The SBAA Board of Directors has had a very exciting start this year with several unique projects, and I would like to take this opportunity to share some of them with you.  In addition, I will address matters of membership recruitment, joining area bar affiliations, and the SBAA scholarships.

To begin with, we were asked to sponsor the Young Lawyers of Serbia (YLS) for their 2007 Serbian Jessup Moot Court Competition. We proudly donated a $500 scholarship to YLS, and we are looking forward to working with them in the future. If you are interested in learning more about YLS and viewing recent photos from the competition, please visit their website at http://www.mps.org.yu/eng/.  Also, if there are any attorneys interested in viewing the world final competition, it will be held in Washington, D.C. at the end of March.

The SBAA has also been asked by the Serbian Language and Cultural Workshop (SLCW) of Belgrade to become a participating member of their Scholarship Club. Mr. Paul Djurisic will be discussing this opportunity with the SLCW founding members and faculty when he tours the campus this summer. Should you be interested in finding out about this program, please visit their website at http://www.srpskijezik.edu.yu/.

In addition, our organization has been asked by Ms. Natalija S. Djurickovic of the USAID to participate in a project that would help fund the cost associated with purchasing robes for Serbian judges. Ms. Djurickovic has also contacted the American Bar Association (ABA), Serbian Unity Congress and various other Serbian organizations to collaborate on this project. The decision regarding this project is still pending, however, if you would like more information on this matter please contact Ms. Djurickovic directly at ndjurickovic@usaid.gov.

With regard to our membership, I am proud to announce that we have 20 new members this year. In addition, we are working with area schools and students to increase the memberships on law school campuses. We are also in the process of joining area bar affiliations here in Illinois, like the ABA, ISBA, and CBA, which will likely increase our exposure to new members. Should you know of anyone that may be interested in joining, please direct them to our website or have them contact me directly at KellyPavich@yahoo.com.

Finally, I would like to encourage you to share the SBAA scholarship opportunity with any qualified candidates that you may know in your community. Also, if you would like your law school alma mater added to our list of over 80 schools that are currently in contact with us, please forward me that information.

In closing, I would like to thank the entire SBAA Board of Directors for all of their time and effort that they give to the organization. Please know that there will be an opportunity to fill 2-3 vacant seats on the board at the upcoming Annual Meeting in May.

Kelly A. Pavich, Executive Director