DCPA's Membership Drive Contest is in full swing and the competition is on!  DCPA Members receive points for bringing a person eligible for membership to the monthly luncheons (5 points), for joining the association (10 points), and for attending events and activities with members (2 points).

 

The contest award is:  Date Night!  The meritorious award winner will receive a $100.00 gift certificate for dinner and drinks at Hannah's, and two tickets to the Campus Theatre Production "Big Fish" scheduled for October.  The Membership Drive Contest runs from January 19, 2017 up to and including our DCPA meeting set for September 21, 2017.  Membership Chair Vicki Schmidt and Treasurer Lisa Pittman will track our competitors and post the standings in the monthly newsletter.  Get involved and invite your fellow legal professional to attend our next CLE luncheon or one of our upcoming activities!

 

 

 

DCPA is pleased to welcome Martha Gallegos as Secretary and Lisa Pittman as Treasurer for 2017!  These two seasoned paralegals bring a lot to our association as officers, and we are fortunate to have them on board the Executive Committee.

 

Introducing….       

 

Martha Gallegos majored in criminal justice at St. Edwards University and worked in Law Enforcement as a Deputy Reserve for the Terry County Sheriff’s Department.  Martha has worked for the County of Denton for eleven years; she was in the County Clerk’s Civil/Probate Department for five years, and has been a member of the Denton County District Attorney’s Misdemeanor Division for nearly six years.  She earned her paralegal Certificate from PDI University of North Texas in April 2015.  Martha served as a member of the DCPA Social Committee and is a regular participant in all events held by the association.  She is a faithful volunteer for the National Kidney Association and PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Foundation of North Texas.  Martha participates in a PKD 5K walk/run fundraiser every year.  The amount raised this year to find a cure is at $1,599,337.75 - very close to their goal of $2,000,000.00!

 

Lisa Pittman has been a paralegal for twenty-one years and has been with the law firm of Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant working with partner Richard Hayes for over sixteen years.  She has extensive experience in residential and commercial real estate, oil & gas, transactional, eminent domain, and civil litigation.  Lisa has served DCPA in a variety of roles over the years: as Secretary/Parliamentarian in 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2011; and as Treasurer from 2009 to the present.  She has served as Committee Chair for the Legal Directory Committee, Bylaws Ad Hoc Committee, and Newsletter Committee.   Lisa chaired the SBPD Public Relations Committee and Mentor/Protégé Committee 2009-2012; served as subchair for the PR Committee 2007-2008; and has been a TAPS on-site volunteer for the past eleven years.

 

Congratulations on your election Martha and Lisa!  We look forward to a great year! 

 

 

DCPA and SBPD will jointly celebrate Texas Paralegal Day with a happy hour mixer at Eastside Denton from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, 2016.  Members come by and celebrate on the outdoor deck and patio located at 117 East Oak Street in Denton. Two drink max per member, but there's no limit on having a good time! Teetotalers, there are non-alcoholic beverages available!  Please RSVP to Pam at psnavely@hbwvlaw.com

The Fundraising Committee has organized a Back to School Supply Drive to benefit children at Friends of the Family.  Let's help these kids be successful by supplying them with the right tools to get a good start this school year.  Please bring your donations to the Monthly Luncheon on July 28th.

 

Supplies they are in greater need of:

 

• Spiral notebooks (wide ruled and college ruled)
• Scissors (pointed tip for older children)
• Compass
• Protractor
• Pocket Folders
• Dividers
• Graph Paper
• Loose leaf filler paper
• "Cool" looking backpacks for older kids (not a necessity)

 

If you don't have time to shop, monetary donations are also appreciated!  Please contact Daphina Park, Fundraising Chair, at Daphina.Park@dentoncounty.com if you have any questions.

 

Thank you for your generosity and support!

Daphina Park was elected President-Elect in a Special Election held June 23, 2016 at DCPA's business meeting.  Daphina has been a paralegal for over twelve years and has been with the Denton County District Attorney's Office for seven years.  She earned her Paralegal Certificate in April, 2013.  Daphina has been an active member in DCPA for three years and serves as our Fundraising Committee Chair.  She is an excellent addition to the Executive Committee.  Congratulations, Daphina!

 

Our 4^th Annual Bingo Night is Tonight at Bridgemoor from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.!  It is $10.00 for a card pack with 10 games and $1.00 for a dauber to mark your cards.  Extra cards are $1.00 a piece.  We will have door prizes, sandwiches, fruit, popcorn, dessert & drinks!  Come join us for a great night of fun with the Bridgemoor folks at 2801 Spencer Road, Denton, Texas, 76208.  Contact Lakesha Bell Lakesha.Bell@dentoncounty.com for more information.

This year's TAPA (Texas Alliance of Paralegal Associations) 2016 Leadership Conference "Be the Vision! Visualize. Imagine. Believe. Be" is hosted by the Houston Metropolitan Paralegal Association at The Crowne Plaza - Downtown Houston on April 8-9, 2016 in Houston, Texas.

 

DCPA President, Melody Brackeen, and DCPA Historian, Cheryl Cooper, will be attending the Leadership Conference on April 9, 2016, as ambassadors for DCPA.

 

See attached TAPA Registration Packet for more information on this event.

 

Click here -  TAPA registration packet.pdf

WINNER WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!!! 

Today, we held our final monthly meeting of the year.  This is the time that we draw for our annual participation prize.  This year, we gave away a $150.00 gift certificate to Sutera Spa in Flower Mound, Texas.

Our fabulous Carol Pelzel was the winner of this year's prize.  I'm so excited that Carol won.  She has worked hard for our association for years now.  Carol has procured many door prizes and donations for us, so it's nice that she was the recipient of such a wonderful prize for herself.

Congratulations, Carol! Now, go relax and get pampered. :-)

Texas Paralegal Day is October 23, 2015!

 

Celebrate YOU. 

Our full day seminar this year is co-sponsored by Denton County Paralegal Association, and District 12 of the State Bar of Texas Paralegal Division.

 

The seminar is scheduled for September 24, 2015, from 10:00 a. m. to 5:00 p. m. and will be held in the Jury Assembly Room of the Denton County Courthouse.

 

Cost is $30.00.  The cost includes lunch and snacks.

 

There will be vendors there. 

 

See below and click on the attached flyer for more information.  The 2nd page of the flyer is the RSVP form that has to be filled out and submitted with your payment.  Checks should be made payable to:  "Denton County Paralegal Association." 

 

Speaker and Topics:

 

10:00 a. m. - Michael Whitten "The Jury Charge"

11:00 a. m. - Brian T. Cartwright "Everything a Paralegal Should Know About Drafting Affidavits"

12:00 p. m. - Honorable Jonathan Bailey "The Court and Trial"

1:00 p. m.  - Emily Miskel "Pretrial Orders and Thirty Day Deadlines"

2:00 p. m.  - Jeff Springer "Learning Objectives: Trial Notebook Strategies and Guidelines"

3:00 p. m.  - Richard Kelsey "Saving Your Boss - Spoilation"

4:00 p. m.  - David Johnson "Legal Research, Citation, and Writing"

 

seminar.pdf