New Beginnings
In the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. William George Jordan
As the new year unfolds, can you imagine what wonderful things lie ahead for you? Are you excited about the changes that will occur in your life and that of your family graduations, marriages, births, better jobs? Do you entertain thoughts of financial freedom? Even more importantly, do you realize the powerful impact that your life has on those around you?
Each of us has the power to influence our world in ways we will never know. Each of us is responsible for maintaining a positive attitude and allowing that positive attitude to prevail in our relationships with others. Being positive results in our sharing in the achievements of other individuals and groups by helping them reach their goals.
One question we might ask ourselves is: How can we help TALP reach its goals this year? The answer is quite simple. We work together to get more legal professionals involved, whether for their own personal satisfaction or professional gain. Those of us who have been around for a while know that when an individual (or a firm) experiences the benefits of membership in our tri-level association, they are eager to become a part.
Many of you are probably thinking that growing TALP is great in theory, but how do we go about accomplishing it in the real world? The answer is a versatile approach that utilizes methods that appeal to different audiences.
We can reach the younger audience by using the latest communications technology that will make the Internet a valuable tool for TALP. Just check out the NALS Web site - NALS Community, Career Center, NALS Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In. Have you joined the Texas ALP Group on the NALS Community? We all need continuing legal education whether to recertify or just to stay current on changes in the law. NALS WebEd offers webinars and the Online Learning Center and Online Study Groups offered by NALS are valuable resources in preparing for certification exams and obtaining continuing legal education.
We also need to make our presence known the old-fashioned way make presentations to your local bar and to the firm administrators association in your area; talk to your own firm/business if they are not supportive of your participation; talk one-on-one with other legal support professionals with whom you come into contact; present the benefits of our association every chance you get. Although the internet, e-mail, Twitter and other communication tools are great and we make great use of them, they will never replace being able to look someone in the eye, introduce ourselves to them and get to know them in person. All too often, people view large organizations as nothing more than faceless entities, forgetting that the heart of any association is its members and leaders.
You, our current members, play a vital role in this approach to growing TALP. As we embrace change, we succeed. Changes occurring this year are:
▪ At the 2009 Fall Board Meeting, the board voted to remove the duties of officers and chairmen from the standing rules to a guidelines document.
▪ The 2010-2011 officers will be elected via electronic voting for the first time.
▪ A PLS cram course will be held simultaneously with a continuing legal education seminar in February 2010.
Although the task of making our goals a reality is somewhat daunting, I am excited about the future of TALP and am looking forward to working with our members to reach our objectives. Will you join me?
POSITIVE ATTITUDE CHANGES EVERYTHING