2012 Annual Convention Recap

2012 Convention: September 27 - 30, 2012 in Anchorage, Alaska

The Host Hotel for the 2012 Convention was:

Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa
401 E. 6th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501

Convention Highlights

On Thursday, four Continuing Legal Education (CLE) tracks were offered, each of which had four concurrent sessions. Each session was worth 1.25 hours of CLE credit. Two of those sessions counted as ethics credit. The keynote luncheon featured the Honorable Morgan Christen of the United States Court of Appeals.

On Friday, the workshops and region meetings filled the day and the social event (more on that below) finished things off.

The Policy Meetings on Saturday and Sunday concluded the Convention activities. The awards luncheon took place on Saturday.

For more information, download the convention brochure.

Photos!

Thanks go to Cheri Shrader of the Alaska Association of Paralegals for the photo set (69 JPG files totalling 108 MB zipped) and a slideshow (196 MB in M4V format, zipped) that we can remember the convention by!

2012 Award & Scholarship Winners

Congratulations to the following individuals for the awards they received:

Robie Award - Edna Wallace, RP (Indiana Paralegal Association)
Outstanding Local Leader - Mianne Besser (Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association)
Paralegal of the Year - Kim Major (Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association)
Certification Ambassador of the Year - Vivian Luckiewicz, RP, PaCP (Philadelphia Association of Paralegals)
Individual Pro Bono - Kristen Mattes (Vermont Paralegal Organization)
Thomson Reuters Scholarships: Melissa Jurik and Caitlin Griffin

Social Event

Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center
https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/

The museum is within walking distance of the Sheraton Hotel.

The Anchorage Museum brings the best of Alaska to the world and the best of the world to Alaska. Through a combination of art, history and science the Anchorage Museum creates a rich, deep understanding of the human experience and offers something for everyone.

The social event included a scrumptious buffet dinner, entertainment, and access to the Alaska History Gallery and the Arctic Study Center.

NFPA Convention Charity

Friday, September 28th was “Blue Jeans for Bison” day. Proceeds benefit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) where NFPA adopted one of the bison. See below for information about the Wood Bison Reintroduction Project and the AWCC.

After more than 100 years of extinction in Alaska, wood bison have found their way back to the state of Alaska. The AWCC herd arrived in November 2003 from the Yukon Territory in Canada and is part of a wood bison recovery program designed to reintroduce the species to Alaska. AWCC is home to the only wood bison herd in the United States and are working closely with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game to reintroduce them into the wild. The first wood bison calves born in the state of Alaska in over 100 years were born at AWCC in 2005, and since then, dozens more calves have been born at the Center. The herd now numbers well over 100, and many more are expected in the spring of 2012.

12/27/12 Update - we have received a photo and an adoption certificate: