When WCCMT Alumnus Jamie Johnson isn’t providing Massage Therapy treatments, he’s busy teaching in WCCMT’s clinic, volunteering as a firefighter or supporting other RMTs with the writing of informative blogs. He’s 100% dedicated to helping others, to advancing the RMT profession and to doing what he can to save lives. It’s what he loves to do and he spends all of his time and effort doing it: Community Involvement is Jamie’s life’s work. But where did this dedication begin?
Over a decade ago, Jamie worked on the production line at a Sawmill in Campbell River, BC. While he enjoyed his job, he wanted to help people more directly. When discovering that some of the First Aid Attendants would be moving on to work in a Pulp Mill, Jamie saw an opportunity to move his career in an entirely new direction. He took the OFA 3 First Aid course and a couple of months later, he was hired for the position. “I fell in love with working on people and had a good connection with the employees that would come in for help” he says, “This eventually led into me volunteering with the Fire Department”.
In 2008, that sawmill shut down, which presented Jamie with yet another opportunity. He did some aptitude testing and was pleased when Massage Therapy came up as an option. He quickly looked at RMT schools in his area and that September, was registered for the RMT program at WCCMT Victoria. While a student, Jamie began working with the Victoria Grizzlies, where he found he could combine his passion for sports with his dedication to helping others.
Upon graduation, he began his RMT practice, continued working with the Grizzlies and volunteering as a Firefighter. This may have been more than a handful to the next person, but for Jamie, there was a push to do more to support his newly found community of RMTs. He wanted to contribute to WCCMT and to new students, so he reached out to the College and was warmly welcomed back as a First Aid Instructor and Clinic Supervisor.
When you fast forward a few years to 2015, you can see Jamie committed to all his roles. Most recently, he’s launched a new website, www.themtdc.com or ‘The Massage Therapist Development Centre’, which is intended to bring the RMT community together to support one another in the sharing of knowledge, in enhancing the perception of the industry and in improving the individual and collective success of Massage Therapists.
When asked why it is important for him to make Community Involvement his life’s work, Jamie answered, “a friend once said to me ‘whatever you put into your community will come back to you’, and I totally agree. Whether it’s working in sports, responding to calls, teaching students or working on the blog, they all have their own personal rewards. Just knowing that I am making a difference and helping make an improvement in some way puts a positive spin on life”.
Thank you Jamie for your commitment to WCCMT and to the RMT community, we are proud to have you as part of our faculty! You can learn more about the website Jamie has recently launched by visiting www.themtdc.com.
