And The Oscar Goes To.....

Send the tux to the cleaners, call your stylist and reserve the stretch Hummer. It's time for the AILA Annual Awards!

Okay, so maybe the carpet won’t be red and I’m betting Joan Rivers won’t be there (thank goodness), but this is an event you won’t want to miss.

We’re asking for your help in identifying nominees for the 2007 AILA Annual Awards. Each year, AILA recognizes individuals who have excelled in advancing the field of immigration law. AILA is soliciting nominations for awards in the following categories: Mentoring, Advocacy, Advancing the Practice, Excellence in Litigation, Young Lawyer Recognition, Pro Bono, Human Rights, Excellence in Teaching, The Founders Award (which recognizes those who have had the most impact on Immigration Law), Media, and Congressional Leadership.

This is your chance to recognize your peers and sincerely thank them for their service. It’s a heartwarming event, really. Not in the sugary sweet Sally Field, “You like me. You really like me” kind of way, but a rewarding opportunity to recognize those unsung heroes for what they have contributed to the practice. However, if the acceptance speeches should run too long, we have no qualms about cutting them off with the unceremonious “get off the stage music.”

There are free goodies, too. No, not the swag bags full of priceless jewels and luxury vacations (which, by the way, were cut from the Oscars because the feds finally awakened to the fact that these bags are actually TAXABLE INCOME), but you’ll have access to as many finger foods and nonalcoholic beverages as your little heart desires.

Take a few moments and send in a nomination for one of your most deserving colleagues. They just might win something. But if not, no worries.

It’s an honor just to be nominated.

Ode To The Post-It Note: 50 Things You Never Knew About The AILA Annual Conference

1. AILA Annual Conference planning starts out as one session written on a 3M Post-It Note.


2. Over time, the Post-It Note miraculously reproduces.


3. After a while, the Post-Its disappear and the Day-at-a-Glance is born.


4. AILA is working desperately to improve our sophisticated conference planning “software."


5. The AILA Annual Conference venue is chosen seven years in advance of the conference (so don’t blame me if you don’t like Orlando, Vancouver, Vegas, DC or San Diego). If you have a gripe, post-date your complaint for 2012 and send it on over.


6. Visiting a potential Anual Conference site is a grueling three-day event. More walking than you could possibly imagine.


7. AILA staff members maintain a secret office in the depths of the convention center where they have access to limitless junk food. If I publicly disclosed its location, I’d be tortured and killed.


8. You know those tote bags you receive at conference registration? Every year, samples are circulated among the education department and a fiery, hair-pulling debate ensues over the style, color and texture. It's not pretty.


9. Every educational session will be held at the Orlando World Marriott—and all on one floor.


10. There are approximately 300 faculty members speaking at the AILA Annual Conference.


11. The first 2008 Annual Conference planning meeting will take place on the last day of the 2007 Annual Conference.


12. We’re bringing back child care this year—unless your kids are old enough where you can dump them at Disney for the day and not worry that they’ll be assaulted by Tigger, you should check it out.


13. There will be no square dancers in Orlando this year. Those costumes will be missed.


14. Last year, there was at least one AILA member who attended both the AILA Annual Conference AND the National Square Dancers Conference.


15. At the 2006 Annual Conference, you ate 45 dozen bagels, donuts and breakfast pastries.


16. And washed it down with 365 gallons of coffee and tea.


17. Fill out those evaluation forms after each session. By doing so, you are automatically entered in a raffle to receive a free Annual Conference registration.


18. Some conference attendees start out their conference mornings dressed in yoga gear, led by one of our extremely fit and Gumby-like AILA staff members.


19. Last year’s Saturday Night Party featured a reflective dance floor. You may have seen one just like it….if you attended last year’s Oscar Party or George Foreman’s birthday bash.


20. We need Day Coordinators for the 2007 conference. What’s a Day Coordinator, you ask? Email me at mgergerian@aila.org.


21. Are you an AILA member who works for a nonprofit or does a significant amount of probono work? Apply for our full-tuition Berger Scholarship.


22. Are you a student or an AILA member’s paralegal with a cheapskate boss? Apply for a volunteer position at the conference.


23. The most popular session at the 2006 Annual Conference was Labor Certification-Based Immigration Pre-Filing with 1,068 in attendance.


24. New to the Annual Conference and need a road map? Come to the New Attendee Orientation on Wednesday night at 5:45pm.


25. This is harder than I thought. Only 25 to go….


26. Special discounts for theme parks are now on InfoNet.


27. Speaking of discounts, register before May 3, 2007 and save BIG money.


28. You will earn up to 30 CLE credit hours by attending the Annual Conference.


29. AILA will be the only meeting at the Orlando World Marriot during the conference – all 400,000 square feet to ourselves.


30. The Orlando World Marriott has six pools.


31. And 10 restaurants and lounges.


32. Staying at the Caribe or the Disney Animal Kingdom instead? Ride our free shuttle to the conference each day.


33. The Annual Conference is GREAT for social networking. Visit the Central Florida Chapter Booth in the exhibit hall for a list of social events.


34. AILA staff have fun, too. Note the comment in the previous post about the AILA staffer who “fell” in the Riverwalk last year. I wonder if he ever got that tetanus shot.


35. The first AILA Annual Conference Softball Tournament between Texas and New York was played in 1982, complete with cheerleaders and belly dancers in 110 degree heat.


36. AILA ships in 44,800 lbs. of freight to the Annual Conference.


37. It takes a LONG time to open and unpack all of those boxes.


38. The AILA conference staff has had to deal with some pretty bizarre onsite emergencies over the years, ranging from escalator accidents to emergency oral surgery.


39. No one on our staff is a medical doctor, but we have years of experience driving attendees to the hospital.


40. Ready for your close up? For the first time, the Annual Conference will present a hands-on Media Training on Wednesday evening.


41. Ilana Drummond is the 2007 AILA Annual Conference Chair and she is doing a fantastic job.


42. I communicate with her at least five times per day (and sometimes on weekends). I have her email address, cell phone, home phone, office direct dial, and fax numbers and I’m not afraid to use them.


43. For some reason, she keeps accepting my calls.


44. AILA will unveil its new logo at the 2007 Annual Conference.


45. There’s a great photo on page 3 of the Annual Conference brochure that was mailed a few weeks ago. That photogenic, smiling man is not an immigration lawyer.


46. He’s an architect.


47. And the brother of one of AILA’s past presidents.


48. We found out after the brochure was printed.


49. Stop by the exhibit hall for free food, drinks and prizes throughout the conference. I think I spotted a margarita machine last year.


50. Are you still reading this? Do you feel more enlightened about the inner workings of the Annual Conference? Me neither, but that was fun.