Heart of America Legal Professionals Assn. holds first meeting

Building bridges and forming new traditions make starting a new organization exciting for Cheryl Neeley and the rest of the new Heart of America Legal Professionals Association.

HALPA, a charter organization of the National Association of Legal Secretaries, held its first meeting Monday night at Fedora's on the Plaza. Neeley was sworn in as the organization's first president by Patricia Brune, clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri. Brune also sworn in Christine Durbin as vice president, Marcia Cottrell as secretary, Mary Leat as treasurer and Laura Stevenson as governor.

The organization received its charter December 4, 2002 from NALS. There were 11 charter members who met to form the new organization. All 11 were formerly members of the Kansas City Legal Secretaries Association.

"When you start a new association, you get to do new things," Neeley said at the meeting, adding that they will also hold on to some traditions, such as selecting a symbol to represent a president's term in office. Neeley selected a crystal heart as her symbol.

"The heart is a symbol of all of you," Neeley told the members. "You are the heart beat, the driving pulse of this organization."

There are plans to create a chapter newsletter and a Web site for the members. The new officers will be holding a long-ranging planning meeting in the coming weeks.

"It's going to take all of us to pull it together," Neeley said.

The organization adopted a logo for its charter that symbolized its motto, "Bridge to the Future." The logo depicts Missouri and Kansas with a bridge connecting the states. A heart is centered over the metro area with the scales of justice inside.

"I am proud of your courage to form a new chapter," Neeley said. "And I am proud of the trust you have in me to serve as your president."

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