Fort Wayne, IN – The Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association held its annual meeting on May 19, 2015 during which the 2015 Board of Directors election results were announced along with the recipient of the 2015 Paralegal Recognition Award.
NIPA is pleased to announce that its 2015 Board of Directors will consist of the following individuals: Beth Hill, President; Alex Jokay, Treasurer; Marie Lucas, Secretary; Cindy Witters, Education Chairperson; Sarah Cantrell, Event Coordinator Chairperson; Jennifer Mahoney, News & Website Chairperson; Lori Wagner, RP, Primary Representative; Julie Krider, Public Relations Chairperson; and Tonya White, Job Bank Chairperson.
The Paralegal Recognition Award is presented annually to a NIPA member who has made outstanding contributions as a paralegal in his or her firm/company, to the Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association, and/or the community. NIPA is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2015 Paralegal Recognition Award is Jennifer Mahoney. Jennifer was presented with this award due to her outstanding work and long hours devoted to the development of NIPA’s new website and the weekly e-news announcements. NIPA is grateful to Jennifer for her exceptional contributions to the paralegal community. Jennifer has over 20 years of experience as a paralegal. She is a graduate of Ball State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Legal Administration. She is currently employed as a litigation paralegal at Beckman Lawson, LLP. Prior to her position as News & Website Committee Chair, Jennifer served as NIPA's Education Chair and Treasurer.
NIPA will support the Ontulili Literacy Project at its 2015 Annual Meeting to be held on May 19th. Florence Mugumbi will share her experience growing up in a village in Kenya and the lack of basic school materials for children. It is the mission of the Ontulili Literacy Project to build a library to benefit children and promote continued education by providing basic literacy materials.
The ISBA Board of Governors approved implementation of an ISBA program for paralegal registration. The target date for registration is mid-to late summer, 2015. A special thanks to Judge Edward Najam, IN Court of Appeals, David Jones, Evansville attorney and Susan Jacobs and Tom Pyrz, ISBA., for all their hard work, patience and guidance during this long process. Congratulations to Indiana Paralegals
NIPA will be holding elections for board members for the 2015/2016 Membership Year. THANK YOU Mindy Gregory of Haller & Colvin for serving as our Nominations Chair. Please use the nomination form below to submit your nominations to Mindy. Feel free to nominate yourself for any position you are interested in filling. Positions are open to all NIPA members. Nominations are due by April 10th!
NOMINATION FORM
DESCRIPTION OF OPEN POSITIONS
VICE PRESIDENT- Coordinate the lunches for the monthly meetings, collect the reservations and money. Assist with the Annual Christmas party and the seminar snacks.
TREASURER - Maintain the financial records of the corporation, write checks and balance the check book.
EDUCATION - Coordinate the speakers for the monthly luncheons and the seminar.
EVENTS COORDINATOR - Plan all NIPA special events (i.e. Christmas party and Annual Meeting) and assist the other board members in planning the seminars.
NEWS AND WEBSITE- Develop, revise and maintain the website content to include all NIPA activities; monitor the association email; and send bi-weekly News and Website to members.
PRIMARY REPRESENTATIVE- Liaison between NIPA and NFPA. Keep up to date on issues at the national level. Attend the national convention in the fall and the region meeting in the spring.
PUBLIC RELATIONS- Promote good will between the organization and the public including keeping the press informed of all NIPA activities.
ADVERTISING - Securing sustaining members and sponsors.
ASSOCIATE STUDENT REP- Stays in contact with the paralegal programs at the local universities.
PRO BONO CHAIR - Promotes and coordinates programs whereby volunteer paralegals can assist attorneys and/or legal assistance agencies in pro bono case programs.
JOB BANK- Maintain the resumes of the members. Contact employers as to jobs that are available and coordinate those jobs with our members.
Each year, NIPA recognizes a paralegal who has made outstanding contributions as a paralegal to an employer, to NIPA, and/or to the community. Do you work with a paralegal who has made a difference in your work place? Do you know a paralegal who donates time and talent to the community or who you think has helped to make NIPA an organization that supports its members? Take the time to make a nomination for the 2015 Paralegal Recognition Award and help NIPA recognize the efforts of our members.
Fort Wayne Attorney Jerri Mead lead NIPA members in a frank discussion about the U.S. immigration process and its impact here in Fort Wayne. The group discussed the specific challenges for children of immigrants and the obstacles they face in their pursuit of an adult life in the United States. Jerri shared her experiences as an attorney working in the immigration and naturalization field. Members left the meeting with a new and startling understanding of the complex immigration issues.
Food for thought:
How do we care for the children abandoned or orphaned when undocumented parents are arrested?
More than 1 million people per year enter the United States.
Undocumented immigrants provide significant support to our economy and Social Security system.
If you were brought to the United States illegally as a child, how do you obtain the ability to work and live in the United States as an adult? Could you return to a country you have never known?
Are reforms really effective?
The Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association is joining the fight against hunger this year and will be participating in the 7th Annual March Against Hunger food drive and competition. The March Against Hunger food drive is a friendly competition between law firms, bar associations and other non-profit associations to raise the most donations of either non-perishable foods or direct monetary contributions for Indiana’s 11 regional food banks. The food drive runs between March 1 and 31.
If you would like to donate non-perishable foods, please bring your donation to the luncheon on March 17 or contact Angie Meyer, and she will arrange to pick up your donation. If you would like to make a monetary donation, please make your check payable to the Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana, Inc. and send it to NIPA, P.O. Box 13646, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46865. You can also send your check via courthouse mail to Angie Meyer, Haller & Colvin, P.C., Courthouse Box #62 or bring your check to the luncheon. Every $1 earned will count as 5 pounds of food. All donations will go directly to the Community Harvest Food Bank and will benefit those people that live in Northeast Indiana.
John McGauley spoke to NIPA members at the February luncheon. John began his job as the Allen Superior Court Executive six months ago after serving as Allen County's Recorder. John talked about the responsibilities of the Allen Superior Court Executive. John also discussed the needs he is investigating for the Allen Superior Court and what changes are possible in the future.
John gave NIPA members the opportunity to express their wish list. E-filing topped the list. John gave us an update of the status of e-filing in Allen County.
If you missed the meeting, log into this website for a full report of John's presentation on the Forum page.
The Forum page is a benefit of NIPA membership. Join NIPA to receive this and all of the benefits NIPA offers its members.
NIPA continues to work toward providing members with valuable resources that help members reach their achieve their goals in the paralegal field. We have moved to a new address to bring you the same great information with a new look and feel. Thank you for following us to our new location! We hope to hear your feedback about our new site.
NIPA
Northeast Indiana Paralegal Association
info@niparalegal.org
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