2018 MOTA Conference Highlights

The 2018 Annual MOTA Conference was held on October 27th and 28th at the University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center in St. Paul. There were over 130 attendees that participated in breakout sessions and networking. We also had 10 exhibitor/sponsors that supported occupational therapy practice at conference. Our social hour was well attended and featured musicians that are also occupational therapists. Planning is underway for our 2019 conference which will be held on October 26th, 2019 in St. Paul.

Our keynote speaker was John Kriesel, who experienced occupational therapy first hand after his tour in Iraq in 2006.

In 2006 Kriesel was nearly blown to shreds by a 200 pound roadside bomb in the parched sands of Iraq.
He died three times and was shocked back to life. Somehow he survived through four hospitals, 35 surgeries and months of recovery. He lost both legs and suffered numerous other major injuries, but it was the loss of two close friends that hurt the most. The guy who wasn’t supposed to survive and was told he probably would be in a wheelchair the rest of his life walked out of Walter Reed Army Medical Center after nine months. Working with author Jim Kosmo, Kriesel reveals his motivational story in “STILL STANDING: The Story of SSG John Kriesel,” winner of eight national book awards.

In addition to serving veterans in the Twin Cities and being a frequent voice on KFAN’s Power Trip Morning Show, he continues to share his upbeat, motivational message with businesses and  organizations throughout the United States.

Save the date - October 26th, 2019! Details coming soon!