July 1 welcomed a new year at the Bar Association. With this new year, we say “goodbye” and “thank you” to our past council members and leadership. I am grateful to Immediate Past Chair Holland Ferguson for leadership during the 2018-2019 bar year. Also, many thanks to the council members who have now completed their three-year terms.

As the new year begins, I look forward to serving as the chair, along with the other officers and council members, of this large and diverse section. As you may know, the Section leadership includes the following:

Vice Chair Barry Jennings

Immediate Past Chair Holland Ferguson

Secretary Mark Leach

Treasurer Heather Baker

Community Manager Denise Hargrove

Class of 2020: Jeanette Byrum, Sherman Criner, Brian Elston, Ginny Lanier, Christopher Loutit, Cathy Pope, Kathryn Setzer

Class of 2021: Sarah Blair, Dalton Green, Charlie McGee, Trey Collier, Kathleen Quinn Dubois, Hunter Eddins-Gentel

Class of 2022: Samantha Aktug, Stase Vonsiastsky, Anna Hamrick, Leann Gerlach, Kyla Block, Ryan Bisplinghoff

Even if you are not yet a member of the Section council, there is ample opportunity for Section members to become more involved. We are always looking for written submissions for our blog. If you are interested in writing an article but are stumped on a topic, you can contact the communications co-Chairs to brainstorm ideas. We would also welcome volunteers to join our Membership Committee, to help plan social and networking events, or help out on our newly created Sponsorship Committee. If you have any interest in these or any other committees, please contact me at [email protected] to further discuss.

For those Section members who have an interest in learning more about the Section Council and possibly serving as a Council member in the future, I welcome you to attend our quarterly meetings. The first Council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16, 2019 at 11 a.m. at the Bar Center in Cary. Finally, I would like to welcome our new community manager, Denise Hargrove. She will be a great asset for to our Section!

On behalf of the entire council, I would like to encourage you to join us at our fall and spring CLEs, as well as the social and networking events we will be planning. More details about all of these opportunities will be forthcoming. We are looking forward to another great year for our Section!

Eleasa Allen

July 30, 2019/by WorkersComp