Congratulations to our newly installed Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Functional Directors and Committees. I thank you for stepping up to take on the duties and responsibilities of great section leaders. It’s going to be a terrific year as we come together with chords of harmony to play our musical score!!!!!

I certainly hope that you are making plans to attend our Professional Enhancement Retreat coming up on June 1-2 at the Lake Point Center in Russellville. If you haven’t yet registered, it’s not too late, (the deadline is May 10th), so get your registration in the mail to Treasurer Mary Hand. The registration form can be found in The Informer. The CLEC has planned a great line up of educational and informative sessions:

Friday night after dinner, Kimmi Wiles will be presenting a session on management, organization, etc. Who among us does not need that kind of info? I certainly do!!!

After Kimmi’s presentation, feel free to sit back and relax and enjoy catching up with everyone. One of the best things about Retreat is the relaxing and casual atmosphere.

Saturday morning, come and join me in an early morning walk to get our bodies and minds in tune for the day’s activities. The walk is optional, but it’s a great way to wake up and enjoy the beautiful weather and listen to nature’s music!

After breakfast, our first session will be presented by Mae Humphries, PLS, CLA. Mae has had much success in writing and obtaining grants. She will be giving us great advice and tips on how to get those funds we want for our special projects. I can’t wait to see how she does it!!!

We will also have a session on electronic filing and electronic signatures. This is very useful information to take back to our employers.

After lunch, for our officer and committee chair orientation, we will be playing “Musical Chairs”. Come and join in the fun!!!

After our last session, I will be addressing the “Orchestra” with regard to the progress we are making in the creation of our Symphony.

Please come and join in the first movement of our Symphony. If your chair is empty, no one else can play your part—and the sweet notes of participation and expertise you have to lend to our chords of harmony will be missed!!!

I can’t wait to see all of you and begin the performance of our most outstanding . . .
AALS Symphony – Creating Chords of Harmony!!!

Reminders and Important Messages:

1. AALS UNITED – You should complete the form that was included in the March issue of The Informer, and deliver the form, and all labels, to Dianne Meriweather no later than 7:30 P.M. ON FRIDAY, APRIL 27. The numbers will be tallied and the first-ever award will be presented during Saturday’s business meeting. CHALLENGE—do you want to be the first recipient? The labels will be returned to their respective owners so that you can support your chosen school/charity.

2. SILENT AUCTION – A silent auction will be held to benefit the AALS Scholarship/Grant fund. Chapter are asked to donate items for this auction. If you intend to make a donation, you should notify Marie Schoenfeldt (schoen@cablelynx.com) and/or Dianne Meriweather (dmeri16@yahoo.com) with a description of the item, a value of the item, and the opening bid amount. This information should be to them no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25, 2012, so the bid sheets can be prepared. Thanks in advance!! – NOTE: Sheila Brown, PP, PLS, will be handling the Ways and Means efforts on Saturday in the absence of Dianne Meriweather.

3. Don’t empty your pockets BEFORE arriving in Hot Springs! There will be an opportunity for you to LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD!!

4. During both the Annual Meeting and the Spring Business Meeting, we will be voting on hosting chapters for upcoming meetings. Did your bid get submitted?

5. NALS/NALS/NALS…yes, three NALS!! We will have three NALS officers with us for our 2012 AALS Annual Meeting and Educational Conference. NALS President Helene Wood, PP, PLS; NALS President-Elect Doris Compton, PP, PLS; and Reba Peden, PP, PLS, NALS Region 6 Director. Take the opportunity to get to know your NALS officers!!

6. We have many Pulaski Technical Institute students registered to attend our meeting–thanks to a great effort by Cathy Underwood. Cathy will be presenting the ethics seminar to us and was the driving force behind these students being able to register. Be sure to make a special effort to meet and great each of these students.

7. The Garland County chapter has worked hard to obtain exhibitors for our meeting. Please be sure to take the time to stop by the exhibitor tables, visit with them, purchase their wares, and sign up for their door prizes.

8. This weekend will consist of legal education, parties, good food, awards, voting, meeting new friends, seeing old friends, networking, and seeing new leadership put in place. The opportunities are unlimited—MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER SO THAT YOU CAN BE A PART OF THIS HISTORY MAKING WEEKEND–YOU ARE A MEMBER OF A WONDERFUL ASSOCIATION–GET INVOLVED AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!!

Cheryl Summerhill, PLS
2011-2012 AALS President
UNITED WE STAND

This meeting marks the 50th anniversary of the charter of Garland County LSP. They have some exciting events planned, as well as great CLE. There have been competitions among the chapters all year long–these winners will be announced at the awards and installation banquet. Support your chapter and your peers!!! The Award of Excellence winner will be named; your newly elected AALS 2012-2013 officers will be installed; your UNITED WE STAND deployments will be complete and yours truly will officially be a past-president. As incoming president, Janet Gordon, PP, PLS, has a very exciting theme planned for next year and you will want to be in on the ground floor of this announcement! Also, we have the great delight of having three, yes three, NALS officers attending our meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to spend some quality time with national officers. You should take advantage of this special time for AALS!!

Attend the meeting to meet our NALS officers, for great education, meeting new friends, great renewals of friendships, networking, awards, and rejuvenation!! You are sure to leave this great event with lots of new and exciting ideas for the coming year to take back to your chapter. Make plans now. IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER!!!! The registration form and hotel information is included in the March issue of The Informer, located online at aalsonline.org. If you have any questions, you can email Marie Schoenfeldt, PLS, CLA, at schoen@cablelynx.com. I can’t wait to see you there!!!

General Patton-Summerhill
2011-2012 President
UNITED WE STAND

You get three bags for $10.00, plus $5.00 shipping. Their fundraiser flier is attached so that you can purchase the bags by making direct contact with Becky Quimby. Thanks for your consideration. Click HERE to view order form.

Marie Schoenfeldt, PLS, CLA, Garland County, received her recognition in the August 2011 issue of the Docket for recruiting five members. “Continuous contact…present a positive attitude toward your profession and our Association; speak of Association benefits as often as possible.”

Congratulations to both NALS Superstars! We are proud of your accomplishment and your hard work for AALS.

Cheryl Summerhill, PLS
United We Stand
AALS 2011-2012 President

Congratulations to our new slate of AALS officers for 2012-2013:
President – Janet Gordon, PP, PLS
Pres-Elect – Mimi Jumper
Executive Secretary – Kimmi Wiles
Treasurer – Mary Hand, PP, PLS
Past President – Cheryl Summerhill, PLS

Members present at the meeting voted to rename the AALS retreat. The winning entry was from Margarett Wilson, PLS, and the retreat shall now be known as AALS PROFESSIONAL ENHANCEMENT RETREAT. Margarett’s registration to the 2012 AALS Professional Enhancement Retreat will be paid for submitting the winning entry. This Retreat will be held at Lakepoint Conference Center in Russellville, Arkansas on June 1-2. Be sure to watch upcoming emails for final information to register. The CLEC is working hard to present informational sessions that will benefit all AALS members.

The silent auction to benefit the AALS scholarship account was successful, as was the raffle of the $50.00 bill to benefit the AALS Retreat.

Mr. Stark Ligon, who spoke to us on ethics, sent a thank-you to Donna Holloway on Saturday at the conclusion of his session. His email stated: … They are the cream of AR lsp [legal support professionals], and I get as much from their questions as they probably get from my talk. … Do not be surprised if I might call on your group in 2012 for some input into our revision effort on the Rule that now somewhat covers the client file and what to do with it, as we struggle with that here.”

Incoming president Janet Gordon, PP, PLS, is looking for committee chairs, committee members, and workers for 2012-2013. If you are interested in being a part of AALS leadership for 2012-2013, please contact Janet and let her know where your interests lie. Why not step out of your personal comfort zone and try a new position? Challenge yourself!

Our AALS Annual Meeting will be held on April 27-29 in Garland County, who will be celebrating their 50th year as a NALS chapter. Please start making your arrangements now to attend. You won’t want to miss any of the exciting things that are being planned, including the Awards Banquet and the installation of your new officers.

Many, many other great things happened at the Winter Business Meeting and Educational Conference – all of which were to benefit you, the AALS member. If you were unable to attend, please contact your State Director to gain all the beneficial information.

Cheryl Summerhill, PLS
2011-2012 AALS President
UNITED WE STAND

The opportunity for you to play an active role in AALS–your State Association is coming to an end. As reported in The Informer, the name “Leadership” Retreat was a misnomer. This Retreat is NOT for just for leaders—but for the entire membership–SPECIFICALLY YOU!!! It is presented for all members who want professional development – those who want to “get ahead” in your profession, your association, your personal life – to become the you that you are meant to be.

The “NAME THE RETREAT” contest to rename next year’s event ENDS AT 5:00 P.M. ON JANUARY 1, 2012. The submission with the new name that best describes this retreat will receive a FREE REGISTRATION TO THE JUNE 1-2, 2012 RETREAT AT LAKE POINT CENTER IN RUSSELVILLE, ARKANSAS. The name of the 2012 retreat, as well as the name of the member winning the free registration will be announced at the AALS Winter Business Meeting on January 14, 2012—don’t you want that to be YOU???

A few great suggestions have been received. I know that we have MANY clever minds in our association, so use your remaining 2011 brain cells for YOUR association. Bite the bullet, let your voice be heard, and submit your contest entry TODAY.

Please email your submissions to Marie at schoen@cablelynx.com, with copies being sent to President Summerhill at summerhillcheryl@hotmail.com and to President-Elect Gordon at janet@stevejordanlaw.com.