December 2007
Welcome TPA members and guests:
It is hard to believe that my term as President is about to end. It has been an exciting and rewarding two years for me and I want you to know we have a very able President-elect ready to step in and keep TPA growing and improving. I want to thank all of the board members who served and helped in this effort for the past two years.
Tracey Williams of our East Chapter has done a phenomenal job for the past two years as First Vice President—as evidenced by the great Fall Seminars we have had. Tracey has set the bar high for future seminar planners – not only putting together seminars with a great variety of speakers, but actually making record profits for our association in the process. Elected as our 2008 President at our Annual Meeting last month, Tracey had to fill in for me before her term even started because I was in the midst of trial preparation.
I am confident our incoming First Vice President, Tammy Bradford from our West Tennessee Chapter, will meet the challenge too. Tammy has already booked the hotel and secured our contract for next year’s Annual Meeting and Seminar, so please plan to be with us at the Hilton Suites in Brentwood on November 7 and 8, 2008. I know Tammy will put together an awesome seminar, as she has done for the West Chapter in the past.
Congratulations to all of our 2008 TPA officers elected at our Annual Meeting in November:
Tracey Williams, President (from our East Chapter)
Tammy Bradford, First Vice President (education) (from our West Chapter)
Louise Mulderink, Second Vice President (membership) (Southeast Chapter)
Phyllis Carter, Treasurer (Southeast Chapter)
Melissa Ledbetter, Secretary (Southeast Chapter)
Laysha McCullaugh, NALA Liaison (Southeast Chapter)
LaFran Plunk , West Tennessee Regional Director (West Chapter)
Alisa Pruett, East Tennessee Regional Director (East Chapter)
If you can’t wait until November to attend a seminar, please mark your calendars for our Spring Seminar which will be hosted by our Southeast Chapter in Chattanooga this year. It is set for April 18 and 19, 2008 at the Hilton Garden Inn (near Hamilton Place Mall). We have a great lineup of speakers planned with a “Survivor” theme for you Survivor fans. (No, you will not have to eat worms). You can see the agenda and specific topics on the website.
Caleeta Beagles, Laysha McCullaugh, and I attended the NALA Annual Convention in New Orleans in July and we learned a great deal from practice area sessions, as well as from affiliate association meetings--hearing about the ideas utilized by associations across the country.
As a first-timer, Laysha was especially impressed. She can tell you how inspiring and motivating it is to attend our annual convention where you get to absorb ideas and enthusiasm from fellow professionals.
TPA plans to set aside money each year to subsidize a trip to NALA’s Annual Convention for an involved member whose firm does not pay their way. Laysha took advantage of that this year, and if you would like to take advantage of that and attend a future NALA Convention, get involved and get noticed by the board!
Plans are underway for TPA to host some receptions in Nashville and the Middle Tennessee area with the hopes of forming a Chapter there in 2008. You can help by volunteering as a member of the committee we are forming to organize this effort. Please contact Second Vice President Louise Mulderink if you want to be part of this effort.
I can tell you that it has been very fulfilling to serve as President for the past two years and to witness firsthand a renewed enthusiasm in our state association, which is one of the nation’s oldest paralegal associations. TPA is growing stronger as it gets older, but still has greater potential to serve its members. If you have questions about TPA, would like to join, or would like to become a more involved member, please contact any of the board members via this website.
Susan Veal
2007 TPA President
