WWBA September 2020 Newsletter

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Chapter News and Announcements Announcements & Notes on Members ❑ The matrimonial and family law firm of Goldschmidt & Genovese, LLP is delighted to announce the expansion of its firm to include three past presidents of the WWBA: partners Kathleen Donelli and Dolores Gebhardt and Chief Counsel, the Hon. Sondra Miller (ret.). ◗ Urgent Need for Committee Chairs Have you ever wanted to be more involved in the Westchester Women’s Bar Association? NOW IS YOUR CHANCE! We have need of Chairs or Co-chairs of a number of committees, please consider whether your talents could be shared by volunteering to serve in that capacity. Being a Committee Chair or Co-chair is fun, sometimes challenging, and always looks good on your resumé. The requirements include attending monthly Board Meetings, currently being conducted remotely at 5:30 pm on the first Wednesday of each month, sponsoring or co-sponsoring at least one program during the upcoming year between now and June, and bringing in just one new member for WWBA during the year. Programs may provide CLE credit or not, that is the choice of the organizers of the program; they may feature WWBA members or outside experts in a particular field who are willing to share their expertise; there may be a charge for the program, in the organizers’ discretion. The Committees currently in need of Chairs or Co-chairs include Networking (desperately), Public Relations, also Social Media (Public Relations and Social Media could work together, and keep in mind that our Executive Director, Elisabeth Campos posts a lot of WWBA’s events on social media), Construction, Cyber Law, Practice Management, and Women in Leadership. Any WWBA member who is interested can volunteer to serve as a Chair or Co-Chair. We also need Co-chairs for the Past Presidents’ Committee, but of course only past presidents are qualified. Any WWBA member who is inclined to take on one of these positions, or even just to talk about it, should contact WWBA President Lisa Margaret Smith at lisamsmith@rocketmail.com. ◗ Giving Back to Our Community WWBA’s Voter Registration Drive Each WWBA member should have received a flyer in late August about voter registration procedures and deadlines, accompanied by registration forms in both English and Spanish. If you have not received it, please email President Lisa Smith at lisamsmith@rocketmail.com, and she will send you a copy. All members are encouraged to share the flyer and registration documents with family, friends, and any organization or group you may belong to, in order to encourage every eligible voter to register to vote. You may be surprised the reasons people often give for not registering – surveys show that many people are never invited to register, so they don’t; people will also say they are not interested in politics, or they intended to register but never got around to it; some will say that no candidate or political issue inspired them to vote, or that they did not want to register because they are concerned about their personal information not being adequately protected; one reason given is that registering is not convenient, or that they do not know how to register. Information from https:// www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2017/06/why-are-millions-ofcitizens-not-registered-to-vote, last checked 9/1/2020. The Voter Registration Drive being conducted remotely by WWBA is intended to overcome all of those reasons, and to make it as easy as possible for unregistered citizens to register to vote. They may register online, by mail, or in person, all of the information is in the previously distributed flyer and accompanying forms. This is a completely nonpartisan effort. Thank you for participating in this effort on behalf of WWBA. ◗ Become a New Member Today RENEW YOUR WWBA MEMBERSHIP TODAY FOR THE PERIOD JUNE 1, 2020 TO MAY 31, 2021. RENEW NOW! DON’T WAIT! WWBA Membership includes membership to the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY). January 31, 2021 is the closing date in order to count the WWBA members towards our certification to WBASNY and assure our number of delegates. Renewing before this date will allow our Westchester Chapter (WWBA) to continue to be a strong presence in our statewide organization (WBASNY) while you will enjoy its many benefits, events, newsletter and CLE programming. Hélène Côté, Sherry A. Bishko, Elisabeth Campos It is easy to renew by going to the WWBA Website at www.WWBANY.org. You can use a credit card or PayPal to make payment. Page 12 Westchester Women’s Bar Association News
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Westchester Women’s Bar Association New Members The Westchester Women’s Bar Association proudly welcomes our newest members: TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF OUR MEMBERS, THIS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS OF THE WWBA ONLY. President’s Message from page 5 who is at least 18 years old can and should have a say in our country’s future. How else can you Give Back? There are things both large and small that you can do. I have been reaching out to a 90 year old member of my church choir who has sheltered at home during the pandemic. I have visited her on Sundays, sometimes bringing a small gift, or singing to her, or just chatting, at a safe distance and masked, of course. I call her and send her notes, maybe once every week or two. It is a small thing but she cherishes those human contacts, and I get a great deal of enjoyment from it myself. Surely you know someone, perhaps only an acquaintance, who is likely to be lonely during this difficult time. Take a chance, reach out to that person, your gesture of Giving Back will mean more than you can know. Do you have ideas for Giving Back? Let us know what they are, and be creative. Perhaps you can call a local “Surely you know someone, perhaps only an acquaintance, who is likely to be lonely during this difficult time. Take a chance, reach out to that person, your gesture of Giving Back will mean more than you can know.” elementary school and offer to read a book over Zoom to a group of kindergarteners, either one time or on a regular basis; perhaps you can take baked goods or a pizza, to your local firestation or ambulance corps or emergency room; perhaps you can sign up for the first time to become a mentor to a law student who undoubtedly needs extra guidance during this challenging time; perhaps you can contact a local youth organization and offer to give a presentation about something you are good at B teach them via Zoom to knit, or to sew on a button, or to do calligraphy, or tell them about the three branches of government; or just Give Back the old fashioned way by donating to the Westchester Women’s Bar Association Foundation or any other not for profit that satisfies your personal standards. I am very certain that whatever you choose to do, you will get more in return than you have given, just as I have gotten so much warmth and love and caring from my 90 year old friend. This organization is at an important crossroads. We face a terrific challenge to remain valuable to our members and our community, despite the continuing challenge of the pandemic. I encourage each of you to find ways to stretch our boundaries and our audience, to come up with new CLE offerings, presentations, remote networking and social opportunities. I know that we can achieve great things during this year. My hope and prayer for each of you is that you stay safe and healthy, that you find value in your lives, in family, in work, and in play, and that you find ways to Give Back. ◗ Newsletter Correction Last month’s newsletter contained two photographs on the bottom of page 4. The photograph on the left is from Orange Regional taken on April 18th while the photograph on the right is from Montefiore Hospital, taken on May 11th. These two hospitals are not beneficiaries of the funds raised by the WWBA. “Meals for Medical Warriors Go Fund Me” was created to garner support to provide weekly meals to the Emergency Room Staff at Orange Regional Hospital (Middletown NY) and Montefiore Hospital (Bronx, NY) . ◗ Westchester Women’s Bar Association News Page 13
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WWBA September 2020 Newsletter

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