Not sick, I am healing thanks to endless acts of kindness…

Four weeks into the foot healing as a result of elective surgery, and on my first evening out with friends, heading into Lucano’s for dinner, I had a serious miscalculation which resulted in a trip to the ground and a complex wrist fracture. Talk about a moment as I am sitting on the ground, recognizing my wrist was seriously broken, and recognizing what this would mean to my day to day life for the next weeks 4 weeks, and most importantly, what it would mean to the family and friends that love me and would be providing the bulk of the care-taking.

So many acts of kindness are unfolding each day, so I want to share a few:

#1 — The Waiter from Lucano’s that created a splint to stabilize my badly deformed and painful wrist with a piece of cardboard and a restaurant napkin. It felt safer and more comfortable.

#2 — The great Dr. Balial that did the preliminary setting of the wrist and those early shots that make you happy again.

#3 — The wonderful nurses and aides on Highland 600E where I was cared for by some amazing caregivers: Stephanie Michaels, Dianna Lyko, Mary, Gwen, Dyana, and the casting team of Anthony, Roger, & Mike who began to refer to me as a “frequent flier” to the Cast Room.

#4 — A visit from my president, Neil Rowe, with a funny card and a reassuring smile on Sunday when I sorely needed some distraction. As well as calls from Justin Vigdor, Steve Modica & Connie Walker. 

#5 — Dr. Catherine Humphrey, Chief of Orthopedics at Highland Hospital, and a wrist and hand trauma surgeon, for adding me to her Tuesday morning schedule at the last minute. I was so reassured to be in the hands of someone who knew wrists and hands.

#6 — A spontaneous visit from my MCBA buddy Penny Dentinger, with a delicious iced tea and a bag of treats from Hedonist Chocolate. It meant so much to me to have this visit!

#7 — My special caretakers: Elaine, Trilby, Nancy, Margaret, Jill, Brian, Aidan and Claire. Not to mention the home health care aides, Kathy, Lisa and Candace.

#8 — And to those looking out for my nourishment: Jill, Susan and Bryan, Curt, Helen and Marian, Carol, Shaina, Elaine, Trilby and Nancy again, Margaret, and a delicious iced Latte from Liz.

#9 — And to those that have have sent acts of kindness: flowers from Bruce and Susan, Neil and Ed, my mom and brother Tom, a funny card from Jenn Sommers that suggested i would go to extremes to miss a board discussion on judicial evaluations. Not true! And a really nice email from Josie Sheppard about my positive thought on healing, and encouragement that I use this time for quiet meditation…and anyone else I may have missed.

#10 — And to so many others that are wishing me positive thoughts via Facebook, and responding to my crazy photos of my plight on Facebook. I appreciate the support. Special thanks to my entire team for being there for me. As always, they are working hard, and I am working hard to keep up with them from my Healing Chair Office at Home.

Bonus mention — I am learning how to use the dictation function on my computer, it is very useful as I am not super successful at one handed key boarding.

Thanks for checking in, for the good thoughts, and for the many acts of kindness as I heal…

Mary

It’s blog day…

Every Monday, I spend about 5-10 minutes with the Communications Team, Liz Novak and Dajaneé Parrish, to brainstorm topics for my blog that week. Dajaneé always brings a few topics to pitch, as does Liz. Might be about an event, a new program, or one in which I am seeking your feedback. Just last week we had one of our most popular to date — “The Babies of the Bar…” and we featured about 10 beautiful babies, young children and even a new grand baby. The blog, written by Dajaneé, was a huge success with over 200 people tuning in to read the blog and view these little miracles of the universe.

It was such a success that we are planning to do one on “The Puppies of the Bar…” (yes, these can also be full grown dogs). I have an allergy to cats, so we are sticking with canines for now. However, if there is a major member insurrection that we are bias to felines, we will go back to our 3-person editorial team and consider it.

Anyway, back to the blog. So at our team meeting, their hope is that if we have this discussion on Monday, it will be ready by Wednesday at the latest. I think that has happened once. Their parting word to me yesterday was, “So Mary, you all set with the blog for tomorrow morning?” This question is followed by a subtle look of doubt (or perhaps that is skepticism I see on their faces). I respond with, “No worries, it’s all up here. I just need time to write it.” But as they know, I like to write early in the morning, and usually have great inspiration at that hour while enjoying my morning coffee. Not so successful this morning, so it is 10:00 am on eDocket day, and I am just knocking this out, trying to avoid any eye-contact with the Communications Team.

The real topic for today’s blog is about the start of our Nominating Season. This Friday will be the first meeting of the Nominating Committee, chaired by Immediate Past President, Diane Cecero. In addition, to Diane, we will be joined by Steve Modica, MCBA President, and Neil Rowe, President-Elect. We will be selecting the President-Elect Nominee to Neil’s term as President which will begin on July 1st, 2015. In addition to President-Elect, we will be seeking a new Treasurer, as well as 5 new Trustees. The new Trustees serve one 3-year term.

We will be selecting my 15th President, and my 15th Board since I started at the MCBA in 2001. With each new president, and 5 new trustees each year, the result becomes diversity of thoughts, opinions and actions. The other result is that no two years are alike. In recent years we have become very focused on strategic planning with the idea that we cannot simply adopt an endless list of new programs and committees, but instead, we have thoughtful dialogue about the resources necessary to support, and the level of member engagement.

The current board of trustees is dealing with a variety of matters of interest to our members, the public, and the profession. The profession is in the midst of a major evolution, so the challenge before the MCBA and the Board is how do we remain relevant to our diverse membership — diverse in terms of age, gender, race, orientation, practice area, beliefs, and the list goes on. We are looking for members who fit this description above. We are looking for members that are interested in a leadership opportunity, and with that opportunity, a willingness to take on some assignments. We are looking for members that wish to be a part of a Board team at what is considered to be one of the most progressive county bar associations in the country. These are not my words, but words others have used to describe the MCBA.

We are currently accepting nominations. Feel free to nominate yourself or a colleague or friend. Click here for nomination application. It should be completed and returned to Ginny LaCour by December 22.

If you are so intrigued by this invitation to consider a nomination, but have questions, please give me a ring, and let me put my persuasive powers to work on you.

Thanks for checking in,

Mary

Playing nice in the sandbox…

A life lesson that we begin to learn at a young age is how to play nice in the sandbox with our friends. I believe some mothers and fathers pass this lesson on better than others. But I do believe that all the mothers and fathers of all of the presidents of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA), the Rochester Black Bar Association (RBBA), and the Monroe County Bar Association (MCBA), did an excellent job of passing on this life lesson to their young children, and future bar presidents.

Yesterday, the three bar presidents, Tiffany Lee, GRAWA President, and Jill Paperno, GRAWA President-Elect; Fatimat Reid, RBBA President, and Aaron Frazier, RBBA President-Elect; Steve Modica, MCBA President, and Neil Rowe, President-Elect; Margaret Sanchez, GRAWA’s Administrator and me all met over lunch.

We started these meetings several years ago, with the intent to meet quarterly. But as life in the bar world goes for all the presidents — life as a bar president becomes very busy. We have been unsuccessful on the quarterly goal, but we still manage to stay in touch, and obviously see each other at all of the respective bar events.

Typically we each bring a topic or two to the table, but yesterday, our primary conversation was about our Rochester Diversity Clerkship Program. Both the RBBA and GRAWA have participated and supported this program since the very beginning. We had a very good discussion about the values of the program, and also discussed some of the challenges. All agreed, more dialogue on the improvement of diversity in the Rochester legal community is critical.

In addition, we always have a number of topics on our agenda including judicial evaluations, topics from the courts, and other matters raised by any of the three bars. Yesterday Steve also shared that we are beginning some dialogue about assistance for attorneys dealing with depression and mental health issues. Currently, these challenges are not being addressed by our Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers Committee, as they are not equipped or informed enough to deal with depression and mental health issues. All agreed this was a most important issue for our entire legal community, and one that all of the bar leaders want continued dialogue.

We all concluded at the end that we are very fortunate in Rochester to have this kind of positive, collaborative relationship with each other. There is not a sense of competition, but instead an incredible commitment to cooperation, collaboration and mutual support. Little known fact, we are all members of the respective bars. And a very special celebration will occur this Saturday evening, when we all gather to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Rochester Black Bar Association at the Convention Center. We are very proud of the RBBA, their leaders, their membership and their many successes and contributions to the practice of law in Rochester over the past 20 years. Most of all we look forward to their continued success and all that the future holds for the RBBA.

Together, GRAWA, RBBA and the MCBA make Rochester a great place to practice law.

Thanks for checking in,
Mary

How do MCBA members and staff unwind after work? Guest Post by Dajaneé Parrish

For many of us, the work day is filled with deadlines, phone calls and emails. After a long workday finding ways to relax and recharge is a must.

We wanted to know, what MCBA members and staff do to unwind after work. Do you prefer to socialize after work or spend a quiet night at home? Are there certain activities that you always do after an especially stressful day?

After work, I spend my time watching YouTube videos. The original content and YouTube vloggers are entertaining. It’s so easy to just click on one video and then two hours later I find myself in the YouTube black hole of cat videos.

Photo Credit: http://www.technobuffalo.com/2012/06/22/youtube-could-net-google-billions-in-gross-revenue-this-year/

Here’s what we found out…

For Liz Novak, MCBA Membership, Communications and Foundation Manager, starting the practice of yoga recently is how she unwinds and gets her mind off of work:

“I recently started taking yoga at my gym. Sometimes it’s in the morning, which sets me up for a great day, or sometimes it’s in the evening, which helps to brush off the day’s work. A friend of mine convinced me to take a class. It’s completely out of my comfort zone, but because you have to focus on each of the moves, it allows me to be present instead of focusing on what I have to do later in the day or tomorrow, etc.”

Photo Credit: http://beyogaandwellness.com/

For Steve Modica, MCBA President, unwinding with family is the best medicine. “I enjoy spending time with my bride of 28 years, playing golf, walking my dogs and watching sports (especially professional baseball and hockey).”

For Amanda Dwyer, Chair, Lawyers for Learning Committee, spending time in nature with her family gets her mind off of work.” In my down time I like to spend time with friends and family, especially my husband and two-year old son. We often enjoy walks in some of Monroe County’s amazing parks. Lately I have become something of a bird watcher. I like to spot different kinds in my yard and out in the wild.”

Photo Credit: http://www.centralpark.com/photos/show/668/bird-watching

For Neil Rowe, MCBA President-Elect, getting in some cardio and enjoying the company of fellow MCBA members is all he needs to unwind.

“I used to compete in bicycle racing, but now limit myself to invigorating rides of 30 or so miles 3 or 4 days a week.  On the alternating days I swim about 1/2 mile and otherwise enjoy my pool and backyard.  As we get to the colder seasons, I switch to the indoor gym and pool at the Webster Y.  With my retirement from government service, my teaching schedule with Keuka College should allow more time to travel, particularly to historic sights; but for the time being I am relaxing with my fellow MCBA members at a plethora of bar sponsored activities and events.”

Photo Credit: http://visit-hungary.com/active-holiday/cycling

For Ginny LaCour, MCBA Executive Assistant, faith and a little bit of Downton Abbey help her relax.

“Well – as far as taking care of myself – Church is very important to me. Spending time with my family is most valuable.  I love to read, watch HGTV, and yes, “Downton Abbey” and other similar PBS programs.  I live near the lake, so I enjoy walking on the pier at Charlotte and of course, Abbott’s!  And if I could, I would travel, travel, travel!”

Tell us what you like to do to unwind after work.

And the Nominees are…

I was walking into the Telesca Center for Justice the other morning, and along came the wonderful Loren Kroll (looking dapper as usual). Loren and I chatted briefly about how it was nice to feel spring in the air, and then he said, “Oh Mary, I sent my ballot in, but I have to tell you, I only knew one person!” He then went on to infer either that he is aging or disconnected — I don’t want to put words in Loren’s mouth, but that was the gist of the message.

I started thinking about how we could make this better. Not sure if you noticed, but this year with the ballot, we enclosed a short bio paragraph on each of the candidates hoping to provide useful information on each of the candidates. But taking it one step further, I decided that for this week’s blog we would re-send their bios’ and include their picture so you can place a face to a name.

I understand that with the new non-profit law, by next year, we will be able to do our nomination ballots electronically, therefore, we will be able to include their portraits, along with their bio. This will be so much better and obviously, more efficient.

Perhaps you already sent your ballot in, if not, please let this serve as a gentle reminder to send your ballot today, while also giving you a glimpse at the new MCBA leadership.

It is hard to believe that we are in the final quarter of the 2013-14 bar year, and as one of the many activities this time of year, we are getting ready to welcome a new set of officers and trustees for the Monroe County Bar Association Board. President Diane Cecero has had a very busy year; always busier than anticipated. Like the many presidents that came before her, Diane is beginning to count the days till the end of her term. When you take on another job, on top of your full-time job, the demands are immense. I appreciate all that she has done as President of the MCBA.

I am so fortunate to work with great bar leaders every year, and next year will be no exception as Steve Modica prepares to assume the role of President on July 1, 2014. Following Steve’s term, Neil Rowe, will assume the role of President-Elect.

So please take a moment and meet your new MCBA leadership.

Here are the 2014-15 MCBA Officer and Trustee Nominees:

Neil J. Rowe, Esq.  (President-Elect)

Neil Rowe, a graduate of Washington & Lee University School of Law, is a Solo Practitioner and Lecturer in Organizational Management at Keuka College.  Previously, Neil was an attorney for the NYS Mental Hygiene Service, Fourth Judicial Department, for 32 years, 25 of which were as Deputy Director.  He has been a member of the MCBA since 1999 and currently serves as Secretary of the MCBA Board of Trustees.  He is a member of the Executive Committee, past chair of the Public Education Committee and past member of the Center for Education Board of Directors, Memorial and Strategic Plan, Awards, Communications, Disability, Labor & Employment Law, Elder Law, Membership & Events, and Bankruptcy Committees.

Amy Varel, Esq.  (Treasurer)

Amy Varel, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, is a Partner with McConville Considine Cooman & Morin, PC., practicing in the areas of business, health care and employment.  She has been a member of the MCBA since 2000 and currently is serving her first term as MCBA Treasurer.  Amy is Chair of the House Finance Committee and a member of the Executive Committee, Business Law Section and Council, Membership & Events and Solo & Small Practice Committees.  She is past Chair of the Young Lawyers Section, Business Law Council and Membership & Events Committee and past member of the Academy of Law.  Amy is also a member of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA) and Business Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA).

Mark D. Funk, Esq.  (Secretary)

Mark Funk, a graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law, is a Solo Practitioner practicing in the areas of criminal and family law.  He has been a member of the MCBA since 1996 and is currently serving on the MCBA Board of Trustees, a member of the Criminal Justice and Family Law Sections, Family Law Council and Solo and Small Practice Committee.  Mark is a past member of the Business Law and Young Lawyers Section, Environmental Law, Lawyers for Learning and Mentoring Committees.

 

Michael E. Davis, Esq.  (Trustee – Three Year Term)

Michael Davis, a graduate of the SUNY Buffalo Law School, is an attorney with the Rochester City School District.  His main areas of practice are civil litigation and education law.  He has been a member of the MCBA since 1982 and is a past member of the Lawyers for Learning Committee and Municipal Lawyers Committees.

 

Wende J. Knapp, Esq.  (Trustee – Three Year Term)

Wende Knapp, a graduate of the SUNY Buffalo Law School, is an Associate in the Labor and Employment practice group at Harter Secrest & Emery LLP.  She has been a member of the MCBA since 2009 and is currently Chair of the Young Lawyers Section and member of the Disability, Labor & Employment Committee.  She is a past member of the Diversity and Nominating Committees and Litigation Section.  Wende also is a member of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA), and is Co-Chair of the SUNY Buffalo Law School Alumni Rochester Steering Committee.

 

Elizabeth J. McDonald, Esq.  (Trustee – Three Year Term)

Elizabeth McDonald, a graduate of Albany Law School, is Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. Teresa D. Johnson, Supervising Judge, City Courts, 7^th Judicial District.  She has been a member of the MCBA since 1979 and is currently Chair of the MCBA Awards Committee.  She is a past Dean of the Academy of Law and past member of the Fee Arbitration, Professional Performance and Unlawful Practice of Law Committees.  She is a member of the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association and is Chair-Elect of the NYSBA Senior Lawyers Section.  She serves on the Board of the New York Bar Foundation and Volunteer Legal Services Project.

 

Amy E. Schwartz, Esq.  (Trustee – Three Year Term)

Amy Schwartz, a graduate of the SUNY Buffalo Law School, is a senior staff attorney with the Empire Justice Center, a legal service provider located at the Telesca Center for Justice.  She has been a member of the MCBA since 2000 and is a member of the Family Law Section.  She is a past member of the Ethics Committee.  Amy served as President of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA) in 2009-10 and is currently Chair of GRAWA’s Domestic Violence Committee and Co-Chair of the Women’s Bar Association of New York State (WBASNY) Domestic Violence Committee.

 

Josie M. Sheppard, Esq.  (Trustee – Three Year Term)

Josie Sheppard, a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, is an Associate with Harris Beach PLLC in the Business and Commercial Litigation Practice Group.  Since 2011, she has been a member of the MCBA and is a mentor at School 29 under MCBA’s Lawyers for Learning Program.  She is currently a member of MCBA’s Litigation and Young Lawyers Sections, and Diversity Committee.  Josie serves as Co-Chair of the Program Committee of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys (GRAWA), and is a member of the Rochester Black Bar Association (RBBA) and New York State Bar Association.

I hope you enjoyed reading and meeting all the new leaders. Please join me in congratulating them as they take on this new leadership role. They are your representatives, so know who they are, and next time you run into one of them on Main Street or at a bar event, introduce yourself. I know they will appreciate it.

Thanks for checking in,

Mary