Mile High Madness!
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!
Welcome to the January 2013 edition of Mile High Madness. I hope everyone's new year got off to a great start. There are a few changes on the horizon for this year, so, be sure to read through the information below!
December 2012 Recap:
There was no webinar or educational luncheon in the Month of December. The Chapter celebrated the holiday season with our annual Holiday Party. The event was held at the Restaurant Kevin Taylor where we got the chance to mingle, network, celebrate and enjoy some of the best food around. With our members and business partners in attendance, a fun time was had by all. Special thanks goes out to the Professional Development Committee for their work in putting this event together. We also thank our business partners who stayed after the party and hosted a us for drinks.
What's New for 2013?
With the start of every new year comes the chance to implement some of those new year's resolutions. The Mile High Chapter is no different. Here's a look at just a few of the new things coming in 2013:
1. Officer Elections - The Chapter Nominating Committee is busy at work conducting due diligence on another terrific pool of potential new officers for the 2013-14 Board Year. Pursuant to the Chapter's Bylaws, the Nominating Committee will recommend a slate of officer candidates to the Chapter's members for consideration. Be on the lookout for the ballot which will be emailed to you no later than January 15, 2013.
2. ALA is Going Digital - ALA has begun communicating to the membership their transition to more electronic and less print communications. They included a message in Your ALA News about the digital version of the Annual Conference brochure and encouraged members to regularly check ALA email communications to make sure they are up to speed on the latest from the association. We appreciate any efforts you can make to help get the word out about our move to digital communications so that members are prepared for the change and don't miss out on important information. So far, the response has been positive. The 2013 Annual Conference Committee is looking for opportunities to take advantage of social media platforms to enhance our Annual Conference promotion.
3. Chapter Event Registration - With the transition to a new Chapter website platform, beginning this month you will no longer receive event invitations from Cvent. You will now register for all of our luncheons and other event through the Chapter website. (I will step you through the process below) Switching to this platform will save the Chapter money. Another benefit of this platform is that when you pay by credit card online, your payment will be processed immediately. With the Cvent system you would enter your information and the Treasurer would manually run the information at a later date. Here's to a smoother registration process!
ALA Webinar:
The Mile High Chapter will continue the tradition of providing the ALA's monthly Webinars to our members for free. Stacie Hedrick with Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, PC will continue to host the Webinars at her office.
01/16/2013 - MS Office Tips & Tricks for Law Firms!
January Chapter Luncheon:
01/17/2013 - Mile High Idea Exchange will feature some of the Chapter's most knowledgeable Administrators to facilitate topical discussions. The more attendees, the more topics. Here's a sample of what we have lined up so far:
Paralegal Management
There's Only One of Me in My Firm
New Year Resolutions for My Firm
A Branch Office Really is Different
Chapter Leadership: Who's Ready to Step Up?
Wait a minute! Stop the Presses! I thought we were going to have the Bill & Phil Show and their comical program featuring 60 Tech Tips in 60 Minutes. What happened?
As administrators we are accustomed to last minute changes caused by the lawyers in our firms to which we must adapt and improvise. Well, Chapter Committees occasionally suffer the same issues. Our Education Committee does a tremendous job lining up speakers and topics for our monthly educational luncheons. Their efforts often go unnoticed and under appreciated as we sit back and reap the benefits of their months of planning in what appears to be a seamless process. Unfortunately, this month, our speaker for the Bill & Phil show is required to serve as an expert witness at trial (damn lawyers messing things up again) and had to cancel last minute.
So how is this Idea Exchange going to work, you ask? (good question) When you arrive at the luncheon on January 17, 2013, the tables will be marked with topic specific signs. You will simply choose the topic that most interests you and our topic facilitators will lead a discussion on the topic. As the session goes along the facilitator or a volunteer at the table will take notes of issues, concerns, ideas, etc. Those notes along with the notes from all of the tables will be compiled and distributed to those in attendance after the luncheon.
But there are two topics I want to discuss or the table with my topic is already full. No problem! After the first 30 minutes of the session we will play that age old game of musical tables. This will give you the chance to go to another table and discuss a different topic with a whole new group of your peers. Who knows, if all goes well and everyone has the time, we might even sneak in a third round.
Is that all we're going to do at the luncheon? Of course not. This month our Chapter's official photographer, Paul Hartmann, will be in attendance taking digital portraits. This is at no charge to you. He will snap a series of digital shots, allow you to pick the one you like best, and will email it to you to use however you choose. You can post it to your bio on the Chapter's website; use it personally on your facebook page, LinkedIn page or for that occasion when you write an article for the Chapter Newsletter and need a head shot.
Anything Else? Yes! As many of you already know, we traditionally have a drawing at our Chapter Retreat for the Gary Harrop Award. This drawing is a $2,500 scholarship to the 2013 ALA Annual Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Gary was a Chapter past president, David Award winner and a champion of Education and served as the Region 4 Education Officer before his death. With our Chapter Retreat being held at the beginning of March this year and the Early bird deadline to register for the 2013 ALA Annual Conference on February 4, 2013, we will conduct the drawing at this educational luncheon.
How does one qualify for the drawing? It's simple. Every time you attend a Chapter event throughout the year, your name gets put in the hat for this drawing. The more events you attend, the more times you get your name in for the drawing. Also, if you've served on a Committee, you also get your name in for every committee you sat on in the prior year. The more you've participated, the more chances you have to win. It's a win/win situation!
Website Luncheon Registration:
Here's how you go about registering on the new Chapter website:
1. Go to www.milehighala.com
2. Click on the Calendar on the homepage. The Calendar will open in a bigger window.
3. Click on the desired date...in this case, January 17, 2013. It will give you a more detailed description of the session and also features our Business Partners sponsoring the Luncheon. There's a little blue box on the page that prompts you to "Register Now."
4. Click on the "Register Now" button. It will prompt you to login to the website with your username and password. This will automatically populate the next screen with all of your information and keep you from having to type it all in from scratch.
5. Make sure that your information is correct and click continue.
6. The next screen will give you three options to register either as a member, guest or business partner. If you are just registering for yourself, just click the "Add" button next to the member registration. then click continue. If you are registering multiple members from your firm, enter the total number of members you are registering and continue accordingly.
7. The next screen will allow you to view your registrations and edit if necessary. If all if correct, click continue.
8. The final screen will give you the opportunity to provide your credit card information or elect to pay by check. You're all done. See, that was easy!
Important Future Dates:
3/1-2/2013 - Mile High Chapter Annual Retreat - Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, CO
4/14-17, 2013 - ALA Annual Conference & Exposition, National Harbor, Maryland (Washington, D.C. area)
10/3-5/2013 - ALA Region 4 Conference & Exposition, Albuquerque, NM
Volunteer Now!
The Mile High Chapter's Committees are always looking for volunteers to serve. With a new Board year right around the corner, this would be a great time for you to get involved. There are plenty of Committees to join based on your interests and time commitment:
Awards Committee
Bar Liaison Committee
Business Partner Committee
Community Connection Committee
Education Committee
Membership Committee
Newsletter Committee
Professional Development Committee
Publicity Committee
Survey Committee
Technology Committee
Feel free to contact me or any of the Chapter's Board Members for more information.
Enjoy The Madness!
Jerry G. McPeake, MSLA
President
Mile High Chapter ALA
720-331-8220
