New President Cheryl Nodarse Leads NALA Into Its 50th Year

Episode Notes

Transcript

Jill Francisco:

Welcome back to the Paralegal Voice. I’m Jill Francisco with my co-host, Tony Sipp, and we are so excited today to have a good friend of mine, a long time friend of mine, a lady that I worked with for many years on the board of directors, and I’m super happy to welcome her to the show today.Cheryl Nodarse, how are you?

Cheryl Nodarse:

I am great, Jill. And hello Tony. Wonderful to see you and talk to you both. Here we are. We’re all here here.

Tony Sipp:

We just saw each other in July and here we’re again.

Jill Francisco:

So today we’re going to talk to Cheryl A. Little bit about, we’re going to get some Nala stuff because we’re super excited that Cheryl has recently taken over as Nala president at our July meeting that Tony just mentioned. And we’re also though going to, for our listeners, we’re going to talk about some things about associations and the advantages and why to do it. Everybody has a different reason, a different story, and so you never know when one will just kind of spark your interest. And so that’s why we want to share some of this information with our listeners. So Cheryl, why don’t you just give everybody just a little background so they can kind of know where you are. Tony and I are East coast, west coast, just kind of a little bit of your background.

Cheryl Nodarse:

And I am smack dab in the middle in mid-Michigan. I work for a firm that’s in East Lansing, Michigan. And we’re a firm that specializes in a very unique Michigan type of law that would take me about the whole time to explain to you, but let’s just call it municipal slash real estate law. And I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now, in excess of 35 years.

Tony Sipp:

Wow.

Cheryl Nodarse:

I know I’m a true old timer. So I graduated with my degree in 1986 and I gained my now SCP in 1990, and I have been a paralegal my entire professional career.

Jill Francisco:

And if it’s this many years, Cheryl, is it all been same firm or no,

Cheryl Nodarse:

It has not, as you can imagine. So yeah, I started out my professional career in West Palm Beach, Florida at a very large firm, which was quite the eyeopener for a small town Midwestern girl. So here I was in this ritzy, glitzy, big time, big law doing litigation work, which meant at that time lots of depo summaries, lots of discovery, drudgery. Back in the time when, some of you won’t even know what I’m talking about, when we had to bait stamp by hand where you just pound, pound, pound, one page after the other day in, day out,

Jill Francisco:

Oh man, we got to get these listeners to appreciate the move in technology

Cheryl Nodarse:

For sure. And then I moved back to Michigan and I worked for one firm for over 20 years. And then from there I have gone on to my current role where I’m working for a sole practitioner whose mother is four months younger than me. And believe it or not, it works out great, but we have a perfect relationship.

Jill Francisco:

I’m sure that you are beyond helpful and they value you tremendously. And we don’t like to call it old timers, Cheryl. We like to call it experienced. I like to call ’em like I see ’em. So now getting into things. So I think the listeners probably have heard a time or two where I am also a past president of Nala and I was president, what was it, 19 to 21 I guess. And during the pandemic, the first virtual conference, I had to get a new CEO because the second one that we’ve had in history resigned. So I had a little action during my presidency. Cheryl was on my board and she knows what I’m going to say. I always loved her point of view because her point of view and opinion is one that is needed on boards and groups and things that you’ll serve on because as Tony and I have talked about regards to many subjects, you don’t want all the same. If you get all the same, whether it’s people, ideas, backgrounds, geography, I don’t care what it is, if it’s all the same, it’s all the same. It doesn’t work. And I never really realized how much that transferred over to a working board. And when I did realize that, that’s one of the reasons why I started the diversity equity inclusion and implemented that into Nala.

Tony Sipp:

Woohoo.

Jill Francisco:

Yes. Thank you. And I’m so proud because Melissa Hamilton, that was president after me and then Debbie Overstreet that was president after her. And now I know that no doubt that Cheryl is going to continue that and expand on it.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Absolutely.

Jill Francisco:

And it just gets all the attention that it should have been getting for years. But anyway, we’re on the track now. So Cheryl, you’ve taken over. You’ve had one meeting, I’m guessing fall meeting.

Cheryl Nodarse:

We have not. It is coming up for us, coming up in three

Jill Francisco:

Weeks. That’s fun. It’s always fun to have your first official, you have that one after conference, but this is going to be your showtime.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Yeah. Well, so Jill, you talked my unique perspective on your board, and so if I can just fill in the listeners a little bit, I sort of prided, that’s not the right word, but let’s just go with it. I prided myself on being what I like to term the devil’s advocate because I feel like even if you have the same opinion as it seems like the group, think around the table. If you don’t get every opinion expressed in one way or another, then you can’t fully vet out an issue. And these are issues that have to be decided in a relatively short amount of time because the board can only get together so many times a year. And these are weighty measures that affect our membership. So I like to play the devil’s advocate. And so now that there’s no president above me, where does that leave me? Am I now the devil? I think I

Jill Francisco:

Well, no, no, that is true. I do love that about you, Cheryl. I think you’ll remember at your installation, I came up and congratulate you and I said some things that we’re not going to say on the air, but then I did say, do not lose your thinking, your style because it’s needed

Cheryl Nodarse:

In my installation speech. I hope I made that perfectly clear to the incoming board that I don’t want any yes men or yes women. There’s no point in that. I want to hear the opinions and let’s discuss it and come to a consensus and be able to move on with the best decision for the board. And I think that goes for any board that you happen to sit on, whether it’s a local paralegal board or you’re a local school board. There’ve got to be the opportunity to voice and hear each other.

Jill Francisco:

That’s a good point. And the people that know me, the listeners, I mean, they obviously got to know me, they’re listening to me a lot. But anyway, I always talking rather than listening. So there’s things that we all have to work on and I try to work on that. And it’s funny that you talked about, I mean, you’re just kind of generally talking about you need to get everybody’s opinion. And there are times, I know at least twice when I was president, I actually, because you have those soft spoken people and you have those people that aren’t going to step up, even if we are having an open discussion and there’s no pressure not to speak up, it just said that’s just not their deal. And so I would literally go around the room and say, okay, we’re all going to have a chance to speak on this issue. Okay, Cheryl, your turn and go around the room. I mean, sounds funny, sounds like we’re in kindergarten, whatever. But honestly, it really works because the people I think that wouldn’t have said anything or much are given the stage and given the time and their opinion. So that like you said, and I like that you said it’s advice for anybody. So all our listeners, whether you’re on any type of boards, that’s a

Cheryl Nodarse:

Absolutely,

Jill Francisco:

And especially if you’re a leader, that’s a good thing to keep in mind. So I mean, how’s it feel? I just remember being so it’s just so happy and you don’t really know how to honored humbled,

Cheryl Nodarse:

Oh, that and so much more. And frankly, a bit overwhelmed, I’m not going to lie, but I kind of think of it this way. If I get truly comfortable in this role in the short time that I have, then I’m probably not doing a great job. I’m probably not giving the best service. If I only do things that have always been done before and I’m just rinse repeating, that’s not a great leader. So I’m pushing myself. Let’s just say I’m getting more comfortable in being uncomfortable.

Jill Francisco:

I like that.

Cheryl Nodarse:

And it’s difficult for me. I mean, change is hard no matter who you are. And this is next level and I’m all for it.

Jill Francisco:

It’s a change. And I do have to say something funny, Cheryl laughs as soon as I start telling this, so with my poor, especially my executive committee, I think I’ll probably limit it to them. I mean, I just kind of open myself to be available at any time for them, but they didn’t really maybe realize that that meant that I was going to call them and be talking to them at any time. And I am not very good at the time zones calculation. And so sadly, if you weren’t in my East Coast time, which I don’t know if anybody was, I was, you was, yeah, you were the only one that got the grace because at least it wasn’t as early as somebody that I was bothering in a couple of time zones from it. But I would call my board early and get on it and ask and say, we got this.

You just can’t say enough. And it’s actually, that’s another thing where you say how you feel and how you feel honored. That’s another thing that I just still can’t get over is the support, the dedication, the compliments, the recognition, and not just formal, but just somebody sending me an email after I had a meeting, even not a board meeting, just maybe another meeting or something that I announced or there was little things every time those meant so much. And I’m just like, okay, first of all, people are really paying attention. And second of all, when you think they may not or you think it’s not something that’s real big, it is these people are paying attention. Like Tony said, you’re a leader and it doesn’t matter and they’re paying attention.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Can I tell you a quick story about younger Cheryl? For

Jill Francisco:

Sure.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Let’s go back 20 years plus to younger Cheryl. Younger Cheryl was just starting with the, here in Michigan, the state bar has a paralegal legal assistant section to it. And when I came in, Vicki Voisin was the ex officio chair. So I was just one of the general members of the council for that section. And here’s Vicki Voisin, who at that time I believe was just coming on as NLA president. I could be wrong about this specific timing, but she was it, right? And so 20 year ago, Cheryl looked at Vicki and I hope your listeners know who I’m talking about and if not Google her, she was a powerhouse. She was somebody that I looked up to, I aspired to, but I thought, oh, well I could never do that. I could never do that. And I can’t tell you how many times I think about Vicky and I think to myself, I’m doing that. And so I need to make Vicki Voisin proud.

Jill Francisco:

That’s right. If you don’t know Vicki Vo, the paralegal mentor was her slogan. And I think that’s definitely a good description. And also obviously the founder of the Paralegal Voice and Nila has been our sponsor from day one. And so we’ve had that connection and obviously I’m trying to keep all that connection alive and I know Tony is too.

Anyway, yes, shout out to Vicky and also Vicky Konz. She was my kind of Vicky voice. And to you I had the other Vicky. I had Vicky Kun. Anyway, let’s take a quick break and we will come back and get into some more specific discussion about Nala and Cheryl taking the reigns. We’ll be right back. Welcome back to the Paralegal Voice. I’m Jill Francisco with Tony Sipp and our awesome guest, Cheryl Nodarse, which is obviously experienced paralegal and also the current president of Nala. So Cheryl, I think we wrapped up talking about you’ve taken the reins and you’re ready to go. So why don’t you just give a little background to what you’re thinking for your goals or your presidency because you and I discussed that you take notes, you work your way up, and so now here you are, it’s your show. What are your goals?

Cheryl Nodarse:

So to be perfectly honest, I have two major for my time as president and obviously all of the other programming will still continue at its highest level. I can guarantee you that. But I have two areas where I want to spend some really quality time to develop. And those two areas are the affiliated associations and the paralegal educators, student relations component of our association.

Jill Francisco:

Nice. I’d like to hear that because I think those are things that I think we have gone more attention to the affiliates in recent years.

Cheryl Nodarse:

To a certain extent,

Jill Francisco:

That was my first board position was the affiliate associations director. I didn’t go the route that a lot of people go and their region director for two or four years. And so that was kind of my little pet peeve kind of thing and wanted to get them more involved and just get them more benefits and get them more connected. And so I’m happy to hear that. And then the educators, that’s hard to get going. I think you try to get on that and I know you’re going to have some good ideas to reign that in because there just is so much.

Cheryl Nodarse:

There is so much. It’s a multifaceted goal, but we have a super start on it already. We are jump starting and in with both feet.

Jill Francisco:

Well, like I said, I’m sure you’ll no doubt get that going. And I was just going to say, I think the one thing, and I think Tony and I did a show, I think we talked about this or maybe when I was alone, but anyway, we talked about once you reach a certain level as a paralegal and you think, what else can I do to keep me energized and all this different stuff? And one of the things that I always point to is education, whether it’s yourself like me, a forever learner, I preach that, but also teaching. So I taught at the local community college for a few years. That’s something that I feel like makes sense when you love your profession and you want it to thrive in the future. So that’s why Cheryl, I commend you to, those are some good goals. I know Tony, he’s obviously all about education,

Tony Sipp:

All about education, all about giving back, all about the community.

Jill Francisco:

Absolutely.

Tony Sipp:

Sharon was just at our conference.

Cheryl Nodarse:

She was, yeah, Sharon Jones from Texas, who is our affiliated associations director. Yes, she’s done a fabulous job over the last year. She’s made some really instrumental changes to that program that’s brought it up to speed with the way paralegals are working now. And I can get into that a little bit if you want me to, or I can just leave it as a teaser. Maybe you’ll want to have Sharon on, I dunno

Jill Francisco:

Possible. Well, let’s say this. Yeah, so shout out to Sharon. She does a wonderful job. Ashley, my local affiliate was her first visitation as a affiliated associate director. So it was an honor. We had super fun time. I tried to be the hostess with the mostest for her and roll out the red carpet for her. And she in turn just was phenomenal.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Or green carpet.

Jill Francisco:

Yeah, that’s right. The green carpet. True go heard. But she in turn was so wonderful offering information and telling us about Nala and what they were up to. But let’s do touch on just a little bit. I think I know what direction you were going to go in. We kind of talked about this, but paralegals, I don’t know if it was covid, I don’t know if it was pandemic. I don’t know what it is, but we are really branching out the skillset. Tony and I have talked about it a lot on this show. We’ve had a lot of different paralegals that have gone different ways. I talk about how I was sought out to be a claim rep for an insurance company because nowadays that’s a similar skillset. So I think that’s what Nala is trying to embrace, the different skills and not necessarily a job title.

Because my motto has always been we as in the paralegals cannot control what we’re called. And you’ll find that if you go work for a government, for a plaintiff’s firm, for a defense firm, for a big firm, for a small firm in a big city, in a small city, I could go on and on. It’s always, and I mean I was called a legal assistant at the firm before we merged with Warren Scho that I’m currently with. It didn’t bother me. I call myself whatever I call myself because I know the degree I have. I know the education I have, I know my experience. And so there you go. I think Nala has taken a very important step to acknowledge the skillset.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Absolutely. As a matter of fact, in the November issue of facts and findings, quick little plug there, you’ll find an article by our very own Bianca Greer that’s about that very subject. It’s careers that utilize paralegal skills. And she goes into just the plethora of job titles that use the same set of core paralegal skills. So whether it’s grant writers or regulatory affairs specialists or corporate governance specialists or legislative aides, there are so many different avenues that your paralegal education can take you.

Jill Francisco:

I love that. I love that. Risk management too is another one.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Risk management is a big one. It’s on our list,

Jill Francisco:

I’m sure. I have no doubt that Bianca. Well, and let’s just talk about Bianca. I mean, she is leaning into HR because of her paralegal skills and her skillset. I like it. I feel like the paralegals have always known the strong skills that we have, but now I feel like others are finally recognizing like, oh, that person was a paralegal, but really they’d be really awesome at this because they have those skills. And so I just think it’s great is acknowledging that you can’t get all hung up on a title.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Absolutely not.

Jill Francisco:

Yeah. It’s more of what you’re doing. You can’t control what we’re called.

Tony Sipp:

One of the things I did, Jill and I, in 2020, I think we bonded the most then because both of us started the DEI committees for the first time for our associations, and it’s still thriving. And one of the things about pivoting, a lot of people pivoted during that time. One of the things I did is I took my education as a paralegal and my bachelor’s and everything and went into government and started utilizing my skills there to better my community. So taking those skillsets that you learn, nobody can take that away from you. You have that skillset in you, you only can hone it. So when I went into that area, that part of government politics and law, I love that area. I totally utilize those skill sets. It’s logic. You got to know when to shut up too. When you’re in front of an audience, you got to listen to it sometimes. That’s the most important thing to know, the most important, just listen, just be quiet and listen. So it’s going to happen. And with technology, the term paralegal, I mean we’re going to start shifting into different areas that, I mean, technology’s not going anywhere. It’s only going to get better. That term might evolve.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Yeah, I think it’s already evolving. I think with the onset, particularly of e-discovery in the litigation realm, you saw that the breakaway careers for paralegals was practically unlimited. It was just an exponential bursting at the seams of an ability for a paralegal to take those basic skills and apply them in a very specific way. And I think paralegals have probably been doing that across lots of different realms ever since there was the term paralegal. But it just seems like specialization has become sort of the name of the game,

Jill Francisco:

Hot topic. And like you said, I think it’s also recognition. You’re right. I mean adaptability and all that. I mean, that’s what we’re talking about and just kind of pivoting and I mean that’s our skills and we’ve been doing that all along to survive. And that’s why the paralegal profession, I mean, I don’t know the exact percentage, but I know it’s growing at a higher, the average rate,

Cheryl Nodarse:

And it continues to do that. Yeah,

Jill Francisco:

Exactly. So keep going. So the people that our listeners, if you’re thinking about being a paralegal, we still need more. We’re not overflowing anyway. So let’s take a quick break to thank our sponsors and we’ll be right back. Welcome back, Jill Francisco here with Tony Sipp and our guest Cheryl Nodarse And we have just one other little thing to touch on. Cheryl was talking about her goals for her presidency with Nala, but she also has some very interesting things that Nala has done that probably intertwine with the things that are important to Cheryl and she wants to emphasize during her presidency. So Cheryl, you want to share some of that with our listeners?

Cheryl Nodarse:

Yeah, absolutely. So as we were talking about how paralegals have become incredibly specialized, that also goes to the role that paralegals are playing in the new sort of the wild, wild west of legal services that’s known as allied legal professionals. Now, every state has its own terminology, but we’re talking about what was in Washington state, the limited license three LT in Texas right now, they’re seeking public comment for rules regarding their legal paraprofessional program. It’s much the same. It’s really addressing that access to justice piece. Excuse me. Yeah, so how does a get involved in that? Well, a few years ago when we were examining our mission statement, we added something to it that is just one word, but it has a whole big lot of meaning, and that is advocacy. So whereas before we as an association, were sort of at a stand back from what the legislation was doing in particular states or on the national level, at this point we’ve decided we’re paralegals. If they’re going to be talking about us, then we need to be at that table. It also goes to the diversity, equity, and inclusion. If we’re not included at the table, then how can we expect to have a great outcome? So advocacy,

Jill Francisco:

Very smart.

Cheryl Nodarse:

So now we are collaborating with a lot of groups around the country. We’re keeping our fingers on that pulse. And we’re just starting to think about possibly making some official comment to these rules that, believe it or not, Texas in particular, one of their rules, one of the eligibility criteria for this legal paraprofessional program is to have the NLCP. So it is time for us to look at how they’ve described who N is, what that CP means, and consider whether they’ve adequately addressed what we want them to say about us. So advocacy, that’s very big on our radar right now.

Jill Francisco:

That is awesome, Cheryl. Like you said, I think that it’s awesome that they’ve taken that step because I’m here to tell you, so I was 19, 2019, and I remember myself and the ceo, we would listen in to these discussions, we would be present or we would read the memo after or the summary. And so we were there. We kept a prize of stuff. I think that that’s one of Nala’s jobs to get that information, to gather it, to share it with its members, to see what’s going on, know if something’s new coming down the pike. But I think like you said, that’s a step forward and I think it’s a much needed. I love that. So advocacy is added to the mission statement and it’s onward and upward about that, so that’s great. Now, I touched on this at the beginning a little bit, Cheryl, about what you feel maybe your personal opinion story about the advantages when you join your professional association. And obviously we’re talking about paralegal, either national, local, whatever, but just the advantages. What’s your story? I feel like everybody has a story.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Everybody has a story. So lemme tell you about the power of networking and what a small world it is. I’m going to take you back in time, 35 years. So 35 years ago, Cheryl was a very young paralegal working in West Palm Beach where she knew hardly anybody having just moved from Michigan. And of course I knew my coworkers, but I didn’t know a ton of paralegals. And it was in an era before internet, before online chat rooms, before perfectly paralegal, Facebook forums. And so you gained your knowledge from the things that were immediately goes by. Now, west Palm Beach happened to have a chapter, it was the Palm Beach chapter of what was then the Florida Legal Assistance, which is now the paralegal of Florida. And I happened to work with just the best mentor of a paralegal you could imagine. And she told me two things pretty much from the get go. And I was young and naive and I was going to do whatever she said. So the two things were that I was going to join this local association and it was very quickly followed by and you’re going to get certified from NA.

Jill Francisco:

That’s some good advice.

Cheryl Nodarse:

It was great advice. It was just great advice. So as a young paralegal, I gained all of those contacts in the West Palm Beach community, just an amazing experience overall. And then I moved back to Michigan and I didn’t want to let that end. So in Michigan, my options were limited, but there was the state bar paralegal section. So I got involved in that, got involved in its council, I picked up the torch in a different venue. And then of course a the state bar led to NA A. So it was really just, I can’t even explain to you what a difference it has made in my career to have a guy the saying, I got a guy. Well, when you can tell your attorneys when they’re talking about an area of law that they don’t even specialize in or when they’re talking about a different state and they have to figure out how to get a will filed for probate in the state of Florida, I got a guy is what you can say because you’ve formed that network. I mean, I think, yes, it is great for continuing legal education. The local affiliated associations are fantastic at providing the beneficial, locally relevant education. But boy oh boy, it’s the networking. It’s all about networking.

Jill Francisco:

Yeah. And like you said, key word. I always say my career wouldn’t be what it is. I mean, I would probably be okay and decent and making a living, whatever you want to say. But it’s so much more because of the associations that I joined early on. My 2 cents that I just always tell people is that like Cheryl said, what, 34 years? Is that what you said Cheryl? And I’m at 27, and I’ve even had a couple young attorneys after they’ve seen me in the office a few times and they’re like, how do you stay so energized and excited and whatever about your job? And I was like, well, first of all, it is a little of my personality, but second of all, it really is to me the professional associations. Because your job duties, your day-to-day could be very similar and remain very similar.

And you can obviously change jobs if you don’t like that. But a lot of people, they’re fine with that. You get very good at that. You get to be the go-to, and you can make that work for yourself in many different ways. But to stay learning about you go to A CLE that has nothing to do with what you’re doing, but you go anyway and then all of a sudden about social security hearings and then all of a sudden about, like you said, state and probate. And if you just go with it and you meet people and you never know when you’re going to lose your job, you never know when you’re going to have to relocate. I mean, there’s all these things that I just try to tell people that I just don’t know the bad thing about join an association and networking. I don’t know if there’s a bad thing, let me know. Maybe I never can think of something that’s a disadvantage.

Cheryl Nodarse:

There’s probably another component to that, and that is it’s great to be a member of an association, but to be a volunteer with the leadership of that association can serve you. So well look at it from whatever perspective you want, but you can look at it from a purely selfish perspective. I guarantee you’ll get more out of it than you have to put into it. Am I preaching to the choir here? Oh

Jill Francisco:

Yeah. Yeah. Hands down. Hands down. So yeah, our message from us today, yeah, get involved. Like Cheryl said, whatever level, whatever seems to fit for you, just try to get involved and you never know where it will lead you. Speaking of leading us, so we’re leading into 2025 and it’s going to be here before you know it, my favorite month of October is going to be gone before blink of an eye. So what do we have coming up for 2025 for Nala?

Cheryl Nodarse:

Oh, it’s a big, big year for nla. It is our 50th anniversary. And wow, do we have some great things planned? I am not going to be the spoiler, but I am going to say that we’ve got some things in the works for our members, for people who just want to check out the NA conference. It’s one thing to say that you’re going to a continuing education conference, but NA is next level. And I think the two of you will agree with me when I say once you’ve gone, you basically try to figure out how you never have to miss one again. They are so fun. And this will be the year, the year of all years.

Jill Francisco:

But

Cheryl Nodarse:

There is something else on the horizon for 2025 that I can talk about. And that is the very first annual national paralegal day, which will be August 6th.

Jill Francisco:

Alright, write it down, listeners,

Cheryl Nodarse:

Write it down. Get it on your work calendars so that they know to give you a gift on August 6th. You can even make some suggestions.

Jill Francisco:

And we finally got it all coordinated.

Cheryl Nodarse:

No, that was a huge effort on the part of our professional development committee, and they did a fantastic job of taking a sort of nebulous assignment of getting all the major paralegal associations in the country together and working toward the goal of a jointly celebrated, jointly articulated national day for all of us. And so August 6th is coming up and it’ll be here before you know it. And we have some fun things planned around that too.

Jill Francisco:

That’s awesome because I know that we’ve debated and you don’t want to be wrong. Is it here? Is it there? And the affiliates will do a proclamation for their state because we don’t know what’s going on. And so Awesome.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Yes. And we’re not taking anything away from the states. The states can still have their own paralegal day. In fact, the more the merrier, right? The more days that celebrate us, the better. Right? But this one is in the US congressional record as National Paralegal day.

Jill Francisco:

Wonderful. Well, Cheryl, you have shared some great information with us. We’re excited. I personally am excited to see the things that you accomplished during your presidency. I remember voting for you to get you in the first position in the board and work your way up. And

Cheryl Nodarse:

Do you remember what I said to you? I came up to you because Jill was coming in as president as I was coming in as a new officer, the treasurer. And I whispered to her, there’s one thing that I just don’t want to screw it up.

Jill Francisco:

And I will say with zero hesitation, she did not screw it up. We are all good with that. So yeah, I’m very excited to see what Cheryl does. I’m very excited to see how Nala goes. There’s always something around the corner, the 50th anniversary, it’s going to be phenomenal. Cheryl and I are playing party planners, as we like to call it

Cheryl Nodarse:

The party planning committee.

Jill Francisco:

Yes. I’m so happy to be included on that committee. So it’s going to be awesome. And celebrate us, celebrate our profession.

Tony Sipp:

Where’s it going to

Cheryl Nodarse:

In Atlantic City? Thank you for bringing that up. Tony Atlantic City, July 10th through 12th. So mark your calendars.

Jill Francisco:

Mark your calendar for that. Go to that and then come home and celebrate the national paralegal day. So anyway, so Cheryl, do you want to give your contact information and case listeners want to maybe ask you some more about Nala or have a question that you’ve gone over?

Cheryl Nodarse:

Yeah, you can contact me [email protected]. That’s my email address. Or you can find me on LinkedIn if you want to make it just a little bit one step removed, let’s call it that way. But I’m happy to talk to anybody.

Jill Francisco:

Perfect. Well, Cheryl, thank you so much. It was great catching up with you. Thank you.

Cheryl Nodarse:

Thank you. Thank you both.

Jill Francisco:

Yes. We appreciate you coming on. Tony and I are always excited to highlight somebody that’s shining and standing out in the profession and doing good things as a paralegal. So

Tony Sipp:

I’m just happy to be on with two queens. This is great. Oh, here we go.

Jill Francisco:

Keep it coming, Tony, keep it coming. So Cheryl, thank you again. We appreciate it. And we’ll be seeing you soon, hopefully in person.

Cheryl Nodarse:

All right, well, thanks so much

Jill Francisco:

To our listeners. Thanks for tuning in, and we will see you next time on the Paralegal Voice.

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