2012-2013 - Public Legal Information » Association of NL

A N N U A L R E P O R T
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M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T , F R E D K A V A N A G H
As President of PLIAN’s Board of
Directors I am pleased to report that
PLIAN is in our 29 th year of
operation, and is continuing its
efforts to provide public legal
education and information services
with the intent of increasing access
to justice. We offer services to the
people of Newfoundland and
Labrador to increase their
understanding of the law. These
services include the Lawyer Referral
Service (LRS), the Legal Information
Line (LIL), school presentations,
community information sessions,
publications on legal issues and a
website. Over 20,000 people use
our services every year. We raise
awareness among the general public
and service providers about the
T H E P L I A N T E A M
importance of the law in everyday
life.
I would like to take this opportunity
to sincerely thank the members of
PLIAN’s Board of Directors, as well
as PLIAN’s staff and volunteers. Your
time, effort, guidance and dedication
have helped PLIAN be where it is
today. I would like to extend a very
special thank you to Kristen O’Keefe
for her dedication to PLIAN. Ms.
O’Keefe has proven to be an
invaluable asset to PLIAN and we are
so happy to report that we have
been able to add her back to the
PLIAN team in late September and
her presence has certainly been
noticed.
I would be remiss to not
acknowledge the efforts, dedication
and loyalty of staff members Kelly
Brockerville and Sarah McHugh. We
are so fortunate to have such
amazing, hard working women on
our staff. Kelly, who has been on
staff since 2001, has stepped into
the role of Acting Executive Director
with enthusiasm, deep knowledge of
the organization and tremendous
grace. She is often referred to as
the “heart of PLIAN” and I would
like to like to echo that sentiment.
Sarah started with us as a
volunteer and is now a project
coordinator. She’s been in this role
for over 4 years. Sarah is a skilled
researcher, writer, and a very gifted
public speaker. Her dedication to
PLIAN is evident in every job she
takes on, whether it be writing a
publication or presenting to the
public.
I would like to thank Ms. Leanne
O’Leary of the law firm Cox and
Palmer who retired from PLIAN’s
Board after serving as an active
and dedicated Board Member for
over 12 years. She will be greatly
missed. At this time I would also
like to welcome John Hartery of
Pendergast & Hartery, as well as
Alexandria Hollett of O’Dea Earle to
our Board of Directors.
I, along with the staff, volunteers
and Board of Directors welcome
you to read about the exciting
endeavors and initiatives we have
been involved in over the past year.
Kelly Brockerville entered
into the role of Executive
Director (Acting) in April
2012. She had previously
been PLIAN’s Office Manager
and has been a part of the
PLIAN team since 2001.
Sarah McHugh continues in
her role as Project
Coordinator. She has been
an integral part of PLIAN
since 2008. Sarah has been
extremely busy juggling
several of our projects and
delivering presentations,
webinars and focus groups in
the community.
We are so excited to report
that in September of 2012
after a leave of absence
Kristen O’Keefe has come
back to PLIAN. She joins the
PLIAN team as a part-time
Project Manager.
“Alone we can do
so little; together
we can do so
much”
- Helen Keller