President's Message

June 25, 2013 - Teamwork Makes a Great Chapter

We are so lucky to have a wonderful group of members who serve on our Richmond Chapter Board, and recently we have expanded the group to include three new chairs of chapter committees. 

• Walt Arnold of Altria - Chair, Corporate Legal Administrators Committee (CLAC)
• Cherie Heintz of Hunton & Williams - Chair, Community Connections Committee
• DJ Geiger of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission  - Chair CLM Study Group

We already had a fantastic board, and these folks are making us even stronger.  The board has divided into sub-groups to prepare for our annual planning meeting in August.  At that time each sub-group will present their recommendations for educational programs, meeting venues and changes and improvements to our business partner program.   We hope all of our members will feel free to contact any board member and share their thoughts and suggestions for improving our chapter.  Together, we can make this one of the best chapter's in the country....maybe THE best!

April 1, 2013 - Welcome to Spring and to Your New Board

It has been a wonderful year serving as President of the Richmond Chapter.  I am looking forward to another exciting year ahead and I hope all of you are.  We are fortunate to have a wondeful group of administrators as members, fantastic business partners and a whole new board to lead the way.  Please visit the Chapter Officers page to see who our 2013-14 board members are.  Feel free to contact any of us if you have questions or suggestions for improving the chapter.  Remember, we are always looking for more people to get involved.  So, if you would like to serve on a committee, please contact any board member to let us know how you want to help.

March 15, 2013 - Another Great Virginia Statewide Retreat

Just when you think it can't get any better, there they go again.  The 2013 Statewide Retreat Committee did it again.  We had a wonderful weekend at Kingsmill Resort last week.  Check out our chapter Facebook page to see the pictures we have received, and please feel free to add your own.  Can't wait to go to next year's retreat!

January 14, 2013 - We Are Starting the New Year Right—Discussing Business Continuity Planning at our January Luncheon

The speaker at our January 23 noon luncheon at the Boathouse at Rocketts Landing will be Terry Raines from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.  Terry will discuss business continuity planning and will also tell us how we can get involved as volunteers when a disaster strikes. 

Below we have links to some resources available online from ABA, VEMA, FEMA, and Homeland Security that may be helpful to our members: 

• American Bar Association - Sample disaster plans and information on safeguarding records and serving clients and the public, both before and after disaster strikes, are available at www.americanbar.org/disaster.  Free Book: Surviving a Disaster: A Lawyer’s Guide to Disaster Planning 
   
• VDEM Ready Virginia  - Planning ahead of time is essential to the safety of employees and to the survival of your business.
   
• FEMA - What's at risk with your small business?
   
• Video from FEMA - Why you should have a plan for your specific business?
  
• The Big Business - Small Business Emergency Management Mentorship Program. 
   

• DHS and FEMA - Business Continuity Planning Suite - If you need more help getting a business or organization prepared, please use the new Business Continuity Planning Suite (ZIP Archive - 13 Mb: PC Compatible) developed by DHS’ National Protection and Programs Directorate and FEMA.

  This software was created for any business with the need to create, improve, or update its business continuity plan. The Suite is scalable for optimal use by organizations of any size and consists of a business continuity plan (BCP) training, automated BCP and disaster recovery plan (DRP) generators, and a self-directed exercise for testing an implemented BCP. Businesses can utilize this solution to maintain normal operations and provide resilience during a disruption.

January 1, 2013–Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of our members and our 2013 Business Partners.  We are looking forward to a great year of education, fun and fellowship!  We hope you will take every opportunity to benefit from your membership.  Check out the calendar of events and save the dates.