COALA Corner, January 2019
Happy Tuesday COALA Members:
A New Year is the perfect occasion to celebrate love, friendships and all the good things in life. Let’s take the time to appreciate what 2018 has given us and what the new one is about to bring.
COALA accomplished so many wonderful things in 2018. My hope is that our organization continues to prosper in not only number but ideas, experiences, and education; that we continue to maintain high standards, promote the paralegal profession and COALA as an organization, and provide a network of support for each other.
2019 Membership Enrollment & Renewal
Happy New Year COALA Members!
It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone. We had a memorable and amazing year and look forward to what is to come in 2019. Click here to download the membership form for 2019. Please get those filled out and returned by January 31, 2019. Be sure to send them to your colleagues that might benefit as a COALA member. Don’t forget those students!
Regards,
Carol Bybee
COALA President
2018 Year in Review
Exciting new things occurred in 2018! COALA revealed its new logo, unveiled its redesigned website (coalaokc.org), and the monthly luncheons were relocated to Sheraton’s Block 23. COALA also focused on educational seminars, community service and networking events making 2018 a busy and productive year.
Click here to watch the full video of COALA’S 2018 Year In Review.
Special thanks to Tamira Lee-Brown and Barbara Urtz for memorializing 2018 with their photography skills and to Barbara Urtz for putting together the video.
COALA looks forward to an amazing 2019 and wishes all of you a Happy New Year!!
2018 “COAT OF MANY COLORS” QUILT BY JACKIE ARNOLD-SHAFER
Since 2002, Jackie Arnold-Shafer has allowed her love for the art of creating lovely quilts to grow into a beautiful legacy of love. Jackie’s endless devotion of giving to the children of Positive Tomorrows has truly been a gift from the heart.
COALA Past President, Charlottee Blacklee, presented a certificate from COALA to Jackie Arnold-Shafer as a token of our appreciation for her devotion.
After 16 years, Jackie is retiring from making the quilt in the hopes that someone else in the COALA organization would love to take up this labor of love and continue with the quilt legacy. The theme for this year’s quilt was “Coat of Many Colors.” You can learn about the meaning of the quilt and Jackie’s retirement from making the quilt by viewing Jackie’s letter.
Jackie also did us the honor of selecting the winning quilt raffle ticket. The raffle winner was Jaime Caldwell of Continental Resources, Inc. As fate would have it, Jaime is a novice quilter herself. Jackie’s gift of love could not have been given to a more deserving winner.
Many thanks to Jackie and congratulations Jaime!
Holiday Luncheon ~ December 14, 2018
Good afternoon COALA Members!!
Our annual Holiday Luncheon is right around the corner. Last year, COALA raised almost $4,000 for Positive Tomorrows. We would love to see COALA do that again this year!
For the past 10+ years, Jackie Arnold-Shafer has graciously handmade a quilt for COALA as a fundraiser item. Quilting, sewing, and advocating for children are her true passions! This year's quilt theme is “Coat of Many Colors”. The inspiration behind the theme was that it would be a representation of the diversity of the children of Positive Tomorrows. Pictures of the colorful and unique quilt are posted below.
Positive Tomorrows is hands down COALA’s largest fundraiser. All proceeds go to Positive Tomorrows. We encourage you to reach out to your co-workers, family, friends, and anyone who you think may be interested in supporting this great cause.
A representative from Positive Tomorrows will be attending the Holiday Luncheon to accept our donation.
How the raffle works:
Anyone, COALA member or not, can donate and can win the quilt.
$1 = 1 quilt raffle ticket.
Fill out all quilt raffle tickets in advance and bring them with you to the Holiday Luncheon along with any money collected.
Checks should be payable to “Positive Tomorrows.”
For every $20 in donations you collect, you will receive an additional 5 tickets to use to enter to win the door prizes.
Happy holidays and thank you for all of your hard work this year!
Quilt in the Making
Finished Quilt
Quilt Raffle Tickets
NALA Affiliates e-Newsletter
Did you catch COALA’s feature in the NALA Affiliate E-Newsletter? If not, an excerpt is below and the complete e-newsletter is linked here.
Thank you Kasi O’Brien for the Positive Tomorrows article and Tamira Lee-Brown for the photograph.
Survey Results Are In!!
Dress for Success Clothing Drive
COALA will be collecting donations at our November Business Meeting for our clothing drive to benefit Dress for Success!
Dress for Success is a great program which provides low-income women with professional attire for upcoming interview or jobs fairs and continues to work with the women providing interview guidance. Once a woman secures a job, they then provide her with a professional wardrobe and continue to work with her through a Professional Woman’s Group (PWG) to encourage job retention and career advancement.
See below for a list of items that will be accepted for donations. Please be sure all items being donated are clean and any clothing items are on hangers.
Let us know if you have any questions in the meantime!
COALA ELECTIONS FOR 2019
Good morning COALA Members!
As we mentioned at the monthly luncheon, it is election time again. Our annual Business Meeting is Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Hotel in OKC.
Our current COALA Officers are:
President: Carol Bybee
First Vice President: Misty Shirley
Second Vice President: Debbie Agnew
Treasurer: Liz Litts
Secretary: Barbara Urtz
NALA Liaison: Kerry Blackburn
Pursuant to Section 8.2 (Election of Officers) of the ByLaws, the “officers of the Association shall be elected in November of each year to serve for a period of one (1) year beginning on the first day of the calendar year following such election. The election of officers shall be conducted in accordance with the most recent edition of ROBERT'S RULES OF ORDER NEWLY REVISED. Names of newly elected or appointed officers shall be submitted to NALA headquarters and the Affiliated Associations Director at least thirty (30) days after election and/or appointment.”
The following officer positions are available for active member nominations:
President:
Section 8.3. Duties of President. The President shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the Association. He or she shall exercise such duties as customarily pertain to the office of President and shall have general and active supervision over the property, business and affairs of the Association, over its several officers and over the Standing Committees of the Association. The President shall sign and execute all contracts in the name of the Association, and all notes, drafts or other orders for payment of money. The President shall enforce these Bylaws and perform all of the duties incident to his or her office and which are required by law, and, generally, he or she shall supervise and control the business and affairs of the Association. The President shall be familiar with association and NALA Bylaws.
Vice-Presidents (First and Second):
Section 8.4. Duties of Vice-Presidents. In addition to the duties set forth below, the Vice-Presidents shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be assigned by the Executive Board or the President.
8.4.A. The First Vice President shall serve as assistant to the President, assistant to the Treasurer and will be responsible for the program for monthly meetings.
8.4.B. The Second Vice President shall serve as assistant to the President, assistant to the Secretary, and shall be Historian for the Association.
Secretary:
Section 8.5. Duties of Secretary. The Secretary shall record the proceedings of each meeting of the Association and the Executive Board, give notices of meetings and shall, in general, perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Executive Board. Association minutes of any meeting shall be available to the NALA President upon request.
Treasurer:
Section 8.6. Duties of Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have custody of all funds, securities, evidences of indebtedness and other similar property of the Association and shall, in general, perform all duties incident to the office of Treasurer and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board.
NALA Liaison:
Section 8.7. Duties of NALA Liaison. This officer shall be a NALA active member, shall be familiar with the association and NALA Bylaws, shall receive minutes of all NALA meetings, and shall represent the association at the NALA annual meeting of affiliated associations. This officer shall report quarterly on association activities to the NALA Affiliated Associations Director on forms provided by NALA headquarters, and shall report all officer’s names to NALA headquarters and the NALA Affiliated Associations Director. The NALA Liaison is responsible for reporting the current roster of membership annually to NALA, along with the renewal fee for continued affiliation with NALA.
This officer may submit items the association wishes discussed to the NALA Affiliated Associations Director, and shall participate in discussion sessions at NALA annual meetings. A report to association members on the NALA annual meeting will be required.
This officer shall, within sixty days of passage, notify the NALA Affiliated Associations Director of any changes in the association’s Bylaws. This officer shall be the main contact between NALA and the association. This officer shall be a member of the governing body of this association.
Any Active Member of COALA who wishes to declare himself or herself as a candidate for an officer position, can do so by notifying COALA Secretary, Barbara Urtz at burtz@whittenburragelaw.com, in advance of the Business Meeting or at the Business Meeting on Nov. 9, 2018. Please make sure your email subject line states, “COALA Nomination” so Barbara can get to these quickly and for ease of organization.
If there are any contested positions, Active Members in attendance at the meeting will be asked to cast their votes at the meeting, and Active Members who are unable to attend the meeting in person will be given an opportunity to vote by Proxy. Active Members can download the Proxy form here.
If you are nominated for an officer position, Barbara will be in contact with you. Please have all nominations to Barbara by noon on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018. All nominees will be spotlighted at our Luncheon/Business Meeting on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
If you are interested in an officer position and would like to know more about it, please contact us.
We look forward to seeing you in November!!