Annual Meeting/Dinner Highlights

DELVACCA Annual Dinner Meeting

Apparently preferring to venture out in fall damp weather rather than the alternative January frigid and frozen conditions, nearly 200 attendees didn’t let rain stop them from enjoying the November 13th Chapter Annual Meeting held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia.  Previously held in January, this was the second time the event was held in November.

The dinner meeting again followed the successful Corporate Counsel University held at the Four Seasons that afternoon.  The annual meeting offered multiple facets that garnered strong approval from the crowd: a blend of social style networking with colleagues and sponsors during the reception and dinner, an informative and orderly business segment that included activity announcements and election of officers, and finally a keynote address by a standout speaker.

Chapter President Dennis Schoff (Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Lincoln Financial Group) called the meeting to order for the business portion.  He reported DELVACCA completed another successful year, continuing to grow (over 100 new members joined this past year) and presented a broad array of successful CLE programs.  He particularly noted the continuing progress of the substantive law committees.   DELVACCA promises to continue its successes in 2007, he said, and pointed to the Spring Fling scheduled for Thursday, June 14th at the Franklin Institute to coincide with the highly acclaimed King Tut exhibit.  Dennis noted DELVACCA can be proud of its stature and recognition which is readily seen in the prominent speakers and sponsors that willingly support its programs designed to effectively serve the membership. 

Noting the critical contributions to the Chapter by the member leadership, President Schoff thanked the board members whose terms were ending.

A report from the Nominating Committee, chaired by Past President Ken Pina, presented the slate of recommended board nominees, all approved by vote of the members present:

Officers:

President – Robert Talley, Johnson Matthey
1st Vice President – Richard DePiano, Jr., Escalon Medical
2nd Vice President – Todd Borow, STAT Resources / Ultrasound Services
Treasurer – Thomas Molchan, ARAMARK Corporation
Secretary – Lisa Alexander, InterDigital Communications Corporation
Past President - Dennis Schoff, Lincoln National Corporation

New directors include:

David Christiansen, Carpenter Technology
Jeffrey Feirick, Clemens Family Corporation
Diana Hare, Drexel University College of Medicine
Lorraine Koc, Deb Shops, Inc.
Jackie Meredith-Batchelor, ARAMARK Corporation
Aileen Schwartz, The Quaker Group

President Schoff recognized and thanked the sponsors of the dinner for their important support:

Platinum Sponsor– Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP
Gold Sponsors– Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., Kelly Law Registry; IKON Office Solutions
Silver Sponsor – Flaster Greenberg P.C.

Newly elected chapter president Bob Talley thanked Dennis Schoff for his contributions to DELVACCA and commented on the rich heritage and legacy of the chapter that is the result of the dedication and creativity of the professionals who have past served the interests of fellow corporate counsel in the chapter.  He promised DELVACCA would continue to expand its successes in 2007 citing the talented board members, committee leadership and chapter administrator who are committed to the chapter objectives.

The dinner concluded with a keynote address by Governor Dick Thornburgh, former governor of Pennsylvania and U.S. Attorney General, now with  Kirpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP who presented his knowledgeable views on the state of the attorney-client privilege waiver debate.