My dear fellow FACP members:
It is such an exciting time in the history of FACP. Approximately 12 years ago, our Florida statewide Collaborative organization was officially established. What started out as a small and dispersed group of passionate Collaborative professionals, mostly attorneys who were advanced in their professional careers, is now a thriving group of multi-disciplinary professionals from around the state ranging in age and experience. We have 16 practice groups from Miami up the east coast to Jacksonville and from Fort Myers up the west coast into the panhandle in Panama City. We are approximately 600 members strong and we continue to grow.
In the last few years, Collaborative professionals from around the world have been paying very close attention to what we have been doing in Florida. In fact, Barbara Kelly, a Facilitator in Winter Park, was a member of the IACP Board for four years. I came onto the IACP Board 6 years ago and will leave the Board this month. Adam Cordover has been on the IACP Board for 4 years and Elaine Silver, FACP’s Immediate Past President, is about to go on the IACP Board. Many of our members have also been active participants in IACP committees for years. Now, for the first time ever, IACP will have its annual Forum in Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee on October 27-30. FACP members Randy Heller, Jeff Wasserman, Wendy Aikin, Brenda London, Teresa Parnell, Joryn Jenkins, Aubrey Ducker, Rebecca Fischer, Lana Stern, Marta Alfonso, Ed Sachs, Craig Fabrikant, our web master Holly Haggerty, and I (hope I did not miss anyone!) will be presenting during the Forum. That means that a very large percentage of the programs will be presented by FACP members!
So why am I spending so much time promoting FACP and the IACP Forum? Because there are a lot of very high-quality Collaborative professionals in Florida, and the door is wide open to every member of FACP to become a highly trained and effective Collaborative professional. Fortunately for all of us, we can easily access the premier level of Collaborative presentations at the IACP Forum in our backyard. Almost 300 people from around the world have registered for the Forum, and approximately 25% are from Florida. There is still time to register and join more than 60 of our Florida colleagues and friends at the Forum. Do not miss out on this unique opportunity to be part of the best Collaborative training conference in the world! Click here to register.
We should all be proud of who we are and of what we do for families in Florida. With that being said, because FACP is a diverse and welcoming organization, we created a video promoting our diversity and the benefits of the Collaborative Process. I hope you will watch the video and share the link with your friends, colleagues, clients, local judges and magistrates. Share the video with colleagues and invite them to lunch or to your local practice group meeting. The more Collaborative professionals who get involved, the more that FACP is able to work toward Collaborative Practice becoming the preferred option for conflict resolution among families in need.
Take care and best wishes to you and your families. I hope to see you at Forum!
