I'd like to thank the members present and voting in Charleston, N.C. for re-electing me to a second term as President of the National Association of Professional Process Servers. Once again, it is my honor and privilege to be allowed to serve with officers, directors and an administrator who are all so very dedicated to our association and its membership. I am confident that we can all work together as a team to advance the goals of both NAPPS and the process service industry here in the United States.
The 21st Annual NAPPS Conference and Educational Seminar was the best we've seen in a long time. You'll find several pages of highlights, reports and over 65 conference photos in this issue of "The Docket Sheet". However, there are a couple of important conference items that received little attention elsewhere in this issue that I'd like to mention here.
First, at the Awards Banquet, a Presidential Citation was presented in absentia to NAPPS Member Robert O. Tate of Casper, Wyoming. You may recall that Alan H. Crowe reported in his February 2003 "Administrator's Notebook" that Mr. Tate single-handedly won a four-year battle to effect a significant rule change. Wyoming law had previously required process servers to obtain court orders authorizing them to serve initial process. Effective May 1, 2003, the Wyoming Supreme Court changed the law to allow "any person of the age of majority not a party to the action" to serve process. This struggle began in 1999 and ended on February 3, 2003, when Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice William Hill signed the Order adopting the amendment. This award was a small way for NAPPS to acknowledge Mr. Tate's outstanding personal achievement.
Also at the Awards Banquet, NAPPS Treasurer and Awards Committee Chairperson Ron Ezell presented this year's "Donald C. MacDonald Award for Professionalism and Distinguished Service" to none other than Alan H. Crowe. Alan is the second person to receive this prestigious award, which was established in 2002. Of course, the first recipient was past president "Mac" MacDonald, the man for whom the award was named. In this writer's opinion, Alan H. Crowe IS the heart and soul of NAPPS and his dedication to this association and our industry is unmatched. Alan has said many times that he doesn't care about recognition or accolades. Instead, he does what he does because he loves the work. I don't think anyone can dispute that Alan has earned the "Donald C. MacDonald Award for Professionalism and Distinguished Service" many times over.
Despite the fact that Alan normally shuns publicity, it was my intention to run a feature about him in this issue. Unfortunately, the necessary information didn't come together in time for me to run it in this "Conference Issue", so look for it in the next issue.
I hope you and your families enjoy what's left of the summer. Be safe!
