About The ABA

End of the Year Reflections…

The end of the “bar year” is approaching, so I want to take the time to reflect on some of what the past year has held for the Akron Bar Association. Probably the biggest success during the past year has been the development of our Sections, which I wrote about last month. This growth has added tremendous value to ABA membership and I encourage all members to join the 700+ and get involved with Sections of your practice areas. We have also continued the monthly Sidebar receptions that afford members the opportunity to gather in a casual and relaxed atmosphere to reconnect with peers and colleagues. While we won’t have Sidebars over the summer, look for them to resume in the fall and join the fun!

I want to thank Marc Merklin for his excellent leadership as President of the Association for the last year. Under his direction, we entered into a successful partnership with PNC Bank along with another successful partnership with the Akron Legal News, both of which have benefitted the Association financially. We’ve also joined with Fox 8 to promote our Lawyer Referral Service more effectively throughout northeast Ohio. In addition, Marc formed a task force that examined our election process, including a survey of our members for their input. The result of this effort are the proposed changes to our rules and regulations that will be up for a vote at the Annual Meeting. These are just some of the highlights of his year, all of which have enabled us to offer more services to our members and greater value of membership in the ABA without increasing dues. I want to thank Marc for his commitment to bettering the organization and for the very good working relationship that we have enjoyed.

Please plan on attending the Annual Meeting on June 24th where we will honor Marc and others who have so well served the Association this past year and pass the gavel to Larry Poulos, who will ably lead us through the coming year. Of course, we will be electing new officers and Board members, as well. Again this year, we will invite members to vote online in advance of the meeting (in addition to those voting in person) to encourage broader participation in the voting process. Watch for information on the particulars of the process coming to you via email and at www.akronbar.org.

To celebrate what the year has held, make plans to attend the Annual Golf Outing and Family Fun Day! On June 28th at the Fairlawn Country Club, we will be holding a morning nine-hole best ball golf scramble (for those “casually acquainted” with the game!), an afternoon eighteen-hole tournament for those more dedicated golfers, a tennis tournament, and bocce ball and swimming throughout the day. In addition, we’ll have a great picnic lunch and will end the day with cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres and great music. The idea is to offer something for everyone to enjoy and put an exclamation point on the year. Look for more information elsewhere in the Examiner and plan on joining together for a great day of fun – I look forward to seeing you there!