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Meeting
Minutes:
Friday, December 3, 2004
Volume 11; Issue 43 |
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Table of Contents
Committee Reports
Membership
Report
(Click here
to go to the Membership page)
[membersonly/archives/applications/submitted_applications.htm]
Dave Spiess announced that Catherine
Streiner's application has been withdrawn. She feels that
the drive would be too long.
Roman Okonowski encourages members to think
about why they take time out of their busy schedules to come to
this meeting every Friday. For some it is the leads or the
business exchange or just the socialization. For others it
is a combination of all of these. If it is that important
to you, than you are doing a disservice to a business if you
don't sponsor them as a member. Get passionate about MABE!
Social Report
(Click here to go to the Social Event page)
The MABE holiday party is
tonight. Have a great time!!!
Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)
- 12/10/04 Andy
Jensen
- 12/17/04 Roman
Okonowski
- 12/24/04 No
Meeting
- 12/31/04 No
Meeting
Wayne Unruh needs speakers for 2005.
Treasurer Report
1st quarter billing for 2005 have been mailed. Look for yours in the mail and make sure
to pay it promptly.
Leads Report
46-32, 46-07, 37-04, 37-07, 44-16,
36-40, 29-23, 12-13(x2), 12-02, 18-44, 18-10, 28-44, 24-41,
10-29, 07-44, 21-17, 21-19, 13-26, 06-34, 47-15, 22-19, 22-42,
22-32, 22-13, 22-33, 03-34, 03-23, 03-44, 31-19, 43-28, 43-47,
40-13, 40-21, 40-19, 02-19, 02-13, 02-06, 09-17, 09-21.
This week's leads focus...
George
Booth
Robert
Busch
Althea
Bussert
There are many ways to get leads for Althea. Anyone....
She is not limited to
residential work. Commercial clients are great leads.
Notable Mentions
James Bache reminded members to take
advantage of some tax credits that also help out schools and
local charities. One is the school tax credit where you
can donate up to $250 to a school of your choice and even
specify the activity that your funds be used for. And it
doesn't have to be the school your child attends. It can
be a school in a low income area where the dollars are very much
needed and appreciated. You can do it all online too, but
don't wait until the last minute. You can donate up
to $625 to a private school. The third item applies
to certain charities were you are given credit for giving more
this year than your "base" year. Mark Dreher and David
Lathrop also added to the suggestions on how to save on taxes.
For more information on your options, contact your CPA.
President Dave Spiess took time during the
meeting to go over some procedural issues. First, members
are asked to carefully follow membership procedures. The
procedures are simple.
- The proposing member completes part 1
of the application which is then distributed to the general
membership for review. The general membership must be
allowed time to review the information and raise any
objections BEFORE the applicant is invited to join
the group. A good rule of thumb is to allow one
meeting to transpire after the application is distributed
before bringing the applicant to a meeting. This will
give current members a chance to ask questions and/or raise
concerns.
- If there are no objections, then the
applicant is invited to visit (not join) the group.
This is a time for the members to meet the applicant and
make a better determination of whether or not they are a
good fit for our group, there are no business conflicts,
etc.
- If, after the visit, there are no
objections, the applicant will be asked to complete part 2
of the application. Once the application is
distributed, you should allow another meeting to transpire
BEFORE formally inviting the applicant to join the
group. This will give members one more chance to
make any objections.
They are there for a very good reason for
strictly following these procedures. They help avoid
embarrassing conflicts. The same is true for guest
speakers. We must carefully consider any conflicts before
inviting someone to speak whether they are the main speaker or a
guest of the main speaker. A committee has been formed
that will screen any guest speakers. Members that
want to bring in someone as part of their speech must
now consult this committee first.
Question of the Day
None.
Main Speaker
Chris Curran, Attorney
at Law
Curran & Belville,
P.A.
We are all selling our knowledge
of the fine print in our area of expertise. We take our time
and experience and package it up anyway we want to and put it out in
the marketplace. This is especially true in the service
industry.
Chris was born in Buffalo, New
York. His family moved to Detroit, Michigan when he was six.
He grew up in a northern suburb and was fortunate enough to attend
an all boys catholic, college prep school. (His social
development is still stunted from the experience.)
After graduating, he went to the
University of Michigan. He took a year off from college to
become a ski bum, travel and to "drink from the well of life."
Once he was "full", he decided to apply to law school. He did
not have the grades to get into the top national schools. But
he applied to a couple of at the top, a couple at the bottom and a
few in between...14 in all. He was accepted by 2. One
was the Catholic University Law School in Washington DC. It
was in a bad area and it got cold there. The other school to
accept him was ASU. The choice wasn't hard. He chose
bikinis and sun tans.
In law school you take one exam
per class, per semester and those are your grades. After his
first semester, Chris realized that he would not be getting a job
based on his grades. To make matters worse, the market was
very dry at the time. So Chris started to hustle. He
began doing legal work for firms so he could at least get
experience on his side and maybe some contacts.
Chris made it through law school
despite having professors tell him he wouldn't amount to *^&%!
He was hungry and broke and took the first offer that came his way.
It was a $35,000/year job as an associate with a firm that fought
with insurance companies.
Chris wakes up in the morning
expecting to go to work and deal with conflict. It is the
nature of his business. He considers going to court a failure
(despite what his revenge-hungry clients think). He puts a lot
of work into avoiding the courtroom. He is not paid hourly and
he does not get paid until the job case settles.
He wrestles with the conflict
associated with his line of work. He struggles to find balance
between security and risk; stability and the desire to be challenged
and try new things; selfishness, ego and greed versus his altruistic
thoughts.
He does find security in MABE.
Many of his most interesting cases have come out of this group.
He is proud to belong to a group and associating with people such as Andy Jensen,
a trustworthy friend, and Gus Dekavallas, a person who's pride in
the group is reflected in the number of members he has brought in.
Members offered testimony to
Chris as well. As Joe Zingale stated, few of us have to deal
with such deep issues in their line of work. You can't put a
number on it. But Chris handles the conflict with integrity.
Randy Clark also offered praise. He used Chris' service for a
personal matter. Chris handled everything and made dealing
with a crisis that much easier.
|
Christopher Curran
10+ year member
Member since December
1999 |
LAW - PERSONAL INJURY & INSURANCE LITIGATION
Law Office of Christopher J. Curran, P.C. - Attorney at Law
3165 S. Alma School Rd, Suite 29-291, Chandler, AZ
85248
Phone: (480) 649-1700 • FAX: (480) 917-2430
Cell: (480) 628-7772
E-mail:
curran134@cox.net
We provide a full range of legal services to individuals and families
who are victims of negligence and/or the insurance company “run-around.”
We will handle all communications, assist you with your property damage,
and help you find appropriate medical care valley-wide. Working strictly
on a contingency fee basis, and by forwarding all necessary costs, our
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