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 PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3 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 highlight submissions for yourself or others should be sent to memberhighlights@ palmbeachbar.org.