PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

              Time is really flying - although the calendar tells you it is Fall, it is really Indian Summer on the Peninsula.  Enjoy it while you can as everyone is waiting for the rain before we have to ration water.

              Well Hospitality Night was everything we hoped it would be and more.  There were approximately 80 attendees and more prizes than anyone has seen outside of a LSI Conference!  We succeeded in raising not only enough money to cover the underwriting of the ticket price but some profit too.  Thanks to everyone who contributed so generously.  There were at least three $100 Nordstrom certificates and one $50 Nordstrom certificate, there were other certificates in similar amounts for spa treatments and other personal care treats, gift cards to various stores, baskets galore, and Vicki Yeley donated a stainless steel wine refrigerator!  Needless to say that was the grand prize.

             Our speakers were great.  Sue Ann Jaffarian lived up to her billing and more.  She made a lot of book sales and some of us already have a head start on our Christmas shopping.  Who wouldn't appreciate a personalized autographed book?

            LSI's new treasurer, Mary Beaudrow, CCLS, also spoke to us about the benefits of belonging to LSI and to local chapters.  Mary S. Rocca, CCLS, Past President of LSI, was also in the audience as were a number of members from several of our sister associations.  Joan M. Layte, Chairman of the CCLS Certifying Board was also in the audience. 

           Our October meeting will be an MCLE qualifying program on Employment Law and our speaker is Paul V. Simpson, Esq., of Simpson, Garrity & Innes, P.C.  As I understand it, paralegals have to meet their CLE requirements by December 31, so this would be an excellent program to get one more hour in before the deadline.  We will also be considering the amendments to the Standing Rules and the proposed Budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

           I look forward to seeing you at the October meeting.

Carol

             YIKES! Summer is almost over. With that said, it must be time for Hospitality Night. I hope all of you are able to attend and bring potential guests. The evening is highlighted by having as our guest speaker Sue Ann Jaffarian. Sue Ann is a very inspirational and humorous speaker. Of course Sue Ann will be promoting her book Thugs and Kisses and be personalizing each book that you purchase by signing it to you or to someone for a gift. These autographed books make great birthday, holiday and any occasion gifts. We have some fantastic raffle prizes! The best buy is 35 tickets for $20! The membership contest is in effect until the March dinner meeting and for each new member you sponsor your name will be added to the drawing. The $50 cash prize is nice too, but the benefits of becoming a member of SMCLSA is priceless.

           The LSI First Quarterly Conference for 2008-2009 was held August 22-24 in San Jose and well attended. Shara Bajurin represented us as our Governor, and others in attendance beside myself, were Mary L. King, CCLS, Bonnie J. Stensler, PLS, CCLS, Nancy O’Shea, CCLS, Cynthia Woodman, and Heather Ryan. The Friday night reception was held poolside, giving everyone a chance to socialize, meet the new LSI officers and visit the Vendors’ exhibits. Saturday morning Board of Governor’s meeting kicked off at 8:30 a.m. Please see Shara’s Governor’s Report, which she will be posting to the web Newsletter page. There were educational programs offered throughout the weekend. I attended the Presidents’ luncheon on Saturday and Shara attended the Governors’ luncheon, and Cindy Woodman attended the Members’ Luncheon. The Saturday night banquet was attended by me, Cynthia Woodman, Shara Bajurin, Nancy O’Shea, CCLS, Bonnie J. Stensler, PLS, CCLS, and Mary King, CCLS. On Sunday morning we attended the Brunch and were thoroughly entertained by the Honorable Edward Lee of the Santa Clara County Superior Court. The Conference was adjourned until the November 14-16, 2008, meeting to be held in Riverside, CA at the Mission Inn. Please check out the details of the November meeting in the August issue of the LSI magazine, The Legal Secretary, and if you are curious, Mary has posted a few photos of the Conference on the web Newsletter page under "Meeting Photos."

           Our October meeting will be an MCLE credit event. All certified paralegals must complete their MCLE requirements by December 31, 2008, and SMCLSA’s educational programs are an easy way to obtain credit. Also the board will be seeking approval by the general membership of the proposed amendments to the Standing Rules and Budget drafts that you received with your roster. Thank you Doris for all your hard work! Also thank you to Nancy for preparing the Budget and to the committee members who assisted in their preparation.

          Now that Bay Meadows has closed, we will be continuing our tradition of fund raising with a Day at the Races, only it will be at Golden Gate Fields. Save the Date: December 7^th, Sunday, for our Day At the Races! Golden Gate Fields in Emeryville is just a short distance from the Bay Bridge. The price is $35 per person and includes valet parking, program, prime rib buffet and entrance to their Turf Club. There are some awesome views of the San Francisco skyline! Please contact me with any questions or to purchase tickets. I will have a flier out at Hospitality Night with all the details, and it will soon be posted on our web site.

           I look forward to seeing you at Hospitality Night.

Carol

Summer is almost here.  I hope someone tells Mother Nature!

In May, the 74^th Annual Conference of LSI in Pleasanton was fantastic! We had a lot of SMCLSA members attend: Shara Bajurin - Governor, Gina Kundret – Delegate, Lori Stumpf – Alternate Delegate. In addition Donna Bottarini, Pilar Marquez, Mary King, CCLS, Bonnie Stensler, PLS, CCLS and Cynthia Woodman also attended! We made quite a showing with so many of our members attending. I attended the President’s Roundtable and came away with several new ideas, which I will be presenting to the board.

LSI has a new President – Christa Davis. She has great enthusiasm and drive. I look forward to the next two years under her leadership and direction. She has great energy. I believe the changes she will make will only enhance what is currently offered by LSI.

I am very happy to report that most of the committee chair positions have been filled. There are a few openings – if your interested, please contact me.

In June our speakers are from Robert Half Legal with emphasis on the 2008 Salary Survey. This meeting should prove to be of interest to all in the legal professional. I encourage you to bring other legal professionals to this program.

Shara Bajurin and Gina Kundert will be having CCLS study sessions at the San Carlos Library starting on June 18^th. They plan on taking and passing the CCLS exam in October! Good for them! If you are interested in this special opportunity, please contact Shara or Gina. See class schedule under the Education section of our newsletter.

On August 17^th, Sunday, we are having "Oakland A’s Ball Day"! This will be a very fun event. Shara has arranged for a tour bus to pick us up in Belmont to drive us to the game. Tickets are only $35 a piece. We will be having a raffle on the bus during the driver over to Oakland. What a great way to spend quality time with the family! Contact Shara for information and tickets. Also, please see flier on our web page.

September we will be hosting our traditional Hospitality Night. JoAnne Lein is the chair for this event. Last year was a great success and we are looking forward to this year being just as successful. Our special guest will be Sue Ann Jaffarian noted author. She will be speaking to us (she is hilarious) and book signings. It is a great time to get those Christmas gifts, birthdays, etc., and how nice to give such a personalized gift.

For those of you who have not discovered Sue Ann yet, the following information is taken from the book jacket of The Curse of the Holy Pail an Odelia Grey Mystery ©2007: "Like the character Odelia Grey, Sue Ann Jaffarian is a middle-aged, plus size paralegal. She lives in Los Angeles with her two cats, "B" and "Raffi," and writes mysteries and general fiction, as well as short stories and occasional poetry. In addition to writing, she is sought after as a motivational and humorous speaker. Sue Ann is the current president of the Los Angeles chapter of Sister In Crime, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to mystery genre." Visit Sue Ann on the Internet at: www.sueannjaffarian.com.

On December 7^th, Sunday, we will be having Day at the Races – yes you heard me correctly. We have reservations at Golden Gate Fields and includes Valet Parking, Turf Club admittance, Program and Prime Rib Buffet. Just when you thought live horseracing was gone. I will have tickets for sale $35 each. This too is a fund raiser.

Have a great summer and I hope to see you soon!

Carol

MAY 2008 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Welcome everyone to the 2008-2009 fiscal year of San Mateo County Legal Secretaries Association. Although we had an excellent turn out for the 42^nd Installation of Officers on April 15^th, I thought perhaps those who did not attend would like to read what I had to say as my president’s address to the audience following the installation ceremony. Rather than draft a President’s Message for the first issue of our electronic newsletter, my short speech is reprinted below, followed by an update:

"Good Evening,

A giant thanks to Judge Dylina (one of my personal favorite judges) for doing such a fantastic job as M.C. tonight.

First off I would like to thank the Installation Committee for the great job they did for tonight’s event. Cindy Woodman Chaired the event and Doris Burke and Mary King were on the committee.

It has been an honor serving as your president during this term of the theme "Essential Piece". I have very much enjoyed serving the association. I feel and believe that this has been a productive and fun year for SMCLSA. I have to thank the officers and the members of the board. Without their dedication and determination this year would not have been as memorable as it is. And thanks goes to the members for their participation in the Association and its events.

I want to thank Maria Hernandez for her service as an officer for the last few years most recently as 1^st VP. Maria has reviewed her priorities and found that her children are clearly her first priority.

At the same time I want to thank JoAnne Lein and Diana Prisk for stepping up to be 1^st Vice president and 2^nd Vice President, respectively. Both JoAnne and Diana are new officers but they are not new to serving on the board of directors.

All members are welcome to attend board meetings. The board meetings are where decisions are made on the course the association will take throughout the year. I encourage you to attend and get involved.

I would also like to thank the following officers for staying on for a second year: Doris Burke – recording secretary, Nancy O’Shea – treasurer and Shara Bajurin as Governor.

And I would like to thank (this is beginning to sound like the Oscars) our other board members Linda Clark, Mary King and Cindy Woodman.

I would also like to thank all the past presidents that are in attendance tonight: Pauline Balestrino, Doris Burke, Mary King and Cindy Woodman who have been constant advisors to me.

And a big thanks to all of the members who have served and will continue to serve as Chairs on the Association’s committees: Shara Bajurin, Doris Burke, Linda Clark, Maria Hernandez, Mary King, JoAnne Lein, Nancy O’Shea, Diana Prisk, Dietra Prater Slack, Bonnie Stensler, Cindy Woodman and Kathy Zurawski.

I am happy to add that we have two members that are new to chairing committees and they are: Jeanine Acosta and Gina Kundert.

There are still chair positions open and they are: Benefits, CCLS, Historian, Legal Procedures, Marketing, Parliamentarian and Scholarship/Career Promotion. All the chair positions have mentors to get you started on your way. If any of you would like to help me in keeping my new motto "Making a Difference," please contact me.

Last but not least I would like to thank my honey Dave Himenes. He talked me into being treasurer! He has great patience and understanding with my time demands being president and he is always supportive of me.

I look forward to the coming year and all of us Making a Difference!"

I am pleased to say that since April 15^th the following positions have been filled: Benefits, Historian, Legal Procedures, and Marketing. However, all of the committee chairs need assistance, so if you are willing to serve on a committee, please contact me.

The following is the current list of Chairmen:

Livermore-Amador Valley Legal Professionals Association will host the Legal Secretaries, Incorporated ("LSI") 74th Annual Conference at the Hilton Pleasanton at The Club at 7050 Johnson Drive in Pleasanton, California, from May 15-18, 2008. You are invited to join us in celebrating the "Days of Wine and Roses".

The hotel provides complimentary shuttle service from the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station to the hotel and will drive you anywhere within a five-mile radius of the hotel, based on availability. The hotel is conveniently and easily accessible at the intersection of I-580 and I-680. Hotel self-parking is free.

The room rate is $89 per night for single and double occupancy plus 8.05% hotel tax and $1 per room/per night Tourism Assessment fee, $99 for triple, and $109 for quad, with a maximum of four guests per room. As a hotel guest, you will receive complimentary access to Club Sport, Northern California’s largest fitness club, attached to the hotel. There is also an outdoor pool and spa.

To make your hotel reservation, you may call the hotel directly at (925) 463-8000, call the Hilton Hotel’s toll-free number at (800) 445-8667, or make your reservation online at www.pleasantonattheclub.hilton.com. The Group Code is LSI. The deadline for the group rate is Wednesday, April 30, 2008.

The scrip ticket is $78.50, if purchased on or before April 15, 2008, which includes Registration, Friday Night Welcome Reception, Saturday Night Banquet, and Sunday Brunch.

There are lots of fantastic drawing items waiting for you.

You will have an opportunity to attend educational workshops, to network with other legal professionals, to renew old friendships, and to make new friends. Officer/Chairman workshops will be offered on Friday morning. Legal Specialization Section workshops will be offered on Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Local associations’ history books, scrap books, and bulletins for judging will be on display.

Newcomers’ Luncheon will be held on Friday.

There will be many exhibitors for you to visit on Friday from and on Saturday. Stop by their tables, introduce yourselves to them, and speak with them about their products or services that they have to offer.

The Friday Night Welcome Reception/Campaign Party will be held in those rooms with the exhibitors. The dress attire for the reception will be casual.

The General Assembly will commence on Saturday and conclude on Sunday morning. LSI officers and chairmen will give their reports. Scholarship recipients and award winners will be announced.

For the Saturday Night Banquet, the dress attire will be semi-formal/black tie optional. The banquet room will be opened during the reception, and special music will be provided for your enjoyment. The Chapter Achievement Contest winners and the LSI President’s Special Presentation will be announced.

The LSI Installation of Officers ceremony will be held at the Sunday Brunch.

For further information go to: LSI.ORG "Events".