utilizing massage therapy to improve quality of life – seeing and being a part of the coalescence of these relationships reflects the journey to and perpetuation of the goal. It is the journey in which I am most interested.” – David J Otto
John Hawkins, Web Marketing Development
John Hawkins
John has been working in the web development field for more than a decade. He started his first blog back in 2003 and moved to WordPress a short time later and hasn’t looked back. John is has been active in all aspects of the WordPress Universe. Over the years John has created custom themes and plugins for clients, released plugins in the WordPress repository, hosted WordCamp: Las Vegas and has been a presenter at WordCamp Events all over the United States.
“I’m happy to help with the project because I am a “massage [fiend]“, trading web development services for massage…” – John Hawkins
When John isn’t helping a massage cause, you can find John blogging at JohnHawkinsUnrated.com, tweeting on Twitter as @VegasGeek, and developing custom WordPress solutions for clients at 9seeds.com
Laura Stendel, Therapist Coordinator
Laura Stendel, BA LMT
Laura complements the project by bringing her 3+ years of massage therapist managing skills and 5+ years of massage therapy passion to the table. Laura is a Licensed Massage Therapist and the Regional Director of Operations for Casino’ssage Inc. She also co-Organizes the Las Vegas Massage Therapy Meetup® group since May of 2008, is an Advisory Board Member for the High Tech Institute’s Massage Therapy Program, and is a Professional Member of the American Massage Therapy Association. She is voted the National Association of Professional Women’s (NAPW) VIP Woman of the Year in 2009 and 2010, and is an active member of the Las Vegas Spa Association (LVSA) for 3 years.
Laura attended California State University – San Marcos, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Laura’s dedication to leading and educating massage therapist colleagues is evident in her participation in and promotion of all the groups in which she takes part and actively manages – she lends a sense of integrity and professionalism to every massage therapy venture of which she is a part, and is very enthusiastic about the Massage World Record project.
“I want to work with the Massage World Record project because it’s new and exciting; being an organizer and a therapist, it gives me an incredible opportunity to give my talents.” – Laura Stendel
Kim Moffatt, LMT, Therapist Coordinator
Kim Moffatt, LMT NCTMB
Kim brings on board her 5 years of experience in working with nonprofit organizations in San Diego, CA. She has been a Licensed Massage Therapist for the past 7 years. She’s contributed to the massage education of others in her position as a Classroom Manager and Teacher Assistant at her alma mater, the Nevada School of Massage Therapy. Kim spent over a year in the South Pacific, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, where she worked as a civilian on an Army Military Base; she had the honor being able to touch many enlisted men and women as well as Marshallese natives and government employees. Her experience as a Massage Director at a Las Vegas day spa has assisted her in successfully operating her private practice. Her passion lies in teaching each client more about themselves by incorporating Cranio-Sacral Therapy, SomatoEmotional Release (SER), or Lymphatic Drainage in her massage and bodywork. And for infants and toddlers, she’s seen first-hand the incredible results using Cranio-Sacral for her pediatric clients.
Kim welcomes the opportunity working on the MWR project. “The awareness this project will bring to the public eye is huge. To educate the importance on how massages can benefit their bodies and having it be a part of their healthy lifestyle.” – Kim Moffatt
Felicia Brown, LMBT, Marketing Consultant
Felicia Brown, LMBT
Felicia Brown, is the owner of Spalutions! and provides continuing education, business consulting and marketing coaching for massage and spa professionals. She is a sought-after public speaker with appearances at many national and international spa and massage conferences. Felicia is also a licensed massage therapist, Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and NCBTMB Approved Provider.
Felicia has been featured in numerous trade publications including DAYSPA, Spa Magazine, Skin, Inc., Massage Therapy Journal, Massage Magazine, Massage & Bodywork, Spa Management Journal, Spa Business and Dermascope. She is the Membership Chairman of the Day Spa Association and provides free business advice on her blog (http://blog.spalutions.com). She has also won numerous awards including 2009 Spa Person of the Year (Day Spa Association) and 2005 Small Business Person of the Year (Greensboro Chamber of Commerce). She also received National Volunteer Committee of the Year (American Massage Therapy Association.)
Felicia is passionate about inspiring others in and out of the spa industry. Her personal philosophy of engaging in “cooperative competition” and sharing her knowledge and experience with others has been a cornerstone of her career since becoming a massage therapist in 1994. Felicia continues to apply this way of thinking in her coaching, consulting and teaching as well as her work with the Massage World Record project. “I love the potential this event has to make an impact on massage therapy and causes like Susan G Komen Foundation. I also love the enthusiasm of the founders!” -Felicia Brown
