I hope you are enjoying Sacramento Lawyer magazine as much as I am. An excellent magazine, it just keeps getting better with each issue. I also hope you read the editor, Joan Stone's, column each month as it is an excellent guide to the entire issue and highlights some of the fine contributors to the magazine. Those of you who lead sections of the SCBA, please respond to Joan and to Niesha Fort when they call to give you the opportunity to highlight your section's activities in Sacramento Lawyer. Similarly, affiliate bar associations should send Joan your articles immediately for inclusion in the September issue that will be shared with lawyers throughout the state at the State Bar Annual Meeting and Conference of Delegates on September 6-9 at the Anaheim Hilton Resort.

The Annual Meeting affords an opportunity to attend several MCLE seminars, all at the price of registration for the Meeting. The Conference of Delegates provides the opportunity to propose, debate and pass resolutions that may become part of the State Bar's or the Conference's own legislative agenda for next year. Vacancies remain on the SCBA Delegation. Stuart Home, chair, would like to hear that you are interested and will join the delegation. Practitioners in all areas of substantive law are needed and welcome. This is a great opportunity to meet and network with lawyers from other areas of California who practice in your area of interest or expertise. A great "non-lawyer" benefit of attending the Conference and Annual Meeting is that it is a great time to take families to Disneyland and other Orange County attractions.

SCBA is one of the eight largest voluntary local bar associations in California (others are Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara, San Diego and Santa Clara Counties, and Beverly Hills). This distinction affords us several privileges. First, at the Conference of Delegates, SCBA positions on each of the proposed resolutions are published to the entire Conference. As a result of this publication, Sacramento holds significant power in the negotiations that take place prior to the floor debates. On some occasions, a Sacramento position can force, or remove the necessity for, a floor debate.

A new by-product of our size (even though it is less than half of the lawyers in Sacramento County) is the opportunity for additional input to the governance of the State Bar. The Board of Governors and the Executive Director of the State Bar have invited the presidents and the executive directors of the eight largest bar associations to attend the July 2001 meeting of the Board of Governors so that the Board can receive input directly from local leadership. If you have issues which you would like us to consider, please call SCBA Executive Director, Carol Prosser at 448-1087, extension 204 or me at 324-9027, before July 25.

Early congratulations go to Windie Scott, the sole candidate for the District 2 seat on the Board of Governors. Following the official balloting, she will be our next Board of Governors member, as Jay Greiner's term ends in September.

Following the Annual Meeting and Conference of Delegates, SCBA has two major events in September: The Annual Golf Tournament on Friday, September 14 at Teal Bend Golf Course and the American Heart Association "Heart Walk" on Saturday, September 22. Proceeds from the golf tournament will go to the local chapter of the Arthritis Foundation's Juvenile Arthritis Division. Contact Jack Laufenberg for further information. At the Heart Walk, we hope to show that "Lawyers Have Heart" by fielding a huge walking team. All proceeds will go to the Sacramento Chapter of the American Heart Association. Contact Sandra Talbott for entry information and to volunteer as a team captain.

See you in September!