ALA WEBINARS...
Several interesting ALA Webinars are on the Calendar. Don't overlook the benefit of a quick 2 hour dose of education in some critical areas. See the Calendar for more details.
The winner of our annual scholarship is Blake Hament. He is the son of Andy Hament, Partner at Ford & Harrison in Melbourne, FL. ALA member Jennifer Martinez is the Administrator of the Orlando office.
We are thrilled to announce that the Chapter came back from the 2010 Annual ALA Conference in Boston with several coveted and important awards. We competed against other Chapters in the mid-size (50 to 100 members) range and won the two following awards:
First Place for Membership Recruitment and Retention -- submitted by Georgette Freid, CLM. Membership Committee was co-chaired by Georgette and June Coffman.
http://www.alanet.org/members/chapters/2010awards/CentralFlorida-SurvivingaYearofChange.pdf
Second Place for Business Partner Relations -- submitted by Marlene Simonson. Committee was co-chaired by Marlene and Jennifer Blamire.
http://www.alanet.org/members/chapters/2010awards/CentralFlorida-2009BusinessPartnerProgramandExpo.pdf
Note: final submissions can be reviewed at the links above.
Jennifer Blamire also completed a special diversity project which gave the Chapter an additional 100 points toward the President's Award of Excellence that moved us from gold to platinum level.
The Presidents' Awards of Excellence is named in honor of ALA’s Past Presidents and recognizes chapters for their efforts in effective chapter management. There are four levels of achievement -- Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. I am very proud to report that for the third year in a row, the Central Florida Chapter was awarded ALA's highest award, the Platinum Presidents' Award of Excellence!
A huge thank you to the 2009 - 2010 Board of Directors and Committee Chairs:
Kim Novak, V.P.
Sue Ruberti, Secretary
Caroline Nicholaou, Treasurer
Melissa Corah, Immediate Past President
Community Challenge Weekend -- Lorrie Bearden
Diversity -- Jennifer Blamire
Education -- Stacey Barve'
Focus Groups -- Helen Ficarra
Membership -- Georgette Freid, CLM and June Coffman
Social/Programs -- Donna Eargle, CLM and Stacey Barve
Survey -- Stacey Barve and John King, CLM
Vendor Relations -- Marlene Simonson and Rejeana Barth
Website -- Carla Farr
"I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody. " Lilly Tomlin
Become more involved in your local ALA Chapter -- Contact Kim Novak or Sue Ruberti today for more information. There are many fun and rewarding opportunities to serve!
Business Partner Luncheon & Expo is a HUGE success! Thanks to the efforts of Vendor Relations Committee co-chairs Marlene Simonson, Jennifer Blamire and Rejeana Barth the 2010 Expo once again surpassed our goals in terms of business partner participation and revenue. Marlene and company sold 42 exhibit booths and gross revenue from the expo totalled over $40,000! Other Committee members include Stacey Barve, Melissa Corah, Debbie Eubanks, Georgette Freid, CLM; Jennifer McCallister, Lenita McFeron, Caroline Nicholaou, Kim Novak and Sue Ruberti.
This year’s Road to the Oscars theme was fun-filled with many members and exhibitors getting into the "action!" Everyone seemed to enjoy the new on-room expo layout with dining in the center of the room and exhibits on the perimeter. In order to save a little money, the Committee decided to serve a lighter buffet luncheon. Everyone seemed to enjoy the menu, however, some expressed that they enjoyed the previous sit-down lunch with assigned seating to the more informal format we tried this year. If you have an opinion, please let me or Rejeana Barth know.
Expo Prize Winners! The judges "followed the yellow brick road" to the Workscapes/Knoll booth where they found Glenda, the good witch; Dorothy, that lost little Kansan; and Toto, the adorable Cairn terrier. For their efforts, Workscapes/Knoll won best booth again this year.
We awarded two prizes for Best Costume by a Business Partner. First place went to Brian Kouwenhoven, of Kouwenhoven & Associates, who did an admirable job of channeling Julia Child. Wearing a rayon skirt, satin blouse, apron, pearl earrings and equipped with a chicken in one hand and bottle of wine in the other, Brian was a ringer for the gourmet chef and darling of this year’s Oscar race. Also winning was Jillian McCluskey who, as Glenda, looked just like the good witch who stepped out of that magic floating bubble.
Business partners awarded many prizes by drawings, including flat screen TVs, office chairs, bicycle, gift baskets, numerous gift cards and more. The winner of the Silver Scholarship sponsored by Lexis/Nexis is Kim Johnson, CLM. The scholarship subsidizes Kim’s attendance at the Region II Conference in Miami, October 22nd – 24th.
Business Partners are Important to all CFCALA Members! Expo Wednesday is always a fun day – we get to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and learn a lot about products and services to help us run our law firms more efficiently. It is important to remember that the majority of our Chapter’s funding comes from the support of these generous sponsors. Without their support, we would not be able to provide the tremendous monthly programs, free monthly webinars and semi-annual Educational Retreats that CFCALA members enjoy.
When you get a call from one of our partners, please make a point of spending some time with them. We also encourage you to look first to our business partners when analyzing which products or services are right for your Firm. To learn more about ALA’s global Business Partner initiatives, click on the Value in Partnership (VIP) tab at ALA’s website www.alanet.org
A special thank you to the following business partners:
2010 Platinum Sponsor: Suntrust
2010 Gold Sponsor: Dex Imaging
2010 Silver Sponsor: LexisNexis
New Slate of Officers Elected! At the February business meeting the Chapter elected the following officers: Kim Novak, President; Sue Ruberti, Vice President; Caroline Nicholaou, Treasurer; and Marlene Simonson, Secretary. Lenita McFeron remains on the Board as Immediate Past President. The officers will be sworn in at the March 31st regular monthly meeting at noon at the Citrus Club.
CFCALA is Host Chapter to ALA’s 2011 Annual Conference! Working closely with ALA HQ and the 2011 Annual Conference Committee (ACC), Orlando will play a major role in the success of the 2011 conference which will be held at the Marriott World Center. Lenita McFeron is serving on the ACC and Bonnie Hart, CLM is Local ACC Chair. Chapter members who will be attending the 2010 Conference in Boston will also assist in maintaining a booth where attendees will be drawn in to learn the benefits of attending the 2011 conference in Orlando. We will also sponsor booths at various regional conferences, particularly at the 2010 Region II Conference in Miami in October. If you are interested in serving on the local Committee or if you can spend some time in the booth while in Boston or Miami, please give Lenita (407-418-6502) or Bonnie (407-660-1040) a call.
We need YOUR ideas for CFCALA’s Restaurant and Attractions Guide! Conference goers always appreciate the opportunity to visit those places most recommended by "locals." We are putting together an informational guide to assist folk with dining and outing choices. They will already be aware of the major attractions – the Mouse, the Hulk, etc. But, some of you may be aware of little gems tucked away or have a cool or funny story about a place you’ve visited that you think would be particularly memorable for a conference attendee. Please email Bonnie Hart, CLM at bhart@taylor-carls.com with your ideas. We encourage you to also ask your attorneys and staff for fun ideas.
CFCALA Will Publish Quarterly Newsletters! Our periodic communiqués have garnered a lot of positive responses, but several members have commented that they miss the old Chapter newsletter in print. One of Kim Novak’s strongest initiatives as our incoming President is to make sure that members are more informed regarding what’s going on in ALA at the Chapter, Regional and Global levels and that we receive additional industry-related information in the form of articles and forums that affect members at the local level. Kim has presented to the Board, and the Board has approved, a Communications Officer position to oversee various publications and communications that go out from the Chapter. The position will be filled by the Immediate Past President. Kim has suggested that we resurrect the printed newsletter and we’re going to do that with a summer edition. We will likely take the opportunity to raise additional revenue for the Chapter by selling limited advertising to Business Partners in each edition. We’re looking for an updated format – a fresh new look and a new name -- for what was the Chapter’s "Cross Talk."
We encourage members to submit possible names for the quarterly newsletter. We’ll send out an email with all suggestions and let the membership decide what the publication will be called. A cash prize will be awarded for the name deemed most clever, interesting and catchy. If you want to help with the newsletter, please let Lenita McFeron know. You may contact her at lenita.mcferon@gray-robinson.com or at 407-418-6502.
ALA Schedules Fall CLM Exam in Atlanta! If you are interested in taking the CLM exam, fall might be the perfect time for you! ALA has scheduled a CLM examination from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 30, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. Deadline for registration is August 12, 2010. For more information on the CLM program, go to www.alanet.org/clm If you are interested in sitting for the CLM exam in Atlanta in September 2010 or in Orlando in 2011, please contact Georgette Freid, CLM at gof@mcclanepa.com
