Highlights of 2012-2013 – President’s Report

May 2nd, 2013

1.  Membership.  There are 227 local attorneys we communicate with on a regular basis of which 153 are dues-paying members of the Tippecanoe County Bar Association.
2. Deaths.  We lost two members of the Bar this year; John Bodle and Paul White, and we continued our tradition of gathering before the funeral and sitting as a group as a witness to the community.  Memorial resolutions were passed and appropriately filed.
3. Web presence.  Our website www.lafayettelawyers.org is kept up-to-date through the efforts of our webmaster, Amy Masson, and contains members’ websites, referrals under Find A Lawyer, monthly Presidential messages, memorial resolutions, and publicity regarding TCBA events.
4. Monthly Lawyers Forum Lunches.  We inaugurated a series called “Lawyers Forum Lunch” over the noonhour at LaScala restaurant with speakers on a variety of topics:
   • August – Dan Moore – Legal LimitsSeptember – Charlie Vaughn – Reining Horses
   • October – Linda Stockdale – Probate from the Other Side of the Desk
   • November – Recorder, Auditor and Assessor – Real Estate Records
   • December – Joe Bumbleberg and John Burgett – Memories of the Practice from the 60’s and 70’s
   • January – Health Care Reform – Mindy Anderson Wallis
   • February – Brian Dekker – This Old House
   • March – Sallie Fayhe – Area Plan
   • April – Bill Kealy – The Press and Legal Education of the Public
   • May – (to come) Brent Clary – Running of the Bulls in Pamplona
5. Big Projects:
   • Hail to our Chiefs Dinner at Lafayette County Club honoring our two chiefs from the Lafayette Bar:  Brent Dickson, Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, and Margret Robb, Chief Judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals.
   • Under the Dome -  A competition to select an original work of art depicting the Tippecanoe County Courthouse for the Indiana State Bar Association’s Indiana Courthouse Collection of Indiana’s courthouses and to raise funds for our local Legal Aid and CASA for Kids.  An event was held in our courthouse with music, art, drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
   • Amendment and restatement of the TCBA Articles and Bylaws and a resolution to opt into coverage under the Nonprofit Corporation Act.
6. Other Projects:
   • Lunch with a delegation of lawyers from the Ukraine
   • Coffee for the Indiana Secretary of State and one (1) hour of CLE
   • Golf outing
   • 99^th birthday party for Judge Paul Ewan
   • Law Day 2013
7. Other Responsibilities of the President:
   • Representing our Association and speaking before 450 people at Justice Dickson’s investiture at the State Capital
   • Regular and ongoing communications with the Bar – supporting Loretta Rush’s candidacy for Supreme Court Justice and publicizing the vacancy created by the selection, rule changes, Legal Aid events, live ICLEF webcasts at Reiling Teder & Withered, scholarships, IVY Tech’s Appeals on Wheels, events in neighboring counties, LSO’s new office, National High School Mock Trial, judges up for retention.
   • Serving as a referral agency for persons seeking legal representative – roughly four (4) calls per week.
8. Thanks.  Huge thanks to the executive committee: Dave Luhman, Carlos Carrillo, Richard Bartholomew, Bob Laszynski, John Burgett and Randy Vonderheide and to all the people who worked on the events, projects, and forums.

My deepest gratitude to the other three lawyers in our firm (Rod Ray, Sybil Sharvelle and Tracey Farnsworth) and to our legal assistants (Dale Hardin, Lisa Alvarez and James Landrum) for putting up with the extra phone calls and meetings, and for their patience and good humor.

It has been a privilege to serve our profession this past year.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia P. Truitt