In February, Glenda Larry, the voice so many of you heard on the telephone when you called and the person who sent you those friendly reminders about what you were missing in your applications for certification, accepted a wonderful new position as Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince’s Judicial Assistant. Needless to say, it has not been an easy transition for all of us. Fortunately, Glenda is just up one flight of stairs so we still get to see her and she (and Justice Quince) has been very gracious about coming back to answer questions and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Glenda also made a condition of her new employment that she be allowed to attend the DRC Conference and help out at the registration desk Be sure to stop by the registration desk at the annual conference to congratulate Glenda … and thank her for her exceptional contributions to the DRC!

You may be wondering how we have kept up with all of the certifications and renewals which are still being processed in the same timely manner. First, Stephanie McHardy, Ramon Waters, Jacob Weiner, Dawn Burlison, Kimberly Kosch, and Rosezetta Bobo have stepped up and taken on additional responsibilities, along with continuing to do the fine work that they have always done. In addition, Jessica Simoes, one of our former student assistants, (who you may remember from the CME table at the conference) graduated from FSU in 2004 and spent a year in Italy studying Italian and working. She returned to the US in the summer of 2005 and agreed to come back to work part-time at the Center to help us prepare for the annual conference. Jessica is planning to go to law school in the Fall so her goal for this year was to also work at a law firm. For a time she did both. Fortunately for us, she decided that she found her work at the DRC more rewarding so when Glenda took her new position, Jessica was ready and able to step into her shoes. We anticipate brining someone new on board in the next couple of months and will keep you posted. In the interim, a great big thank you to the remaining DRC staff!

I also want to take this opportunity to announce that Ramon Waters has assumed responsibility for the On-Line Resolution Report. Ramon has been with the DRC since October 2000 and if you have called the DRC, he’s the male voice you sometimes will hear on the telephone. Ramon started as an OPS (for non-state workers that just means he was in a temporary position) student position doing data entry. Over the years, he has become indispensable to the Center. He handles all of the data entry related to new certifications and renewals (including CME), along with a host of other responsibilities. In July 2005, Ramon graduated from Keiser College with a degree in Graphic Design so the addition of the On-Line Resolution Report was a natural fit. I expect that Ramon will excel in this new responsibility in the same way that he has every other task he has undertaken, and I think you will agree he has done a great job in his first effort. We were able to offer Ramon a full time position in September 2005 and luckily for us, he accepted! Please join me in congratulating Ramon for his recent accomplishments and thanking him for accepting his new responsibilities!