CALLING ALL MEMBERS . . . CALLING ALL MEMBERS !!!  Get your nominations in for the NALS 2009-2010 Board of Directors.  Please consider making a nomination of one or more of your fellow NALS members for the following positions:  President-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, Certification Director, Education Director, Marketing Director, Membership Director, and all eight Regional Directors.  You can even nominate yourself if you are interested in running.  The Official Call for Nominations can be found in the summer issue of @Law or on the NALS website at www.nals.org/board/nominations/.  All nominations must be postmarked or faxed to the NALS Resource Center or submitted online by August 1, 2008.  Maximize Your Potential by nominating your future leaders!

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See the USA in your Chevrolet!  Are gas prices keeping you from driving the Chevy to Norfolk?  Then Amtrak is your answer!  Amtrak can take you to Norfolk for a very reasonable rate. Yes, it will probably take you a little longer, but when you figure in the time you spend checking in and waiting at the airport, including your connection, Amtrak is a pretty good deal. You can catch up on your sleep or read a good book on the trip.

There is a train station in Norfolk. It's not a large station, but merely a drop-off location. Confused?  Trains all go through Newport News, Virginia, about a 45 minute bus ride from Norfolk. Your train arrives in NPN and then you board the bus for Norfolk. On the return trip, you will be picked up by Amtrak at the Norfolk train station and they'll take you to NPN for your return trip home.  The train depot in Norfolk is about 3 minutes from the hotel, or a $5 cab ride.

AAA or AARP, among other discounts, make the trip even cheaper. For example, a roundtrip train ride from Boston to Norfolk can be as low as $158 roundtrip. Coming in from the city of Brotherly Love? Rates can be as low as $108 a person roundtrip. Obviously schedules affect rates. You may have to change trains, but you also change planes. Leave the driving to someone else and head to Norfolk. If you are looking for an alternative way of getting to Norfolk as cheap as possible, check out Amtrak. Learn more about taking the train to Norfolk on the Norfolk blog.

You still have time to register for the Annual Education Conference in Norfolk.  Cost is only $279 if you register by July 15, 2008. 

Register online Today! Make the Most out of Your Membership!

Want to know more about what to do in Norfolk?
Check out the Conference Blog at http://nalsconference-norfolk.blogspot.com/

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Obtaining a good education and continuing our education may be the ultimate solution !!

Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.
John F. Kennedy
35th president of US 1961-1963 (1917 - 1963)

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
W. B. Yeats

Education is the best provision for old age.
Aristotle
Greek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC)

So, let’s develop our abilities, light a fire, and provide for our old age by visiting our online sessions and attending our local, state, and national meetings together!

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Are you too crazy these days? How about a little sanity in your life that will promote confidence AND look great on your resume? Certification is the craziest, sanest way to show yourself (and employer) that you are dedicated, knowledgeable, and definitely worth the investment. Take a minute to check out the qualifications, I'll bet you're crazy enough to sit for at least one of the exams!

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Here is another great idea from the NALS Tool Box:

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
If your association is the only game in town for legal support professionals, then a competitive analysis is not necessarily needed. However, if you are competing with other legal support professional organizations for members and/or attendees at seminars/conferences, then you need to answer the following questions:

• Who are your competitors?
  
  
• What member needs and preferences are you competing to meet?
  
  
• What are the similarities and differences between their products or services and yours?
  
  
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of their products and services?
  
  
• How are they doing overall?
  
  
• How do you plan to compete? Offer better quality education? Lower prices? More support? Easier access to services?
  
  
• How are you uniquely suited to compete with them?

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What do you think of when you hear the words NALS Foundation? 

I must admit when I hear or read those words, the first thing that comes to mind are purple aprons and the words "TWENTY BUCKS!"  And I’m a Foundation Trustee.  But, the NALS Foundation is so much more.  The NALS Foundation is the members of NALS seeing beyond the "TWENTY BUCKS" and realizing that they are the reason that the NALS Foundation has been able to—

• underwrite the creation of the NALS Foundation Learning Center;
• underwrite the cost of the technology equipment in the Learning Center;
• provide a grant to the NALS Marketing Committee;
• provide a Marketing grant to NALS for the opening of the new Resource Center; and
• since its inception, provide over $135,000 in grants to chapters, regions and state associations.

AALS, the Association for Arkansas Legal Support Professionals and Grand Traverse Area Legal Professionals are the latest recipients of grants from the June 1 grant period.  Both of these chapters will be hosting a “Nuts and Bolts of Grammar” seminar in the near future.  Because of your generosity and support of the NALS Foundation, these grants will help defray the cost of the seminar.

These are your dollars at work. 

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Liberty Mutual Insurance

Liberty Mutual Group - Special discounts for NALS members across the nation on personal, auto and home insurance.

For a free, no-obligation quote call 1-800-524-9400

As a NALS member, you qualify for a special group discount* on your auto, home, and renters insurance through Group Savings Plus® from Liberty Mutual. With Group Savings Plus, you can enjoy the ease and convenience of paying your premiums through checking account deductions with no down payment or finance charges. You’ll also enjoy fast, easy round-the-clock claims service and a variety of discounts including multi-car, multi-policy, safe-driver, passive restraints and anti-theft device discounts*.

See for yourself how much money you could save with Liberty Mutual compared to your current insurance provider. For a free, no-obligation quote, call 1-800-524-9400. Or request a free quote on-line!
To learn more about Liberty Mutual, visit the web site.

* Group discounts, other discounts, and credits are available where state laws and regulations allow, and may vary by state. Certain discounts apply to specific coverages only. To the extent permitted by law, applicants are individually underwritten; not all applicants may qualify.

Coverage provided and underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, 175 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA.

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