MINUTES

The Florida Bar
Environmental and Land Use Law Section
2002 Retreat
April 6 & 7, 2002
Miami Beach Marriott, South Beach
 

Maribel Nicholson-Choice called the retreat to order and a discussion of the following topics ensued:

CLE
-  Committee Organization/Chair and 2 Vice-Chairs - The decision was made to keep the basic organization of Chair and two Vice-Chairs.

-  Annual Update/Location 2004 - The annual update location for the year 2004 will be Amelia Island.

-  Sponsors/2002 and Beyond -Two sponsorship levels will be established. The first at $1000.00 per sponsor and the second at $5,000.00 per sponsor. The $1,000.00 sponsors will receive the following:

A. Exhibit opportunity.
B. Name badges with prominent ribbons identifying them as sponsors.
C. Two passes to the annual update seminar.
D. Listing/publication on the T-Shirt.
E. Special identification in the course materials.
F. Verbal recognition in the Introduction and Exit portions of the annual update.
G. Identification as a sponsor with a link on the Section’s web page.
H. Publication in the Reporter as a sponsor.
I. Featured in the prize drawing.

The $5,000.00 sponsor will receive all of the foregoing features plus a five-minute luncheon address to the Section membership at large and additional signage plus special ribbons identifying them as the $5,000.00 sponsor.

-  Budgeted Quantity/4 Seminars - no change shall occur with regard to the number of seminars and workshops.

-  Marketing – There was considerable discussion about providing assistance and marketing opportunities to affiliates including making affiliates aware that they may use our lists for announcements, marketing, Section affairs and CLE’s in the Florida Specifier and writing articles for the Specifier, which does not cost the Section any money for advertising. We should also rely more heavily on the DEP website to publish announcements, the Florida Bar News and other professional association newsletters. We could make better use of local county bar association mailing lists. Finally, we should endeavor to circulate a draft annual update brochure/curriculum eighteen weeks prior to the event and have the final brochure ready for final publication twelve weeks prior. This will enable sufficient time to use the final brochure for marketing and publicity purposes.

PUBLICATIONS

-  Reporter – We should include a printed list of all audiotapes in the next publication of the Reporter and Jackie will obtain this list. Jackie also pointed out that the Florida Bar maintains a complete list of all audiotapes for the ELULS, but also all other Sections on its web page. Our Section receives 12.5%of all audiotape sale revenues for intermediate level seminars and 20% for all advanced level seminars. We should send the Reporter to all Florida law schools for distribution among environmental law programs, students and other interested persons. The Section Reporter Chair should seek out follow-up columns by CLE chairs each time a CLE seminar is presented,

-  Internet – At the annual update, we should announce that law firm members, individual attorneys and affiliate members may add their web page as a link to the ELULS’ web page. We should use the web page to create a speaker’s bureau and to elicit potential speakers for CLE seminars. Joe Richards will look into this. We should also establish a link to Section audiotapes on our web page and Joe was asked to look into the establishment of a true “chat room” where members and affiliates could discuss topics of interest. Finally, Maribel reviewed Ken Tinkler’s Web Master contract. Currently the Section pays him approximately $300.00 a month to “maintain” the web page.

-  Treatise – Sid strongly suggested that each of us read the financial report prepared by Ken Prest of Reg Files and attached to the Retreat Minutes, Retreat agenda and also take our time to review the Section/Reg files contract. There was lengthy discussion about the need to initiate various levels of audit into Reg files books. Sid suggested that sometime in May, we establish a call among the officers of the Section to discuss a course of action with regard to the Reg files report. Sid also suggested, reiterated that Larry Sellers had briefly reviewed the Reg files report and commented that it appeared generally to be in order, but there seemed to be a consensus that more scrutiny should be directed to that report. We unanimously agreed to not “sign off” on the assessment letter prepared by Ken Prest.

MEMBERSHIP

-  Past Chair George Gramling stated that we had received good response from almost half of the twenty-eight prior chairs of the ELULS. The response universally expressed interest in current activities of the Section and attendance at meetings, etc. George suggested the following ideas for integrating past chairs into Section activities:

1. Invite all past chairs to a reception at the annual update.

2. Recognize past chairs with special name- tags at all Section events.

3. Invite the past chairs to all executive council meetings.

4. Post a list of the past chairs on our web page.

5. Recognize the past chairs at the opening remarks at the annual update.

6. Invite past chairs to act as co-chairs on committees.

7. Use the past chairs as law school liaison bridge builders.

8. Ask the past chairs to be speakers at CLE seminars.

9. Invite all past chairs to section retreats.

10. Give the past chairs free attendance at the annual update if they bring at least one paid young lawyer with them.

11. We agreed that past chairs should become voting members of the executive council and George and Bob Fingar will evaluate the by-laws prior to the June Executive Council meeting and be prepared at the June meeting to make recommendations as to amendments to the by-laws necessary to integrate the past chairs into the Executive Council.

-  Student’s/$20 membership fee – we agreed to maintain the $20.00 membership fee.

-  Chair’s Column/Report on New Goals