WAUKESHA COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
12:00 PM
In Attendance:
Linda Coyle, Eric Love, Sarah Ponath, and Bob Dehring
Absent & Missed: Jean LaTour, Ron Sonderhouse, Michelle Martin, Lori Fabian, Ryan
Harrington, Sharron Stolpa
Guests: Tom Hofbauer, Amy Freiman
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Linda Coyle at 12:03pm.
Minutes of the March 12th meeting were reviewed, but a voting quorum was not available to
approve the minutes. The approval of the minutes will be tabled to the June 2015 meeting.
Treasurer’s and Membership Report: WCBA Membership is now at 488! The current
balances of checking, money market and the certificate of deposit were also reviewed.
Old Business and Committee Reports:
a. State Bar Board of Governors: Sarah Ponath updated the Board on upcoming
elections for the State Bar for District 6 and President Elect for the State Bar of
Wisconsin. On the agenda for the April 24th meeting is the annual budget for the state
bar, continued discussion and efforts to support diversity in the Bar, and the impact of
the state budget on the judiciary and the courts.
b. Judicial Debates: The debate / panel discussion of Waukesha County judicial
candidates went very well and was well attended with an estimated crowd of 60
people. Thank you to all who contributed to the success of the event, particularly to
Judge Mac Davis for monitoring.
c. Annual Awards: With additional discussion, due to the lack of quorum at this
meeting, a vote will be taken amongst sitting board members to approve two
nominations to accept a shared Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015, one
nomination for Distinguished Member, and one nomination for Community Service.
Nominations for Rookie of the Year will be requested at the annual meeting with a
deadline for nominations of July 1st.
d. Judicial Valuation Poll: The poll results were distributed to local newspapers and
other media sources. There was feedback on the integrity and control of the online
poll, which may be addressed with an upgraded, paid subscription to an online survey
service, such as Survey Monkey. This topic will be tabled for further discussion at
the June meeting.
e. Election of Directors: A third nominated WCBA member will confirm her interest
or non-interest in running for an open seat shortly. Otherwise, two candidates will be
presented for the two open positions on the WCBA board of directors for approval by
the membership at the annual meeting.
f. WCBA Officers for 2015-16: The following slate of officers will be presented for
approval by the membership at the annual meeting.
President:
Sarah Ponath
President-Elect: Ron Sonderhouse
Secretary / Treasurer: Bob Dehring
Past-President: Linda Coyle
g. Cabinet Committee: The plaques surrounding the cabinet will be updated by Linda
Coyle within 45 days. Information about the annual meeting will be displayed shortly.
h. State Bar Lifetime Achievement Award: Word was received from the State Bar
committee that Judge Mac Davis was not selected in spite of the tremendous effort of
Eric Love and Linda Coyle.
New Business:
a. Budget: The proposed 2015-2016 will be requested from the Treasurer by April
13th. The proposed budget will be forwarded to all board members for review and
comment, with an electronic vote to approve by April 30, 2015. The final budget will
be presented to the membership for approval at the annual meeting.
b. Local Bar Leader Annual Conference: Linda Coyle distributed information for the
Annual Conference of Local Bar Leaders to be held at the State Bar Center on Friday,
May 8, 2015. If a WCBA board member is able and interested in attending this
conference on behalf of the WCBA, please contact Linda Coyle. Registration is
complimentary, but required by April 9th.
c. WCBA CLE – June 4th: Judge Aprahamian has graciously offered to host a CLE
for young (and experienced) attorneys on trial practice. This event will be a
complimentary with lunch to be held in the County Board Room, 3rd floor of the
courthouse.
d. Section Updates: Sarah Ponath will take over for Michelle Martin to remind
section chairs to provide, at minimum, quarterly updates covering upcoming events,
meetings, etc. Section chairs will also be reminded to provide financial information
timely to avoid the need for extension requests in filing the association’s tax return.
e. Help Needed: A new board member MUST be selected to handle the duties and
responsibilities of communication with the membership. This includes keeping the
website updated, distributing timely e-mails to WCBA members, and editing the
Scriptus newsletter. A volunteer from the board would be appreciated. Please
contact Sarah Ponath if interested.
f. Ethics Seminar: Eric Love will continue as chair of this committee. Tentative
speakers for the 2015 seminar were discussed, along with a tentative topics for the
seminar agenda.
g. Friday at Four: The Law Office of Linda Coyle will host a Friday at Four in early
June to host a meet and greet event for the newly elected judges for Waukesha
County. All WCBA members will be invited to attend.
h. Judge’s Night: Sarah Ponath will initiate a new event for the Fall calendar, based
on the successful event hosted by the Milwaukee Bar Association. Anyone interested
in helping plan and organize this event should contact Sarah.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:40pm. The annual meeting is on May 23, 2015. A June
meeting will be scheduled at the discretion of the incoming President.
Respectfully submitted,
Sarah Ponath
President-Elect