SBAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SBAND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SBAND: YOUR ASSOCIATION
TONY J. WEILER SBAND Executive Director
It’ s been quite busy here at SBAND. With the conclusion of our Annual Meeting, the staff and I get a chance to catch up and reflect on the meeting, while beginning plans for next year( hint: Fargo, June 14-16, 2017). More than 275 members attended the meeting in Grand Forks and, from the response we received, those in attendance really enjoyed themselves and learned quite a bit in the process. Please see the wrap-up in this issue.
While looking forward to the 2017 Annual Meeting, we seek your input. If you have any ideas how we can make the experience better for everyone involved, please don’ t hesitate to let me know. We appreciate our members’ feedback on not only the CLE content we provide, but on the social experience as well. If you attend a conference with a dynamic speaker that others would benefit from hearing, provide us with their contact information and we will reach out to them for a future annual meeting or general CLE.
In each city in which the Annual Meeting is held, we face different possibilities and challenges with our new format, which includes more movement by attendees to not only CLEs, but for social events as well. This is a change from having each and every event in a hotel or conference center( believe me, I know some of you still prefer going back to that format). What works in downtown Fargo may not work as well in Bismarck or Grand Forks. We also recognize not everyone likes the new format, and we continue to look for ways to make the event as beneficial as possible to all who attend.
Soon we will introduce a new website. The new website will allow for greater interaction between members of the Bar and a better online process for CLE registration. The new website will be more functional and provide you with the ability to manage your own profile, update it more easily, and, overall, be more functional. In the future, it may also include section chat rooms or list serves and will be optimized for mobile applications, making it much more user friendly.
The new website will also allow us to use one integrated solution for managing our CLE and social events, expand our CLE programs to fit all member needs, enhance our career center and job board service, and allow members and prospects to connect in an online marketplace using web advertising solutions. We are excited for this new endeavor and hope it enhances the delivery of services to each of you.
I hope you also keep in mind all the member benefits SBAND provides, like Casemaker, the Lawyer Referral Service, ethics opinions, low cost and no cost CLEs, the Lawyer Assistance Program, and the Member Assistance Program, as well as many others. SBAND is your association, so I hope you take a minute to explore these benefits.
Another benefit to you, and the profession, is your involvement with SBAND. Please take a minute to read former Justice Mary Maring’ s speech while accepting the Distinguished Service Award at this year’ s Annual Meeting. Maring stresses the importance of service to the association, but importantly, how that service has enriched her practice and life. In the coming weeks, new SBAND President Charles DeMakis will be making appointments to each of SBAND’ s standing committees. These include the CLE Committee, The Gavel Editorial Board, the Ethics Committee, the LRIS Committee, and the VLP Program Committee. If you have an interest in any of these, please let me know.
Finally, each summer brings new leadership to SBAND. As I mentioned above, Charles DeMakis is the new president of SBAND. He has served on the Board of Governors and as the president-elect and has some ideas on how we can serve each of you better. Darcie Einarson of Grafton is your president-elect, and Mike Hurley of Devils Lake is the new Board of Governors representative from the Northeast District, replacing Darcie.
SUMMER 2016 5