August 2006

Cuneo, Kasabucki head up
Foundation for Chiropractic Progress

The advertisements that appeared in U.S. News & World Report and Sports Illustrated in July and those that are scheduled to appear in Newsweek and USA Today in August are only the start of getting a positive message about chiropractic out to the public, according to Garrett Cuneo, the new chief executive office (CEO) of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP).

“My vision is that the consumer public, and equally important, the media have a more positive view of the chiropractic profession,” Cuneo told Chiropractic Economics. To that end, Cuneo said that the F4CP board has pledged that every dollar raised from now on will go directly to the public relations efforts of the Foundation. “The overhead expenses are already covered by the donation by Foot Levelers.”

Cuneo, joined by Kristin Kasabucki, the new part-time chief development officer, are directing the next phase of the Foundation’s work in managing the Campaign for Chiropractic.

Cuneo is well known to the chiropractic community. Most recently he served 10 years as the executive vice president of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). Prior to that, he spent a number of years overseeing public relations programs as executive director of the California Chiropractic Association. “I tried retirement [from ACA], but I still have strong feelings about the profession. I am pleased to be part of it again in this very important effort,” he said.

Kasabucki serves in a part-time position for the Foundation as she continues in her role of executive director of the Connecticut Chiropractic Association. Her focus will be fundraising.

She said, “Heading up the development function of the Foundation is a unique opportunity to share my skills and talents in fund raising. But in addition to that, because this is a part-time function for me, I have the opportunity to get feedback from local doctors. And I can tell you: They are excited to see the positive press! They are asking, ‘What’s next?’”

The new leaders of the F4CP are focused on implementing the mission of the board of directors: to increase the public’s awareness of chiropractic.

According to Cuneo, “A comprehensive plan has been adopted to implement this goal. You may have seen the results of a two-month advertising campaign begun in July. In a two-month period, over 12 million subscribers will see the results of chiropractic care and have the opportunity to find a doctor of chiropractic through the Web page we have established.”

Cuneo said that the advertising campaign will run through August 2007, with an ad appearing monthly in a prominent magazine with national circulation. “Every month a minimum of 2 million consumers will see the benefits of [chiropractic] care,” he said.

The Foundation also will retain a PR expert to increase positive media exposure for the profession.

Cuneo acknowledged that past efforts for a national PR campaign have not been successful, but the Foundation is organized to succeed. He said, “This Foundation Board includes a good broad section of the profession. Equally important, the campaign has the early and sustained support of not only two of the major publications in the profession, but also a number of successful vendors who are putting their resources and time in trying to make this successful.”

That “cross section” includes Foundation President Kent Greenawalt (Foot Levelers, Inc.) and board members Dwayne Bennett (Foot Levelers, Inc.); Gerard Clum, DC (Life West College of Chiropractic); Michael Flynn, DC (private practitioner); Bob Hoffman, DC (The Masters Circle); Mark Sanna, DC (Breakthrough Coaching); Joseph Doyle (Chiropractic Economics); and Don Petersen (Dynamic Chiropractic). Louis Sportelli, DC, president of NCMIC, is a board advisor.

Key contributors include: NCMIC, Foot Levelers, Standard Process, Chiropractic Economics, Dynamic Chiropractic, Breakthrough Coaching, Anabolic Laboratories, ChiroCode Institute, DC Products Review, and GMP Fitness.

Associations that have pledged financial support include Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association, Connecticut Chiropractic Association, Colorado Chiropractic Association, Association of New Jersey Chiropractors, North Carolina Chiropractic Association, Virginia Chiropractic Association, Georgia Chiropractic Association, American Chiropractic Association, Ohio Chiropractic Association, New York Chiropractic Association, Oklahoma Chiropractic Association, and the North Dakota Chiropractic Association.

Cuneo and Kasabucki urge individual chiropractors to support the campaign, saying, “Go to the Foundation Web site at www.foundation4cp.com for an update on the ads in your community and sign up to become a contributor of $100 per month.”

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