18 | The Summation
The Bottom Line Happy Anniversary NWFPA! by Deb Johnson, CP, Past President of NWFPA
T
he Northwest Florida Paralegal Association (NWFPA) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year! NWFPA continues
to promote the paralegal profession and all paralegals in the area as evidenced by the Association’s Mission Statement which reads: “The Northwest Florida Paralegal Association is dedicated to encouraging the ethical and professional growth of paralegals in the northwest Florida area by providing continuing education to members of the paralegal profession; by providing a venue for members to interact with other members of the legal community; and by supporting and carrying out the programs, purposes, aims and goals of the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc.” To celebrate this ruby anniversary I thought it best to take a look back at NWFPA’s origins. The history of the Northwest Florida Paralegal Association goes back to sometime in
1978 when Pensacola Junior College (now Pensacola State College) began the A.S. degree program in Legal Assisting. The founding President of NWFPA joined with a dozen or so other students in the first classes offered at Pensacola Junior College. Those students would later become members of the Pensacola Legal Assistants Association (now known as the Northwest Florida Paralegal Association). PLAA was organized in August 1981 after several of the first legal assistant students upon finishing the legal assistant program at PJC sought to become certified and took the certifying exam offered by NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants). Our founding President Debra Becker sought to provide leadership and education to the local paralegals without having to travel and it was apparent that a local chapter affiliated with NALA could provide educational opportunities
and networking. The first year PLAA had about 20 members. Sometime in the 1990’s PLAA changed its name to Northwest Florida Paralegal Association in response to the growing legal field wherein attorneys were designating their legal secretaries as legal assistants. The change from legal assistant to paralegal sought to designate those with higher education in the legal field. Early on NWFPA also sought to provide assistance to the community and in doing so helped to create what is now known as Manna Food Bank, Inc. (Manna Food Pantries), a local grass root organization fighting hunger in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Northwest Florida. Manna continues to be a focused charity that NWFPA supports along with many other local charities and organizations. During the past 40 years, NWFPA has enjoyed the leadership of many wonderful and talented Executive Team
members who volunteer their time and talents to support and grow the association. The pandemic also created new challenges as monthly meetings and CLE presentation transitioned from in person to Zoom, but the commitment to continuing to offer those benefits to the membership has not wavered. In May 2021, NWFPA launched a brand new website (www.nwfpa.com) creating a more interactive experience for the members and allowing for submission of membership application and registration for monthly membership meetings directly through the website. NWFPA has certainly come a long way in 40 years and the future looks bright! NWFPA will always remain true to its mission to support and promote the paralegal profession and all paralegals….and that’s the bottom line.
