NJCCA President's Message

by Valerie Camara

To the Membership,

Well I think that we are all ready for spring, February has been a cold, snowy month. 

I was able to skip town just in time for the last snow storm, to attend the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Leadership Development Institute program on February 26th in Washington D.C.  Washington still had the remnants of the prior storm that paralyzed our capitol for nearly a week, but they were able to avoid the precipitation that fell across north and central New Jersey.  At this program, ACC chapter leaders from across the United States and Canada (from Seattle to Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth to Montreal) shared ideas on the successful programs they held.  We also raised issues and shared ideas on how chapters were able to address them.  My plan is to share these ideas with my board and committee leaders to determine ways we might be able to enhance the function of the chapter, as well as the services and the programs/events that we offer.

NJCCA will be sending out a hold the date reminder for our Annual Spring Cocktail Reception which is planned for May 11th at the Pleasantdale Chateau.  With the advent of mandatory CLE in New Jersey, the board has added a two-hour ethics CLE program in the afternoon to the agenda.  The agenda will also offer our wine tasting event (limited to a group of about 40) and walking tours of the Chateau for the attendees.  I look forward to seeing you all on May 11th.

Also please check the NJCCA newsletter and website for all upcoming events and CLE programs.  Our committee leaders may be reaching out to their committee members for input on program ideas that might be of interest.  Please help them develop the programs that you want to attend.

Our Eighth Annual Full-Day CLE Conference is scheduled for September 24th at the Hanover Marriott.  The planning committee has begun work on developing the conference agenda.  If you have any suggestions you would like the planning committee to consider, please feel free to forward those ideas to Gail Girard at njcca@comcast.net.

If you have a colleague that might be interested in the benefits of ACC membership, please invite them to attend our Spring Cocktail Reception, to meet some of our members and learn more about ACC and the New Jersey Chapter.  Gail Girard can help explain the benefits of membership and if they so choose Gail will be happy to help them sign up.

As a reminder, if you find yourself in transition, you can apply to ACC for a waiver of your membership dues, go to: http://www.acc.com/aboutacc/membership/join.cfm for the application.

Think spring!!!

Valerie Camara
NJCCA President