As we come upon the 20th anniversary of our association, I would like to express my gratitude to the many people that have made this association what it is today. We owe a great debt to CAPPS and its leaders arranging a formative meeting in October 1982 in Las Vegas, which some 40 process servers and I attended. The National Association of Professional Process Servers was the outgrowth of that meeting and those 40 some members have grown to over 1300 worldwide today.
This road would not have been traveled were it not for individuals such as Tom Bowman, Joe Butler, Sue Collins, Dave DellaPenta, Andy Estin, Ron Ezell, Herb Hoffman, Esq., Jim Hughes, Tony Klein, Donald "Mac" MacDonald, Thomas MacDonald, Connie Melvin, John Perez, Jean Randall, Larry Roth, David Schirtzer, Jim Smith, Paul Tamaroff, Esq., Jaunita Tanzer, Robert Taylor and others who were instrumental in leading and guiding this association to its current position as the dominant force in the process serving industry. And we are recognized around the world as the only nationwide trade association for this industry. One person who deserves special mention is Al Crowe. No person comes close to the dedication he has for NAPPS, our members and our industry. He has been our rock and our rudder. I feel privileged to have been associated with these men and women.
Although many of these individuals were the forerunners in developing new programs and fighting early battles, others who continue the fight against adverse legislation and rule changes at both the state and federal levels have joined them. Within the past half-dozen years we've seen some positive changes in state laws-the opening up of New Jersey to individuals who can serve without appointment; the enactment of a registration law in Washington state and favorable changes to the existing registration statute in California; civil rules changes in both Oregon and Washington permitting substituted service on a defendant at a private mail box, and legislative changes in a host of states increasing the statutory fee for the service of process.
Our job is far from over and NAPPS will require a constant infusion of new blood, new energy, and new thought to keep NAPPS moving forward. Associations that develop programs, take positions and make efforts to constantly move forward for the benefit of its members will, of necessity, be forced to withstand the slings and arrows of its critics. Most if not all members recently received a letter from a member who claimed to be the spokesperson for a "disgruntled few" who were "upset with some of our officers and directors." This is a democratic society and people have a right to say what they want. It would be helpful, however, if they got their facts straight. In any event, our annual meeting will take place on Friday, May 3, during our annual conference in San Diego. I invite each of you to come and take part in the democratic process by voting your choice for officers and directors.
