Thanks to all of our members who came out on Saturday, July 14, 2012, to help with the Habitat for Humanity Build. If you missed it, you missed DEMO DAY. We beat the crap out of walls and ceilings (hammers, crowbars, sledgehammers) and gutted the house to the frame inside. So exhilarating!  Thanks to Diana Bonilla and son, Ed Shuman and son, Karen Higgins and her significant other, new member Matt Vega and his wife Ms. October J, Phil Collard, my hubby and cousin (who was visiting on summer vacation and I put her to work, lol) and last but certainly not least our volunteer coordinator herself, Ms. Antoinette Braga.  Thanks to Antoinette for coordinating another successful charity volunteer event. Thanks to First Choice Reporting for providing us a delicious lunch and drinks!   

 

 

After traveling to the 37th NALA Annual Convention, I had time to reflect on what this association means. Becoming a member of CFPA has truly been one of the best things I have done in my career.  Knowing that there are others out there who want to be the very best, who have become the very best, and who appreciate the hard work it takes to get there has been an rewarding experience. I have met mentors, and people to whom I can truly call friends. The networking opportunities have been tremendous and enhanced even more with an affiliation with NALA and their nationwide network of paralegals. Ask yourself, are you getting all you can out of this association?  CFPA has some great assets in its members. Have you ever wanted to learn a new area of law? Attending membership meetings, mixers, becoming involved on a committee, and volunteering for CFPA charity events are all great places to make connections and start making some contacts.

 

CFPA would like to say congratulations to our very own Vice President/President Elect, Leslie Irick, CP, FRP; as she was honored at the 37th Annual NALA Convention with the 2012 Affiliated Associations Affiliate Award. Leslie has served CFPA in numerous capacities over the years and we are very proud of her and her many accomplishments in her educational and professional endeavors. Congratulations to our own Lisa Vander Weide, ACP on being voted the NALA Affiliated Associations Director.

 

Leslie Irick, CP, FRP

 

We look forward to seeing you at the Half Year Membership Drive on August 2, 2012 at Terrace 390 beginning at 5:30 p.m. If you have not done so, please RSVP to our Public Relations Chair at Publicrelations@cfpainc.org.  Please bring a friend with you to share the benefits of our organization. This is a great time to join or renew at half price.

 

As we end the third quarter of the year, we are gearing up for our annual Support the Troops project. We will be providing drop off locations and collecting items through September 30, 2012. If you have a family member who is currently serving in Afghanistan please email their names and contact information to me at  President@cfpainc.org. We look forward to showing our service men and women how proud we are of their service and thankful for all they do to protect us.

 

We appreciate MJC Reporting, Inc.'s sponsorship of our newsletter this month and as a supportive Patron Member of CFPA. If you wish to know more about MJC Reporting, please click on the link to their web site.

Have a great month! Let us hear from you!

   

Peonca Grier, CP, FRP
Certified Paralegal/Florida Registered Paralegal
CFPA President - 2012
President@cfpainc.org

We will be providing drop off locations and collecting items through September 30, 2012. If you have a family member who is currently serving in Afghanistan please email their names and contact information to me at President@cfpainc.org.

 

COME JOIN US FOR A
NETWORKING HAPPY HOUR DOWNTOWN *
AT


(below Cobb Plaza Cinema Café)


President@cfpainc.org
*CFPA will be hosting a Happy Hour in lieu of the
Quarterly Downtown Luncheon

President Peonca Grier, Vice-President/President-Elect Leslie Irick, Affiliated Associations Director Melisa VanderWeide and I attended the NALA 37th Annual Meeting and Educational Institutes in Omaha, Nebraska from July 24 to 28, 2012. The convention was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.

 

We were able to get to Omaha early enough to attend the Early Bird reception on Tuesday (even after a flight delay of a couple of hours). The local affiliations that hosted the reception hired an artist who did caricatures of famous Nebraskans and we could all enter to guess the person. I won a drawing of Fred Astaire along with some yummy treats.

 

Wednesday started with a Keynote Address by attorney turned executive coach, speaker and writer Susan Koenig of Omaha who motivated us to make the most of our conference experience. After the Welcome & Opening Remarks we headed to the first session of the education for the "All Institute" Convention. Institutes that were presented were: Bankruptcy, e-Discovery, Essential Skills, Family Law, Personal Injury and Real Estate. I attended the e-Discovery Institute and it was the best CLE I have attended in my 18 years as a paralegal. Susan Koenig spoke again at the All Convention Luncheon on Wednesday. At lunch, Susan shared critical tools every professional needs to move to the next level in their careers. The lunch featured Omaha steaks which were a real treat for the attendees. Wednesday afternoon was the Membership Forum. The candidates for office each made a formal presentation and answered questions from the floor. NALA announced that they are working on obtaining certification of the CP examination. We also got a demonstration about the Google and Apple Apps for Facts & Findings. That night was the Opening Night Reception. The entertainment was rope experts.

 

Thursday morning was educational sessions followed by the Affiliated Associations Annual Meeting that afternoon. At the request of NALA Affiliated Associations Director, Debbie Overstreet, I led a round table discussion, along with my friend Jane McKinnon from the Alabama Association of Paralegals, Inc., on "The Value of the LEAP Program." There were also simultaneous roundtables on topics such as: Tips for New Affiliate Liaisons, Robert's Rules - The Basics, Engaging Your Membership and Building Alliances Through Community Service Projects, Video Streaming, Promoting Your Organization Through Social Media and Working with Local and State Bar Associations. The North Carolina Paralegal Association had a presentation about their mentoring program. CFPA member Melissa A. (Lisa) Vander Weide, ACP was installed as Affiliated Associations Director. Claire E. Smith of Virginia was installed as Affiliated Associations Secretary. Thursday was also the NALA Awards celebration for the 2012 Affiliated Associations Affiliate Awards winners. CFPA nominated Leslie Irick, CP, FRP for her enthusiastic participation in its programs. Remember to congratulate Leslie and Lisa on their achievements the next time you see them. Thursday night we had a private reception at the Lied Jungle in the world renowned Henry Doorly Zoo. The Lied Jungle is about the size of an eight-story building filled with animals and habitats from Asia, Africa and South America.

 

Friday featured the Affiliated Associations Exhibits at 8:00 a.m. We had a chance to talk with other affiliated associations from all over the country. It is a lot of fun to check out all the other associations and see the creative ways they represent their associations. We gave away some CFPA goody bags. We had a seashell theme this year that got a lot of favorable comments. Then it was on to more education for the rest of the morning. Friday afternoon was the 37th Annual Meeting of the NALA membership. Immediately following the meeting, there was a Reception and Installation of the Board of Directors.

 

The 2012-2012 Board of Directors are: President Ann L. Atkinson, ACP; First Vice President Kelly A. LaGrave, ACP; Second Vice President Cassandra Oliver, ACP; Secretary Jill I. Francisco, ACP; and Treasurer Melissa J. Hamilton, ACP. In the contested races Melissa M. Klimpel was elected as Region VI director and Mary L. Theroux was elected as Region IX director. The proposed amendment passed almost unanimously.

 

Attendees at the convention donated $2,500.00 to "At Ease." CFPA generously donated $100.00 to this cause. "At Ease" provides trauma treatment and therapeutic support for active military, veterans and their loved ones.

 

NALA had a special recognition at the convention for the faculty of the Certified Paralegal Exam Short Course. The short course is in transition. I will keep you posted when I know more.

 

On Saturday morning attendees had their choice of Member Exchange Presentations. I attended "Microsoft Office Tricks for Legal Professionals: Beyond the Basics". The other option was "Technoethics: Ethical Considerations in the Age of Technology. We got to attend the first half of the Closing Presentation "Your Professional Power Playbook" by Vicki J. Kunz and Vicki Voisin before we had to leave to catch the plane home. It was a fun presentation about goal setting and accomplishment.

 

All in all, it was a great time in Omaha even though we once again had a couple of days over 100 degrees. We got to check out some local Omaha attractions like the zoo, the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge that goes over the Missouri River from Nebraska to Iowa, and the Old Market Arts & Entertainment District.

 

We are really looking forward to next year's convention which will be held from July 10-13, 2013 in Portland, Oregon. Start making plans to attend. Just ask me, Leslie, Peonca or Lisa - once you go to a convention you become addicted.

 

Peonca Grier, CP, FRP and Leslie Irick, CP, FRP

 

   

 

Nancy Jordahl, CP, FRP

 

You can find CFPA on these social networking sites:

 

  

Facebook

 

 

Linked In

 

 

Twitter  

THE BYLAWS COMMITTEE is still working on wrapping up the final proposed revisions to CFPA's Bylaws and hope to have them out to the Membership at the beginning of July for review prior to voting.

For all the latest updates please go to 

http://cfpainc.org/cfpabylaws.html 

More details on voting on the proposed amendments to come ... 

If you would like to be a "Sponsor of the Month" or if you have any legal articles or topics of interest that you would like to see covered in the next issue of the Carpe Diem please feel free to share them with me.

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