PBCBA BAR BULLETINS pbcba_bulletin_Oct. 2019 | Page 3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The NCS Networks and Educates
Jessica Callow
2019-20 PBCBA President
The 2019-2020 Palm Beach County Bar
Association (“PBCBA”) year is in full
swing. While it still feels like summer,
College and NFL football is back and
students started school weeks ago!
Also preparing for a new school year
are members of the PBCBA’s North
County Section (“NCS”), who teach a
course each spring at Florida Atlantic
University (“FAU”). For those of you
unfamiliar with the NCS, it is an elective
section of the PBCBA that provides
additional programing and events for
members who either live or practice in
the north end of Palm Beach County or
who simply enjoy participating in the
NCS. I’ve been a member of the NCS for
ten years and, suffice it to say, I am a
big fan.
The NCS’s programming includes
frequent networking happy hours,
family and charitable events, and CLE
programs. As noted above, members
also have an opportunity to teach a
course to college students at FAU’s
Jupiter campus called “Law in the
Real World.” The course introduces
students to a variety of practice areas
and legal problems. Each week, a
different attorney provides one-hour of
instruction on their selected practice
area, which instruction assumes the
students have no prior knowledge of
the law and includes providing a basic
understanding of the laws applicable
to their practice.
Current leaders of the NCS include
President, Wayne Richter, and President-
Elect, Misty Taylor Chaves. Wayne
graduated from Florida Southern College
and the South Texas College of Law and
practices criminal defense with the Law
Offices of R. Wayne Richter, P.A. Wayne and
his wife, Katie, have three children and are
avid Miami Dolphins fans. In their spare
time, they enjoy traveling and boating. I’ve
enjoyed getting to know Wayne even better
this year in his capacity as a member of
the PBCBA Board of Directors and have
seen firsthand how proud Wayne is to lead
the NCS.
Misty has been a good friend of mine for
almost fifteen years. I met her shortly after
I began practicing law and she has been a
role model for me from day one. Misty is
smart as a whip, confident in her skills as
a liability defense attorney with her firm,
King & Chaves, LLC, and just an all-around
good human being. Misty, a Double Gator,
can be found at most home UF football
games along with her husband, Rick, and
their daughter. I look forward to serving on
the Board with Misty next year.
Previous leaders of the NCS accomplished
many great things with the Section,
including establishing, organizing and
teaching the aforementioned “Law in the
Real World” course and raising money
to fund a scholarship awarded annually
to an FAU Honors College student. Past
President of the NCS, Michael Slavin
with McHale & Slavin, P.A., created the
course when he realized most students
had very little understanding of the many
and varied practice areas available in the
legal field. Michael proposed the course
to FAU and rolled it out in the spring of
2012. Word on the street is that the FAU
course is so popular it fills up as soon as
registration opens to students. While the
students certainly benefit from the course,
North County Section members do too. As
noted by Michael, “Volunteering to teach a
session of the course is a nice way to give
back to the community without having to
invest a huge amount of time.”
Michael successfully ran the program
from 2011-2015 before turning over the
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reins to NCS Past President, Larry
Buck with Lawrence P. Buck, P.A. Larry
is correct when he calls the course a
“great community outreach program,”
and each year the NCS Board and
Larry work hard to ensure the course
remains successful. Members of the
NCS who have volunteered to teach
the course include Michael, Larry,
and Wayne, as well as Judge Cymonie
Rowe, Ron Ponzoli, Kathryn Perrin,
Nick Johnson, Miriam Acosta-Castriz,
Eric Rosen, Debra Jenks, Bob Harvey,
Heather Samuels, Robert Bertisch, Todd
Stewart, Jeff D’Amore, Paul Burkhart,
Carl Spagnuolo, Sarah Shullman and
so many more. I applaud the NCS Board
and members for doing their part to
fulfill the mission of the PBCBA to
enhance the public’s understanding
and awareness of the legal system.
I also applaud the NCS and YLS
members who join forces each year to
collect donations of goods, services and
gift cards to auction off at the Holiday
Party. Household goods, jewelry, items
for pets or children, restaurant gift
cards, and sporting event and travel
gift certificates are just a few examples
of donations needed. Our creative bar
staff puts together packages of the
items donated for members to bid on
in a silent auction. Money raised at the
silent auction is used to support local
charities, including a holiday party
for foster children. Please consider
donating an item or funds to buy items
to sell at the silent auction!
If you are interested in joining the
NCS, volunteering to teach a session
of the “Law in the Real World” course
or donating items to auction off at the
Holiday Party, you can contact Lynne
Poirier at [email protected].
As always, please reach out to me and
the rest of the Board with any ideas,
comments or concerns. We can be
reached at pbcba-bod@palmbeachbar.
org.
PBCBA
member
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submissions for yourself or others
should be sent to memberhighlights@
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