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News and
Events
What's New at National
Documenting, Discipline and
Discharge was the title of
the presentation at our last monthly
meeting held on September 26,
2007.
This useful and informative presentation
was made by
Don Berner & Carolyn Matthews,
Foulston & Siefkin
*************
Ronald McDonald House Pull Tab
Collection Program
The Association is taking advantage of
an opportunity for giving to Ronald
McDonald House. Each firm can
participate by placing aluminum can pull
tabs into paper house shaped boxes
provided by Ronald McDonald House. The
pull tabs are collected, taken to the
Administrative Offices of Ronald
McDonald House and in turn are delivered
to a local can company for cash.
For more information, please contact
Becky at the Ronald McDonald House
Administrative Offices at 269-4182.
Their website indicates that this
program was started in 1987 and, to
date, more than 400 million tabs have
been collected generating more than $4
million.
******
EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND!
Our
Annual Summer Retreat
Held on August 22, 2007
Mari
Peck's
presentation
"How to Change Things (or adapt to
the changes taking place)",
including a segment on stress
management, was both informative and
thought provoking. Those in
attendance not only benefited from
the speaker's knowledge but the
interaction among participants
during role playing exercises.
Group discussion and free exchange
of ideas during the question and
answer sessions provided additional
insight into these issues faced
daily in today's business
environment, including law firms.
"When I first saw the topics, I
didn't think I would get a lot
out of it, but boy, was I
wrong. Very interesting and
practical stuff. I am really
glad I was there... "
"I was quite impressed with Mari’s
presentation as well as Office
This. I am not always very fond of
seminars, but really enjoyed
this..."
"I just want you to know how
much I enjoyed the seminar
yesterday and how
interesting I thought Mari's
presentation was..."
This year our
retreat was held at a new facility
called Office This.
During our afternoon break, our
members were given an extensive tour
of the facilities. All agreed
such a facility had great potential
as alternative space for disaster
recovery, visiting attorneys and
clients and as temporary expansion
space for major projects.
If you were not able
to be there please contact one of
the attendees for further
information on both the presentation
and the location.
******
Congratulations to
Janice Friedman, Hite,
Fanning Honeyman, L.L.P.
another of our award winning members
on her receipt of the Jonalou
Pinnell Award. This award
honors outstanding service to the
WBA by a non-lawyer. Janice
received the award for her excellent
work with the Summer Intern Program.
******
New CLM
in Wichita!
DeAnna Williams, Chief
Operating Officer of Hinkle Elkouri Law
Firm, L.L.C. has successfully completed
the requirements for the Association of
Legal Administrators’ Certified Legal
Manager (CLMSM) designation.
The CLMSM certification
program allows a qualified legal
administrator to demonstrate, through an
examination process, a mastery of core
areas of knowledge identified as
essential to the effective performance
of a principal administrator. CLMs are
recognized as administrators who have
met the work experience requirement,
displayed a significant commitment to
continuing education and passed a
comprehensive examination. DeAnna
comments on her experience studying for
the CLM:
When we
started the Wichita Area Chapter CLM
Study group most of us knew this was
going to take a lot of commitment and
organization to get through it. We did
not realize how much. We had a small
but committed group of us that met
regularly. We started this process on
July 14, 2004. I received notification
that I became a CLM on May 30, 2007,
almost 3 years later. I could not have
made it without this group: Mary Ellen
Kraus, June Huie, Jackie Barns and Cindy
Rush. Thank you, guys for all your help
and support. As a CLM, Cindy Hague
helped to guide our group in the right
direction. Cindy also lent her
experience and knowledge to me on
several occasions as I studied on my
own. Thank you, Cindy. I am also very
grateful to have the support of my firm
and particularly, my friend and
coworker, Diana Hutchison, who put up
with my continued studying and
stressing, up to the final moments of
going to take the test and of
course waiting to hear the results.
Thank you all for your support and
encouragement over the last three
years. During the study process, all
of us in the CLM study group quickly
realized how little we really knew about
Legal Management. We all do our jobs
well and work hard every day. We just
didn't realize how much more we did not
know. If you are interested in studying
for the CLM exam, we are putting
together a study group. There is so
much to learn and so much to gain from
studying for the exam, even if you
choose not to take it. The whole
experience is very enlightening and
extremely rewarding.
With the addition of
DeAnna, 10% of the membership of The
Wichita Area Chapter of ALA hold the CLMSM
designation; a number the chapter as
well as individual members hope to
increase in the coming years.
*************
Our Vendor Sponsored Event
Was A Roaring Good Time
For those who braved the snow on
January 20, 2007
This Gala Event Was
Held at the
Marriott Hotel Corporate Hills
9100 Corporate Hills Drive
Wichita, KS
Despite the weather, vendors
and friends joined us to celebrate our 20th
Anniversary in Roaring 20's style.
There were bright lights, lots of music,
games, food and fun.
For those who were unable to
get through the snow, and for those who want
to relive the fun, watch this site for our
virtual celebration.
Our list of sponsors appears
below. We would, however, like to
give special thanks to
Unishippers, one of
our Bronze Sponsors, whose logo was lost
somewhere in the electronic jungle on its
way to the printer for the production of our
sponsor sheets.
They were truly gracious
about this mysterious disappearance, had a
great booth and provided us with wonderful
"flapper" headbands as their "party favor".
We very much appreciate the
efforts of our sponsors and guests who were
able to join us and for those that weren't,
we hope to see you at our virtual party or
our next event.
Thank you one and all.
At the
2007 Annual Educational Conference and
Exposition
 in Las Vegas,
Nevada
Was a great success.
WALA is a
winner once again.
At the chapter awards presentations our
chapter received the following awards:
Newsletter Excellence - First Place
Website - First Place,
Visibility PLMW - First Place
All in addition to our Platinum President's
Award of Excellence.
All of the awards were the
result of a lot of hard work
and dedication by many of our chapter
members.
Thank you all for a
great year.
We're on our way to Seattle
in 2008!!!
2007 Community Challenge Event
Was Something Special
On Saturday,
October 21, 2006, the Wichita Area
Chapter of the Association of Legal
Administrators assisted the local
Special Olympics with their annual
Volleyball Tournament. Special
Olympics offers opportunities for
disabled individuals to be involved
in organized sporting events. Each
year they hold many events, one of
which is the Volleyball tournament.
Many volunteers throughout the
community are needed in order to
hold a successful event. Our
Community Challenge Chair, Steve
Cook, rose to the challenge and
offered up our chapter's assistance
for this year's ALA Community
Challenge Weekend. The following
chapter members: Mary Turner, Jana
Waltman, June Huie, Diana Hutchison,
Cindy Hague, Jackie Barnes, Mary
Ellen Kraus, Steve Cook and yours
truly; as well as Kylie Hutchison
(Diana's granddaughter) spent their
Saturday to help with the event. We
were able to assist with managing
scoreboards, line judging and other
tasks. The director of the local
Special Olympics office was very
thankful and appreciative of all our
efforts. It takes many volunteers to
run the event smoothly and we had
more than enough help for a
successful event. The players were
great, they were all so excited to
get to play on their teams and all
of them were winners. It was a great
feeling to be involved with so many
great people and seeing them enjoy
what many of us take for granted
every day. Many of us said we would
do it again in a minute. We all had
a great time, a Saturday well spent
for all.
Janice Friedman Named to Paralegal Program Advisory Board
Janice Friedman,
Administrator for Hite Fanning, has been
asked to serve on Kansas Newman
University's Paralegal Program Advisory
Board. One of the topics of the first
advisory board meeting addressed
technology demands. The committee wants
to make sure that the program is
graduating qualified candidates for our
law firms. Janice will represent
administrators' concerns/requirements
regarding technology and other issues
which should be addressed in the
education of paralegals.
______________________________________________________________
OUR CHAPTER
CELEBRATES ANOTHER AWARD WINNER
 Congratulations
Cindy Rush! She was awarded the Jonalou Pinnell Award from the WBA
this year at their annual Installation and Awards Dinner at the Hyatt recently.
Cindy, Legal
Administrator with the law firm of Bever Dye, LC, received recognition and an
award at the annual Wichita Bar Association Installation and Awards Dinner.
She received the prestigious Jonalou Pinnell Award which is given for
outstanding service to the Wichita Bar Association by a non-lawyer. The
award recognizes long-standing service, rather than the accomplishment of a
single task or service in any given year. Cindy has been an active member
of the Law In Education Committee of the Wichita Bar Association for the last
ten years, serving as Chairman of that committee at one time as well. The
Law In Education Committee provides schools with law related information and
speakers and assists schools in celebrating Law Day and the ideals of justice
under laws.
Cindy and her
husband, Rod, were invited to the annual awards dinner in Wichita where the
recognition and presentation of the award took place.
______________________________________________________________
After
taking two first place awards, one second
place and one third place, and receiving the
Platinum Level award in the President's
Award of Excellence, chapter members (left
to right) DeAnna Williams, June Huie, Cindy
Ratzloff, Diana Hutchison and Jana Waltman
were all smiles in Montreal. They
received and bring back to all chapter
members the hearty congratulations of many
ALA staff persons, national and regional
officers, and peers. Well done, team!
We are very pleased to announce the 2005
Chapter Awards received by WALA at the Annual Meeting in Montreal.
Our chapter received the Presidents Platinum Award for Excellence (one of only
14 chapters to do so), First Place (small chapters) for both the Vendor
Partnering and for Activating Volunteers. We won second place for Bar Relations
and last, but certainly not least, we won Third Place for Community Challenge
award. WOW, what a night it was for WALA. Stories and pictures from the
conference will appear on this site as they become available. See the
first page of our
WALA in Montreal
album.
We have all done a great job over the last year.
'Together We All Do Better." Thank you everyone for all your hard work.
Our chapter could not have received this level of recognition without each and
every one of you. YOU SHOULD ALL BE VERY PROUD.
______________________
Thank you, Jana and board members, for an
outstanding platinum year!
Let's do it again this year!
Congratulations!
Proudly We All Do Better Together!
Last July,
Jana Waltman and DeAnna Williams challenged
chapter members to attain the highest level
award in the ALA’s President’s Award of
Excellence this year. At that time, it
seemed like an almost insurmountable goal
that we could accomplish all of the tasks
set forth by national for exceptional
chapters. Five short-term projects were
announced and chapter members responded
unanimously, stayed on task, and reached the
goal. We believed then, and believe now,
that the better our chapter is, the better
it is able to help each of us individually,
not only to improve the quality of the
management of our firms, but to increase our
own personal knowledge and skills.
The final result is a stronger
chapter, added value to members, increased
opportunities for personal and professional
growth, and recognition from ALA for our
efforts.
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The Wichita Area Chapter of the Association of
Legal Administrators is a separate legal entity from the Association of Legal
Administrators (ALA). ALA licenses the use of its name, mark, logos and other
protected properties to chapters which are in good standing. ALA disclaims all
liability or responsibility whatsoever for the actions, representations and
liabilities of the Wichita Area Chapter, specifically including those of any
nature whatsoever arising from or out of the content of other features related
to the Wichita Area Chapter Web site. In no event shall ALA be deemed the
guarantor of the Wichita Area Chapter.
Although this site links
to sites which may provide legal information, such legal information does not
constitute legal advice. In addition, no information appearing on this site is
intended to, nor shall it be construed in any way to provide legal advice.
Please see our Disclaimers, Notices and Privacy Statement.
Copyright 2005-2007 Wichita Area Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators
Created and Maintained by Association Members
Website Hosted by Wichita
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