By Joe Holcomb and Luke Gonzales
The Gathering began as a spark of inspiration and has grown and evolved with each passing year and taken on a life of its own.
The first Gathering was conceived in the winter of 2002-2003 by 5 Naturopathic students at SCNM [Brendan McCarthy, Randy Spicer, John Robinson, Cristina Romero-Bosch, and Joe Holcomb]. Joe decided to take the lead with the approval of the others, as he began he met with Dr. Jim Sensenig for guidance and development. The project began to take shape after five months of work as a program and doctors were secured for speaking roles. At this point Joe received a great deal of help from Maryk Martin and Jaspreet Mundeir. Working together, the three of them organized all the details and the group of students that sacrificed so much to bring about the first Gathering. There was a group of about 20 students that literally sacrificed 100’s of man-hours to pull it off. Every detail was taken care of and then added to.
The First Gathering occurred on May 21-23, 2004 and had as its speakers; Pamela Snider, Jared Zeff, Robert Broadwell, Leanna Standish, Bill Mitchell, and Jim Sensenig. Each speaker was asked to speak on Naturopathic philosophy and the practice of medicine. It was a once in a lifetime experience that will never have an equal.
After the success of the first gathering a multitude of people wanted to participate in assisting with the second gathering. Kim Palka was selected and did an amazing work with her team in bringing a wonderful group of doctors to speak at the Gathering 2005. The Gathering 2005 commenced on June 17th and went through the 19th, the group of Doctors who spoke included, Louise Edwards, Pamela Snider, Charlie Cropley, Letitia Watrous, Robert Broadwell, Stephen Messer, Jared Zeff, and Jim Sensenig. Robert Broadwell was also presented with the first ever Beacon Award presented from the Naturopathic Society International to Dr. Broadwell for his sacrifice in sustaining Naturopathic Medicine through a very dark period in its history.
It was decided then that the Gathering needed to go on the road to another school, after some deliberation NCNM in Portland was selected and the Gathering committee and its ideas were readily accepted and welcomed. There were many who contributed much to the Gathering 2006 as it needed much local help since most of the Gathering committee lived in Arizona. Several people stepped up to fill in the holes Bill Kepler, Kris Ritchey, William Franklin, and the Naturopathic Philosophy club at NCNM as well as several of the NCNM staff. The Gathering 2006 was a great success it had its speakers; Jared Zeff, Jim Sensenig, Tom Kruzel, Cathy Rogers, Bill Mitchell, and a panel of doctors lead by Pamela Snider that included Rich Barrett, Rita Bettenburg, Dick Thom, Steve Sandberg-Lewis, and Kim Windstar. The event was truly inspirational as the two before it.
In 2007 the Gathering moved to Bastyr University for the first time. Spearheaded by students Amy Ortiz and Deborah Epstein the Gathering came together once again. The Beacon Award was presented to Dr. Betty Radelit, the profession's first female graduate, and she inspired throughout the weekend with her confidence and fierce intelligence. Other speakers included Drs. Pamela Snider, Jared Zeff, Steven Sandberg-Lewis, Deborah Frances, and James Lemkin. On the beautiful campus of Bastyr, the recent passing of Dr. William Mitchell was powerfully remembered in spirit and ceremony. His smile could be felt by all.
In 2008 the Gathering returned to its birthing place of SCNM. The Naturopathic Society at SCNM was truly inspired in its organizational skills and attendance soared to well above 200 participants. The lineup of Drs. Andre Saine, Jim Sensenig, Charlie Cropley, Alan Goldhamer, Deborah Frances, Letitia Watrous (now Dick-Kronenberg), and Jared Zeff enthralled the participants with incredible stories and touched them with their humanity and humility. The Beacon Award was presented to Dr. Ralph Weiss, accompanied by Dr. Steven Bailey, who each had an incredible depth of insight about practice and philosophy. A strong contingent of students from NCNM became inspired to carry the torch to this year's Gathering in Portland.
This year's Gathering promises to be yet another special event with a special emphasis on fostering more small group discussion and learning opportunities. We'll see you there.