Last updated November, 2018
First, let me express my deepest sympathy to those caught in the middle of the worst fire this state has ever experienced on record. My heart goes out to all those who lost loved ones and lost all their belongings to escape with their lives. I am equally concerned for the fire fighters that have come from all over the country to help California in her time of need. It’s sad but true that sometimes it takes a natural disaster to bring out the best in human kind and this is clearly no exception. So, let’s use this opportunity to turn around the hatred that poisons not just this state – but the country in whole – and replace hatred and intolerance with love and compassion for one another. If history has shown anything, it’s that those who forget are bound to relive it. So, please reach out and do something nice for someone you don’t even know and start a chain-reaction. Once again, good thoughts to those fighting the fires and those affected by them.
On a lighter note: Well, here it is – Holiday Season already. It seems that the older I get, the faster the years go by. I can remember waiting forever to turn 21. And now, time goes by so fast that I often have to stop and do the math to figure out how old I am now. (I also have to wear glasses to read now but I guess that just goes with the territory). I don’t know about you but I’m not going down this path without a fight (as soon as I find my glasses!).
Our Governor and I attended LSI Conference last weekend which was hosted by our neighbor, Santa Clara County LPA. It was in Reno at The Silver Legacy Casino which happens to be attached to Circus Circus and The El Dorado Casinos. I didn’t step outside for 3 days because I didn’t have to. Besides, it was cold outside (20 degrees at night and low 40s in the day.) As always, I get the most out of the President’s luncheon. It gives me the time to listen and learn from the other Presidents of Associations throughout the state, some big, some small and all generally experiencing the same kinds of growing pains or not-growing pains that we each tend to feel at one time or another. We do this in a casual atmosphere with the president of LSI as our host. I am always anxious to try some of the suggestions and successful programs I learn about while I am there. The legal section education programs are always great and of course, the networking and company is the greatest. You can’t help but catch “conference fever” when you attend an LSI Conference.
We also had our Membership Meeting on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at Trucker Huss PC in One Embarcadero Center, courtesy of our Treasurer, Scheryl Warr. Our guest speaker for the evening was the former President of Legal Secretaries Incorporated (LSI), and current (and past) President of Marin County Legal Secretaries Association, Jennifer Page, CCLS. She is also our Visiting Officer from LSI which means we should reach out to her when we need direction or have questions concerning our Association and LSI,
Jennifer Page is both a paralegal and a California Certified Legal Secretary (CCLS) with more than 20 years of experience with this organization, so it was an honor to have her share her thoughts and insight in an intimate setting. For me, it was good for me to hear Jennifer share her experience working with a small Association because I found it inspiring to know that we are not alone in the constant challenge to attract new members. Jennifer also talked briefly about the origins of LSI and also conveyed to us they too are challenged in getting new members interested in joining and what they were doing to attract potential new members. Once again, I am very grateful to Jennifer for going out of her way to drive to San Francisco on a weeknight to talk to us and encourage us to stay true to our goals. Thank you, Jennifer for your words of wisdom.
ExpressNetworks was our vendor-host for the meeting. Joe Kaniewski and Lyn Bartlett gave a presentation on the company while we feasted on pizza that they had brought for our group. ExpressNetworks offers a myriad of legal services and are exceptional in quality while charging lower rates than most of their competitors. So, I encourage our members to give ExpressNetworks a try the next time you have an efiling or manual filing or need a subpoena served, etc. and find out for yourself. Also, many of our sponsoring vendors like ExpressNetwork have attended fundraisers and donated prizes for our ticket sales drawings – even more reason to keep building on a mutually beneficial relationship with these vendors.
We have a lot coming up like our Annual Legal Secretary Training Course, a Crab Feed, and of course, more plans for the LSI Conference we are hosting a year from now. My mantra: “Please check our website to learn about all of our events and sign up for them too.” We are also revising our bylaws this fiscal year and are currently looking for committee members and donations for the conference we will be hosting a year for now. And we will need the participation of all of our members to pull this off. My Conference Co-Chair, Larry McGrew and I will be contacting each of you soon so get ready for the next have of our fiscal year which promises to be anything but hum-drum – or should I say Hum-bug???
Have a great Holiday Season everyone and remember to “Take pride in your work and make a difference.”
Cheers,
Carol E. Romo
President
San Francisco Legal Professionals Association