Kent Greenawalt, whose dad was the late, and very special, Dr. Monte Greenawalt, decided four or five years ago that the profession needed a vehicle to ensure that the public knew the benefits of chiropractic care. He wanted to do it with a marketing campaign, across the country, with one mission. That mission is positive press for the chiropractic profession. I always hearken back to the Wilk anti-trust lawsuit, 15 years in the court system. Finally in 1987, the judge found the AMA and 1900 local and regional medical societies guilty of an illegal boycott against chiropractic. In her decision, the judge remarked, among other things, that the boycott was organized, it was long-term, and it was successful in ruining the reputation of a competitor. It was revealed in the two trials that the strategy of the AMA was to “contain and eliminate” the profession. They were successful in casting a long, dark shadow over the profession by using vast resources to spread misinformation, innuendo and half-truths. 

“Contain and eliminate” were their actual words, from internal AMA documents.

That’s right, “contain and eliminate.” And another of their strategies was to encourage disunity within the profession, so that they could “watch them wither and die on the vine.” They did a number on the profession in terms of reputation. The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress is getting that reputation back, by having high-profile spokespersons like Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, Brigadier General Becky Halstead, and others, speaking out about the many benefits and significant value of chiropractic care. They have run national, well thought out ads in magazines, newspapers and publications all across our country, provided thousands of news services ongoing advertorials on conditions that chiropractors treat very successfully, which include PSAs (public service announcements) on radio and television. What the Foundation is accomplishing and has accomplished over the last four years, has never been done before in our profession. It was past due and will make a big difference in public perception. 

How is the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress funded? Do you seek contributions from practicing chiropractors and other friends of the profession?

The profession is very fortunate that Kent Greenawalt and his company Footlevelers is picking up all the operational cost for the foundation. Kent has his father’s generous passion for the profession. Every dollar raised from doctors, students, colleges, associations and vendors goes directly into the campaign of positive press. I was on the phone earlier today with the Foundation’s COO, Gary Cuneo. We were talking about students on many campuses who are rising in numbers to support the Foundation. Even with small contributions of five or ten dollars a month. They understand that the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress is setting the stage for their future success. What we were discussing was that for too many years, almost throughout our history as a profession—perhaps because by nature chiropractors are nonconformist—there are not enough chiropractors who are willing to give back to the profession, to give to back to our colleges, our state and national associations. Sadly, the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research, after 60 years, folded last year because of general apathy. Fortunately, there will be other organizations that will pick up that mantle for ongoing research, which will be the cornerstone of professional growth. The 80-20 rule applies, with 20% of the profession always supporting and participating and 80% silent and hiding behind one excuse after another. This has to change.

With the positive press campaign for the profession, we’re trying to inspire our colleagues, doctors and students of chiropractic, to become monthly contributors, so that we can plan our budget each month, and how much we can spend on this national campaign. Last year, the Foundation was responsible for over 500 million positive impressions of the profession, that were tracked through our PR agency, a PR agency that does their work for us, pro-bono. That’s Joseph and Laura Carabello, because they love this profession, they are both long-time patients, they understand the battle that we have in public relations, in changing the public mindset and in confronting adversaries who still want to see the profession contained and, if not eliminated, then severely restricted. 

It’s an uphill battle, but it’s a battle that has to be fought and won! Because of Kent Greenawalt and the Foundation Board, generous vendors and monthly contributors, we are fighting that battle and winning. As of today, we’re up to over 1400 monthly contributors. And while I’m not that excited about this number because it only represents about two percent of the profession, with those 1400 members, we were able to put out 500 million positive chiropractic impressions last year. We have great college support, great state association support, and great vendor financial support.  The missing step right now is our colleagues out there. We’ve got to increase our numbers, which increases the resources available, and it should not have to be a hard sell. More doctors of chiropractic and students have to understand that there are huge opportunities and unlimited potential with a nation-wide positive press campaign.