(NOTE: Clair O'Dell, D.C., a member of the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) International Board of Governors, is a 1936 Palmer graduate and has practiced continuously for more than 60 years. He was a charter member of the ICA and helped form the ACA. He was listed in the first edition of "Who's Who in Chiropractic International," and was the first president of the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association. He calls the following letter his "call to arms" to rally all subluxation-based doctors to join him at the WCA International Summit, March 3-4, 2001.)

To all doctors of chiropractic:

When I was first learning about the art, science and philosophy of chiropractic, I used to sit in the front of the classroom, looking up into B.J. Palmer's blue eyes, mesmerized by his wisdom and his dedication. He'd talk about chiropractic and what it can do for the world and of the importance of correcting subluxations in every man, woman and child we could reach.

B.J. shared with me his "big idea," and not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about him and the sacred trust he handed down to us when he left.

When he lay dying, he called me to him and said, "Clair, we trust you." I've never betrayed that trust because I felt, in a way, that B.J. was putting chiropractic in my hands to safeguard and nurture. Not into just mine, of course, but into the hands of all those who want to keep chiropractic a separate and unique profession.

I was lucky enough to have B.J. as my teacher and mentor, to get to know him as a chiropractor and as a man. That's why I'm sure he would wholeheartedly support and endorse the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) International Summit, which is set for March 1-4 in Washington, D.C.

If he were here now (and in many ways, he still is, you know) I think he'd say "Go for it! You're on the right track!"

I also think he'd be proud to see hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of doctors gather in Washington to show the world that subluxation-based chiropractic is a strong and vital profession. I know I'm looking forward to being there, sharing news and fellowship with as many of my colleagues as possible.

But the Summit won't be just a place to socialize and renew the bonds of friendship between us. It will be an historic moment when we will plant a seed that will bear fruit for years, perhaps generations, to come.

This can, in fact, be the single most important event to occur in decades because it is your opportunity to start the new century with a strong statement about what chiropractic really is and how it must be legislated in the future.

At the Summit, there will be numerous high-profile, influential legislative leaders from both houses of Congress, top officials from the White House and various federal agencies, and representatives from foreign governments.

They will meet WCA members and see for themselves that subluxation-based chiropractic is not a small "fringe" group of radicals to be ignored or overlooked. They will see that we represent the mainstream thinking in this profession and expect to have a voice in how our profession will be legislated both here and abroad.

When we go before the new Congress with legislation to provide subluxation-correction benefits for veterans or federal funding of subluxation research, or we work on licensing laws around the world, we want the lawmakers to know that we speak for thousands of chiropractors and their patients. We can't have them continue thinking chiropractic is nothing more than a treatment for low-back pain.

But how can we convince them of that? The only way is for us to show up in huge numbers. One hundred people won't cut it. We need 300 ... 500 ... 1,000 doctors to converge on Washington for the greatest show of force this profession has ever seen. We need to literally blow them away with our determination and solidarity.

I know it won't be easy for all of you to close your office for four days and fly off to Washington in March to be with us. But the most important things in life usually aren't easy.

I've been writing to Millie Reaver, the wife of "Doc" Herb Reaver, who passed away recently. Every time I do, I realize how hard it must have been for both of them when he got carted off to jail because he wouldn't denounce chiropractic and stop giving adjustments. He had to spend long days and nights in a dirty, cramped jail cell while she had to keep things going in his absence. It wasn't easy for either of them, but they did it because chiropractic was worth it to them.