ABMP—A Home for All

It’s been 40 years since Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) first opened its doors, with the goal of offering a more responsive, inclusive association experience for US massage therapists and bodyworkers. That welcoming of all modalities, as well as keen attention to member service, remain pillars of ABMP’s business model, helping to grow its place as a leader in the profession. Here’s a snapshot of that journey.

The Very Beginning

It was a call for inclusion and more responsive service that prompted ABMP founder Sherri Williamson to start the little association that could in 1986. 

When others ignored practitioners whose work fell outside of traditional massage modalities, ABMP welcomed them in. From energy and reiki workers to structural integrationists and Feldenkrais practitioners, ABMP offered support to everyone under the massage and bodywork umbrella. ABMP’s name in and of itself was a foundational component of that inclusivity—making sure bodywork was front and center alongside massage.

But quality service was also what Williamson was seeking for the profession. As a former member and state chapter leader of another association, she felt that organization had stopped listening to the voices of those they represented. So, with the support and advice of other defectors from that group, Williamson formed her new venture with the goal to always hear the member and be responsive to their needs.

In a time when personal service was the exception, ABMP chose that mantle to live by. Williamson’s small team took those two tenets of service and inclusion and helped grow the association to over 15,000 members by the time she decided to retire and sell the business in 1996. 

A New Era 

After 22 years successfully leading two public companies, Children’s World and VICORP Restaurants, Bob Benson was looking for a new business opportunity. In this next era, he wanted to return to service with purpose. “I sought to purchase a private company where I could help build a culture while providing quality service,” he says.

“I wanted to be in an organization that had integrity and I wanted financial independence. I was looking for a private organization, and I wanted to be proud of what they were offering to the public.”

It was serendipitous that in 1996 an offer came across Benson’s desk for a business venture in his small town of Evergreen, Colorado—also home to ABMP’s headquarters. Benson saw that all his required boxes were checked with this opportunity, and he was immediately impressed when he met Williamson. “Sherri had the skill set and courage to start something from scratch,” Benson says. “She had persevered, despite unfriendliness from her competitor who had already been around for 44 years. She was successful, and she had read the tea leaves correctly about frustration in the profession at the time.” 

ABMP’s name in and of itself was a foundational component of inclusivity—making sure bodywork was front and center alongside massage.

ABMP’s philosophy of inclusion and service only deepened when Benson took over, as he set out to build the value-woven company of which he dreamed. One of the first steps was to make sure he had a good team to support the mission, so he invited a handful of ABMP’s employees to invest in the company alongside him. Within two weeks of closing on the business, Benson had a plan in place and stock options were immediately offered to the nine employees who worked with the company at the time.

“It takes everyone to build success in the organization,” Benson says, and employee ownership both rewards that and reminds us of that. Continuing still today, new ABMP employees are offered the opportunity to purchase shares in the company. Ownership is part of what’s fed the dedication of employees at ABMP (a multiyear top workplace winner), with several key colleagues building tenures that exceed 25 years.

ABMP’s Role Today

Les Sweeney has been part of the ABMP team since 1994 when he was hired by Williamson for his first role as manager trainee—“I thought I might be using the French fry machine,” he quips. He was part of the ownership team invited onboard when Benson purchased ABMP 30 years ago, and Sweeney has been an integral component to ABMP’s success. Today, while Benson holds the title of chairman, Sweeney serves as president and CEO of ABMP and Professional Assist Corporation (PAC), ABMP’s parent company. (PAC is also home to sister allied associations Associated Skin Care Professionals, Associated Hair Professionals, and Associated Nail Professionals.)

Sweeney says he is grateful for the leadership Benson brought to ABMP all those years ago. “One of the great privileges of my life has been the opportunity to learn and develop as a manager and a leader from Bob; it has truly been life-changing. His impact on the lives of our PAC teammates, the massage profession, and the many charitable endeavors he has contributed to cannot be overstated.”

Benson and Sweeney took a moment to reflect on the contributions ABMP has made to the profession since those early years. 

“We have been engaged in the effort for thoughtful, appropriate regulation of the field since I started here,” Sweeney says. “We recognized that the regulatory system wasn’t working for therapists in the early 2000s and initiated the effort to create the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB). We helped initiate regular conversations among the seven national organizations serving the field (informally called ‘the Coalition’) and initiated and steered the effort that resulted in the Entry-Level Analysis Project (ELAP). We promoted the Respect Massage effort and made it our own as part of our public education effort. And we have continually raised the bar for what a professional association should provide for its members . . . and dragged our competition along in the process. The result has been a better level of service for all professionals in the field.”

Finding ways to bolster the educational underpinnings of the massage profession has also been part of ABMP’s path over the years. “We’ve had a huge commitment to strengthening education in the field,” Benson says. “Some of that has been at the massage school level, and some in postgrad continuing education. We felt that was critically important for the individual professional who wanted to keep learning and developing skills.” Benson says that commitment is reflected in the quality of Massage & Bodywork magazine as it’s evolved over the years, the number of courses available for deeper learning in the ABMP CE Center (which offers over 750 CE hours), in the quality of the learning that goes on through ABMP Summits, ABMP School Forums, and other events, and on a broader scale, where ABMP has made its mark at the profession-wide level. “ABMP has become a leading organization in the profession in terms of education and the tools we’ve developed for schools and individuals,” Benson says.

Quality Service and Value—Today and Tomorrow

There are two things that set ABMP apart from other organizations in this profession, Sweeney says. “Service and value. We have been committed to outstanding service to the professional since day one and we have always focused on providing outstanding value. We don’t spend time tooting our own horn. Our members have chosen this field not to make a quick buck, but because they want to help others—many because massage and bodywork were life-changing for them. We honor and support that commitment, and it’s our pledge to match that passion and commitment our members provide on a daily basis. We want our members to expect more of us, just like we do of ourselves. That’s why we say, ‘ABMP Works for You.’ ”

Service to the individual practitioner has become a key fulcrum between ABMP and its largest, longest competitor, Benson says. “Both organizations have worked on both sides of the equation, and while they were focused on building professional recognition for massage therapy, our focus has been more on supporting the individual practitioner, providing schools with curriculum, providing government relations support, providing the tools for successful practice-building, and helping the solo practitioner realize their dreams.”

Once considered an underdog in the profession, Benson says ABMP is “respected, consequential, and consistently focused on quality support and good value for individual massage professionals.” And he reminds us that even with the hugely broader value being given to members today than when he purchased the company 30 years ago, the yearly cost for Professional membership remains the same as then: $199.

Today, ABMP, as part of the Professional Assist Corporation banner of allied health and beauty professions, remains employee-owned, customer-service driven, and nimble to make the best decisions for their membership. “Our emphasis has always been to provide value to the individual massage therapist and help them be ever more successful in building their practice and growing their careers,” Benson says.

We celebrate 40 years working for you!