Message from the President, Sept 2017

Greetings and welcome to the GBA’s 88th year!  I am deeply honored to serve as your President and am excited about all of the wonderful fellowship and opportunities to serve that await us.

I am delighted to announce that the dedication for the GBA’s eighth Habitat for Humanity house will occur on Saturday, September 16 at 11:30 at 722 Prince Street in Greensboro.  We are grateful to all of the folks who donated to the fundraising effort for the house. We also appreciate the volunteers who came out during the construction process and worked hard with the homeowners, the R’Mah family.  The R’Mahs are remarkable people who could not be more deserving of their beautiful new home.  I urge all of you to attend this joyous celebration of hard work, determination, generosity and community collaboration.

On Thursday, September 21, the GBA will hold its first member meeting of the year at the Starmount Forest Country Club.  Cocktails start at 5:30 p.m., with the meeting’s call to order to follow at 6:15 p.m.  This year, we are changing up our usual format for the first meeting.  One of my goals as President is to increase participation on our committees across a broader swath of ages, races/ethnicities  and practice areas.  A greater diversity of viewpoints will better enhance the ability of our committees to serve our profession and the community.  To accomplish that goal, we are going to have a “Get to Know the GBA” panel of our committee chairs who will describe their committee’s goals and planned activities.  Sign-up sheets will be available at each table. Any member who signs up for a new committee will receive a GBA mouse pad.  Many of you may be surprised to learn about all of the activities the GBA’s committees engage in each year!

Another goal of my term is to increase communication and interaction between the GBA and the High Point Bar Association.  Accordingly, I have created the High Point Bar Liaison committee.  Allie Petrova has graciously agreed to co-chair the committee with me.  We will keep our members informed of HPBA CLEs, meetings and social events that GBA members can attend.  We will look for opportunities to include HPBA members in our activities.  We hope that this committee will provide multiple occasions for fellowship, networking and cross-referrals between the two bar associations.

In closing, I want to emphasize that my door is always open.  If you have ideas for activities, CLEs or community service projects, please reach out to me at any time.

Here’s to a memorable and successful year!