the warmth and congeniality among those in attendance reflected how everyone felt about Chris and his leadership and insights . The program brought together people who loved and respected Chris in every aspect of his life , including College fellows . It was an opportunity for the College to reach out and participate in a community event and work collaboratively to produce an outstanding program .
The College Education committee has also been busy . During the summer and fall of 2024 , the Education Committee , Circuit Education Chairs and Regents have produced a number of extraordinary educational programs and networking events focusing on cutting-edge issues and challenges facing all of us . In October , the Third Circuit sponsored its annual program at Rutgers University entitled “ Bankruptcy Update 2024 : Split and Confounding Issues Destined For the Supreme Court .” The program was available to all fellows and inperson at Rutgers .
In August , the Fifth , Tenth and Eleventh Circuits had an educational and social weekend in Park City , Utah . The weekend was perfect , and the Committee has plans to continue the program in future years . The program focused on bankruptcy ethics and culminated with an opportunity to watch and listen to the Utah Symphony .
The Sixth Circuit held a weekend retreat in Grand Rapids , on October 18th and 19th . The event was well attended and reflected , again , the excellence in programming and educational presentations for which the College is known . The program included Professor Melissa Jacoby speaking about her book , “ Unjust Debts ” and answering easy and hard questions with respect to her data and theories .
Lastly , on the educational front , our circuit education committees , have engaged with the local law schools in their circuits , to host and judge regional moot court competitions . There are currently competitions in most of the circuits and the College has been active in providing judging and coordination . The regional moot competitions prepare students for the national Duberstein Moot court competition held in New York the first weekend in March 2025 . As a result of the College ’ s involvement , teams are better prepared for Duberstein with outstanding results . Most of the successful teams at the regional competitions succeed on a national basis . This outreach not only provides assistance to moot court competitors but also helps create an energy and excitement among law students for practicing in the insolvency area .
I entitled this article ‘ Tis the Season for Giving Thanks because I am extraordinarily grateful to all of you for your support of the College . As President , my duties include chairing the Patrons ’ and Sponsors Committee , which seeks sponsorships from fellows to support the activities of the College . The College is self-funded by its fellows , which makes your financial commitments so very important . My Committee , to which I am extraordinarily grateful , has been effective and precision focused . The members are : Hon . Joan N . Feeney , Rick Mikels , Paul Leake , Karen Giannelli , David Stratton , Claudia Springer , Michael Baxter , Charlie Beckham , Stephen Lerner , Melissa Kibler , Mark Shinderman , Rob Charles , Annette Jarvis , John Young , and Jayna Lamar .
This year , the Patrons and Sponsors Committee created a new level of sponsorship known as the “ Benefactor
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