There have been several organizational changes here at FACE, and the title of this column is just a hint of one of them.
FACE president Michael Fox resigned his position at our December, 1999 Board of Directors meeting. In his resignation, Mike said that, since FACE is now a healthier organization than ever, he felt that resigning now would have a minimum impact. He also needs to devote more time to his own business, and had some health problems to attend to.
We will all miss Michael. He was the driving force behind the establishment of FACE in New Jersey. At our first organizational meeting in 1990 in his office, we became the New Jersey chapter of FACE of Pennsylvania. During his tenure, we grew from that original group of eight people to have nearly 2,000 members and other supporters and contacts, and we incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization in 1995.
Many of our members benefited from Michael's pro se support. He was proud of the fact that, because of his assistance to others, he was accused of unauthorized practice of law. When he cited Supreme Court precedents exempting members of self-help groups from the UPL prohibition, the matter was dropped.
Watch the next edition of About FACE for announcement of our testimonial banquet in late March or early April. We will be honoring Michael for his years or service, and honoring other active members for their contributions.
We haven't seen too much of FACE director Everett Simpson for the past three years. That's because he was working in Lansing, Michigan and attending the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Ed graduated this year, passed the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bar exams (making him the third lawyer that FACE has spawned), and his employer transferred him back to New Jersey. We welcome Ed home, and congratulate him on his new law career.
Even with Ed Simpson's return, Mike Fox's resignation left us with only four directors. At our January, 2000 meeting, the Board of Directors elected four new directors: Sondra Lippi, Ron Neely, Mark Sowinski and Ron Svitak.
Sondra Lippi, divorced noncustodial mother of one daughter, has been a FACE member since 1996. She is a strong supporter of shared custody of children and fairness to all in family court, and an outspoken opponent of false accusations of domestic abuse. She is the owner of Sondra's Travel in Haddonfield.
Ron Neely is the divorced father of three children. He first joined FACE in 1993, but left our area to work in Silicon Valley for a few years. In 1999, he returned to New Jersey to strengthen his relationship with his children. He now hosts our Camden County workgroup meeting and is our co-webmaster. Ron brings great organizational skills to our Board of Directors.
Mark Sowinski is the separated father of three children. He was an independent fathers' rights activist until learning of FACE while participating in the 1999 Fathers Day demonstration on the U.S. Capitol steps in Washington. Mark, a native of Poland, brings to FACE his familiarity with international child custody disputes and immigration law.
Ron Svitak is our youngest director. Although he is not married to his child's mother, he is married, and his lovely wife Ulrikka is stepmother to his one son. Ron is a professional child care provider for special needs children at the Bancroft School. He volunteered to be our Membership Chairman, and he brings his youthful creativity and enthusiasm to our board.
We congratulate all of our new directors on their election, and extend our best wishes to them all.
And last, the reason for the title of this column: As FACE vice president, I became the acting president upon Mike Fox's resignation. We will discuss candidates for FACE presidency at the February, 2000 board meeting, the first to include all of our new directors.
Even though we doubled the size of our Board of Directors, there is always room on the board for more dedicated FACE members who can volunteer their time and their efforts to promote the Right of every child to a loving, meaningful parent-child relationship with both of their parents, regardless of the parents' marital status. Get involved! Get active! Come to a meeting and let us know what YOU can do.
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