President’ s Report
By Jim Haller, Esq. Sulaiman Law Group, Ltd. Oak Brook, Illinois View Bio
“ NACBA is in the process of creating additional committee opportunities. The more members who become involved, the higher the odds to impact change.”
Dear Members of NACBA,
Together with my colleagues on the NACBA Board of Directors, I wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2017!
I am honored and privileged to assume the role of President of NACBA. I am deeply grateful to my predecessor, Ed Boltz, for his leadership and outstanding contributions to NACBA during his presidency. Ed led NACBA for the past four years through many difficult challenges, including the search for our Executive Director( Dan LaBert). For an extended period, Ed volunteered as and performed the work of both President and Executive Director, all while maintaining his own law practice. We owe him a debt of gratitude. Though his time as President may be over, his volunteer activity will continue. I have appointed Ed to serve as Co-Chair of NACBA’ s Legislative Committee.
While 2016 was a challenging year, NACBA emerged stronger than it was in 2015. NACBA has addressed various technology issues to ease and encourage your engagement with the organization. From the new Communities platform to the Consumer Bankruptcy Journal to the Virtual Fall Workshop to increased Membership Benefits( professional liability insurance), the opportunities for ROI on your membership investment are abundant.
NACBA is in the process of creating additional committee opportunities. The more members who become involved, the higher the odds to impact change. Look for invitations to join various committees throughout this year. This is an area of priority for my time as President.
We had a professional and financial setback last Fall when our 2016 Workshop was cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew. The # 1 priority will always be the safety of our membership. Despite the significant impact, all members were refunded their registration fees. Those who booked their cabins through NACBA also had their fees returned. Thanks to successful negotiations with Royal Caribbean, we have a credit with the cruise line for a future( 2017-18) cruise workshop.
NACBA’ s strength comes directly from the many contributions of our membership. Our members regularly offer their comments to our robust
4 CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL Spring 2017 National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys