YLD Election Results Announced

The YLD Board of Directors convened for its regular monthly business meeting on Nov. 8, with Chairperson Christopher Camp presiding over the session. Immediate Past Chairperson of the division and current YLD Nominating Committee Chairperson Keri Williams announced the results of the election for the open YLD board positions, which was the most heavily-contested YLD election on record.

The officers of the division for 2008 will be: Chairperson – Kimberly Warren (Tecumseh); Chairperson-Elect – Richard Rose (Oklahoma City); Treasurer – Molly Bircher (Tulsa); Secretary – Nathan Johnson (Lawton); and Immediate Past Chairperson – Christopher Camp (Tulsa).

New to the Board of Directors in 2008 will be: Tina Izadi (Judicial District No. 3, Oklahoma City); Briana Ross (Judicial District No. 6, Tulsa); Kaleb Hennigh (At Large, Enid); Jennifer Kirkpatrick (At Large, Oklahoma City); and Gabriel Bass (At Large – Rural, El Reno). Those incumbents retaining their board seats were Shanda McKenney (Judicial District No. 3, Oklahoma City); Joe Vorndran (Judicial District No. 8, Shawnee); and John Truskett (At Large, Tulsa).

YLD Presents Awards at Annual Breakfast

The YLD closed out the 2007 Oklahoma Bar Convention with its annual Friends and Fellows Breakfast. Fellows of the YLD are chosen annually from members of the OBA who are no longer young lawyers, but have served with distinction as a YLD officer, director or committee chairperson, or who have otherwise demonstrated their support of the Division and dedication to the objectives of the YLD. Similarly, Friends of the YLD are named each year to recognize those non-lawyers who have contributed significantly to the division and its many community service projects.

After breakfast was served, Chris Camp called the group to order to recognize the 2007 YLD award recipients:

YLD Fellows:
Debra Charles
Mark Osby
Linda Thomas

YLD Friends:
S. Rachel Pappy
Dana Shelburne

Outstanding YLD Directors:
Doris Gruntmeir
Roy Tucker

Outstanding YLD Committee Chair:
Lindsey Andrews & Richard Rose (co-chairs, “Wills for Heroes”/C.A.P. Committee)

In addition to the honorees and YLD officers and directors present, the YLD was pleased to welcome OBA Governor (Dist. 1) Brian Hermanson, incoming OBA Governor (At Large) Jack L. Brown, Tulsa County Bar Association Executive Director Sandra Cousins and OBA Family Law Section Budget Officer David Echols.

Wills for Heroes Holds WILL-Signing Ceremonies

YLD Directors Lindsay Andrews and Rick Rose, along with YLD Chair Christopher Camp and young lawyers Gabriel Bass, Tom Doty and Andrew Harrison, visited Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 123 in downtown Oklahoma City on Oct. 23. There, in conjunction with the OBA/YLD “Wills for Heroes” program, they drafted wills for several Oklahoma City-area police and their spouses. In a show of appreciation, the lodge presented each young lawyer with a replica “Oklahoma Peace Officer” centennial badge – the same as the badge worn by police statewide throughout the year to commemorate a century of Oklahoma statehood. On Nov. 2, the Wills for Heroes Committee conducted its third will-signing event at the Oklahoma County Jail, with Andrews and Craig Carson preparing wills for participants. Special thanks to Maranda Miles, legal assistant with Miller Dollarhide, for her continued time serving as a notary for the event.

YLD & OBA Law Student Division Team up to Revamp Senior Citizens Handbook

The YLD, in conjunction with the OBA Law Student Division, is hard at work making necessary revisions and updates to the OBA Senior Citizens Handbook. The handbook, published by the YLD Seniors Committee, is full of helpful information to aid in understanding those agencies, laws and services available to senior citizens in Oklahoma.

“In addition to the substantive revisions, we are in the process of dramatically changing the format of the handbook in an effort to make the wealth of information contained within it more manageable and accessible to its readers,” said YLD Director John Truskett.

“This project has, as an added benefit, afforded many law students in Oklahoma the opportunity to work on a meaningful legal project while still in law school and to get involved in the bar association,” added OLSD Chair Rachel Pappy.

Truskett and Pappy have been working together closely since September, overseeing the approximately 30 volunteers responsible for making revisions to the handbook and checking the accuracy of each sentence.

“Since the original publication of the Handbook some years back, several laws have been enacted, amended or repealed, and many of the Web sites and agencies mentioned in the handbook have dissolved or changed names,” said Truskett. “Our volunteers are working hard to see that the lengthy handbook is completed as soon as possible.”

Keep an eye out for the Senior Citizens Handbook, or contact John Truskett at (918) 388-5632 or jtruskett @ecslok.com.