Recently the NALA Meeting Planning Committee convened its first meeting in Pittsburgh to ponder how best NALA can continue to serve its core independent contract Landman base throughout our region while also trying to reach out to the corporate Landmen now employed throughout the greater Pittsburgh Region. It was with unanimity that the committee decided that NALA should begin to hold monthly luncheon meetings in the Pittsburgh regional area while continuing to conduct its regular regional monthly dinner meetings as we’ve done in the past. Though this move will represent a challenge to cover both luncheons and quarterly dinners throughout the year, NALA has challenged a motivated core group of meeting planning individuals to pledge their time to assist in carrying out the logistics necessary to make these events happen.
Attached to this communication is a list of the meeting dates and locations for the monthly meetings beginning with our initial luncheon on February 10th at the Southpointe Hilton Garden Inn. You will note we will conduct our Quarterly Dinner Meetings in March at The Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Hotel during the AAPL CPL/RPL Review and Exam; in Warren, Ohio, a new location for NALA on June 16th, followed by our annual Corning Golf Outing on September 15th and closing out the dinner meetings at the always beautiful Genetti Hotel in downtown Williamsport on November 10th at which we will also hold an education seminar.
The luncheons will rotate between the Southpointe Hilton Garden Inn and the Pittsburgh North Four Points Sheraton during the months that we are not holding our quarterly dinner meetings. As explained earlier, the schedule of meetings for 2011 is set out on the attachment. It is hoped that by setting these meeting dates and locations for the year it will assist you to plan your schedules around the meetings you will want to attend.
In short, your local association is changing to better meet the needs of the Marcellus Landman by staying true to its roots with the dinner meetings while also reaching out to the company Land professionals that are stationed more permanently in the greater Pittsburgh region. Our luncheons will generally begin with a brief social period beginning at 11:30 with snack trays followed by a buffet luncheon and closing with a luncheon speaker who will cover various topics of interest to the Land professionals throughout the region. Meetings should last till around 1:30. Costs will be held to around the $30.00 range. Our dinner meetings will generally revolve around an educational or social event, as they have in the past.
I am hoping to follow-up with another notification to you all within the coming weeks about the meeting specifics with speakers and topics as we get them scheduled. I will try to keep you better informed throughout the year so we can all benefit from the increased meeting scheduling.
Throughout the year be checking back on the NALA website (www.nalalandman.org) from time to time which is where we will be listing many of our meeting updates and notices as well as much regional and national news of interest to the Land professional. All in all, I am very excited as we begin this new year with the networking opportunities ahead and the anticipation of the knowledge to be gained from attending meetings where topics of much land, legal and technical interest are shared. I look forward to seeing you all at many of our meetings throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Bernard J. Ulincy, CPL
NALA President
