Rachel Borchers 2022 President's Message

I am delighted for the opportunity to serve as President in this amazing organization of talented legal professionals in our great city of Jacksonville. I have been part of Jacksonville ALA for the past seven years, joining with my very first legal job in 2015.  I continued to get more involved each year and have I have learned so much from this wonderful group of people.

This past year as President-Elect, I worked closely with President Jessica VanTroost, the Board, the Business Partner Committee and the Business Partners to revamp our Business Partner Program.  I look forward to continuing to see it grow and change in the coming years to keep up with all of the changes and shifts we have experienced through Covid.

My goal for the 2022-2023 year is to focus on membership to the chapter and broaden our reach.  Since Covid, the pandemic started, we have had an abundance of hybrid options so that our chapter can function collectively, and members could still actively participate, all from our own comfort levels remotely or in person. This allows us to reach those may have been unable to attend in another year, perhaps because meetings were too far or trying to juggle too many plates at the same time. I believe this will be a huge benefit to approach the growth of our membership in the chapter moving forward.  There is something special about this group that others need to be so lucky to experience!

I would like to particularly thank the last two Boards I have been on to help me get to this spot of being President and I am very excited to start working with the 2022-2023 Board of Directors to see what we can do coming out of a pandemic that has changed not only the world, but the legal community!  I am ready to see new things come together and grow from what we have learned, to better our chapter and continue to thrive.

Lastly, thank you both Members and Business Partners for helping us embrace the change and get ready for a great new year. Without you this would not be possible and for that I am so grateful.