It is indeed an honor to communicate to you for the first time as the president of the National Association of Professional Process Servers. I am humbled by the support that I received from the membership at the annual conference that resulted in my election, and the continued expressions of support from members who were not able to attend. I am also honored to serve once again on the NAPPS Board of Directors with a fine group of officers and directors. Congratulations to each and every one of them.
To say the least, the 2005 Annual Conference was quite exciting. Of particular concern to the members was the direction that NAPPS would be taking on the issue of electronic service of process. The membership stated very clearly that they wanted action to protect and preserve the process serving industry in the face of this emerging technology, and they wanted action now. As a display of their resolve, an overwhelming majority of the members voted to adopt the NAPPS Standards and Best Practices, one of which is the NAPPS Best Practices for Service of Process recited in this issue and posted on the NAPPS web site.
In order to prepare NAPPS for the challenges that confront us, there have been some committee changes. The special E-Filing
Committee formed one year ago has been merged into the Technology & the Courts Committee. This latter committee has been renamed the E-Filing and E-Service Committee to reflect the duties and direction it will be taking. This committee is chaired by our First Vice President, Jeff Karotkin.
I have also created two new committees, the Legislative Affairs Committee chaired by our Second Vice President, Andy Estin, and the Standards and Best Practices Committee chaired by our dedicated member, Tony Klein. The responsibilities of these and other committees are set forth in this issue. Significantly, the Legislative Affairs Committee will lead the effort to formulate recommendations to the Board of Directors on the positions that NAPPS should be taking on issues such as electronic service of process and other legislative and court rule changes that confront our industry. To demonstrate the importance of this committee, and to fulfill the mandate that we received from the membership, I have asked Jeff Karotkin, Tony Klein and the NAPPS Administrative Office to assist Andy Estin in his efforts. They have already begun to expeditiously provide the board with their recommendations.
The membership, recognizing the importance of process server education, also adopted Standards for Process Server Courses of Study. These also appear in this issue and on the NAPPS web site. In order to continue the efforts of promoting and expanding process server education, I have asked Donald S. Eisenberg to resume the position of Education Committee Chair. I look forward to working with Don and other process server instructors throughout the country to advance process server education opportunities wherever possible.
Several of our members have expressed a desire to participate in the activities of the committees throughout the year, even though they are not board members, nor appointed to chair a committee. To that end, two initiatives have been undertaken. First, Jeff Karotkin has invited members to participate in the E-Filing & E-Service Committee. His report sets
forth how members can participate. Second, in states
that do not have state associations, but have dedicated members willing to help, I have begun to identify and designate those members as state liaisons. A list of designated state liaisons will be published shortly.
Concerning state associations, I will, as President, preside over the activities of that committee and will seek to support existing chartered and non-chartered state associations and foster the creation of new ones where the opportunities or needs arise.
Concerning other associations and groups that may have interests in common with NAPPS, several members of the Board of Directors have begun traveling to conferences and meetings held by these associations and groups in an attempt to develop synergetic relationships for our mutual benefit. I will report more on these initiatives as they develop.
During the next year, we will also seek to improve the level of communication to and from the membership. The Docket Sheet is now the responsibility of the NAPPS Administrative Office. It will be published and distributed on a timely basis. As President, I intend to provide the membership with periodic messages in the monthly supplements to keep you informed of events as they occur in between TDS publications. We are also seeking to establish list servs or blogs for the various committees so that the committee chairs and interested members can communicate freely via the Internet in secure environments. Look for announcements as these methods of communication are established.
Our annual conference was just one month ago but now is the time to start thinking about attending the 2006 NAPPS Annual Conference and Educational Seminars to be held on May 25-
27, 2006 in New Orleans. Those who attended this year's conference can attest to the fact that it
was an exciting event. The next conference promises to be even better with important issues to discuss and resolve, and valuable educational presentations. New Orleans is a fun place to hold our conference. Mark your calendars now. Your presence and participation is what makes this a vibrant association.
Lastly, but not the least important, the NAPPS Board of Directors and Administrative Office need your input on what is happening locally within your state. Recently, through the constant monitoring of court rules and legislation by the NAPPS Administrator, we became aware of pending legislation in North Carolina that, if enacted, will expand mail service to allow for service of a summons and complaint by electronic means. Unlike the previously reported South Carolina statute that limits such service to partnerships and corporations in certain circum-stances, the North Carolina legislation would make service of process by electronic means applicable to all natural persons. This would set a dangerous precedent. Fortunately, as of this writing, this matter is still being considered by the North Carolina Senate and has not been enacted into law. NAPPS, in conjunction with the North Carolina Professional Process Servers Association, intends to file a position paper on this legislation and provide testimony before the legislature, if possible. Were it not for the constant monitoring of court rules and laws that affect this industry, this legislation may have gone under our radar screen. We all need to be more vigilant. We need to hear from you in a timely fashion when these issues present themselves, as they inevitably will, in your states.
The mandate from the membership at the last conference was for NAPPS to take proactive action to protect and preserve the process service industry. We need your help to do that.
