Dear Osceola Bar Association,
Happy 2017 to all the Members! I hope you had a nice holiday season with your family and friends. Thank you to the membership for giving me this opportunity to lead you in 2017. I thank the Board of Directors for their continued support and leadership.
My name is Richard C. Mendoza and I am a partner at Mendoza & Fowinkle, PLLC. We are based in Kissimmee, Florida. I was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in a small town in West Virginia. After law school, I moved to the Central Florida area and interned with the Ninth Circuit Office of the Public Defender. After passing the Bar, I did some private practice and returned to the Office of the Public Defender here in Osceola County. I have focused my practice in the Osceola County area.
I am very proud to be part of the Osceola County Bar Association for the last several years. I have witnessed such growth in the membership and our associations within our community. In 2017, we will continue building our relationships with our community and within the legal field.
Our yearly bar association gala will be held on April 22, 2017 at the Kissimmee Bay Country Club. We are honored to announce that the proceeds raised will go to the Honorable Scott D. Polodna Scholarship fund. We will continue Judge Polodna’s legacy of his love for Osceola County and our future minds.
We will bring back our family BBQ that will be held in early fall. This will give our membership the opportunity to have fellowship with their colleagues and their families for a fun informal event. More information will be coming out once a date and venue are set. We hope you can join us for this fun and family friendly event.
The Osceola Bar will continue to provide CLEs and speakers at our luncheons with a wide range of topics. If you have an interest that you believe that would benefit our practice of law, please do not hesitate to contact me to find a speaker in the field. If you have a speaker that you would like to invite, please contact me as well and we can get them on our calendar of events.
Our first meeting of the 2017 year is on January 20, 2017 in the Jury Room at the Osceola County Courthouse. We will continue to meet on the 3rd Friday of every month. We will have installation of officers during this first meeting.
Here are our new Board of Directors for 2017. Our President-Elect is Ms. Warda Ali, an Assistant State Attorney for the Ninth Circuit. Our Treasurer is Ms. Erika Friedlander, an Assistant County Attorney for Osceola County. Our Secretary is Ms. Cristal Maisonet, an Assistant State Attorney for the Ninth Circuit. Our Public Information Officer is Ms. Alesha Smith, an Assistant Public Defendant in Osceola County. Our Membership Director is Mr. Nelson Llabona with the Llabona Law Group practicing in the area of Family Law. Our Young Lawyer Section Chair is Mr. Jose Campa, an Assistant State Attorney for Osceola County. Our two At-Large Directors are Mr. John Newstreet, the President of the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Francisco Cruz, an Attorney with the Kissimmee location of The Ticket Clinic. These individuals have a diverse background and bring different perspectives and talents to our Executive Board.
I thank you and look forward to working with you this 2017 Osceola County Bar Association year. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 407.782.4638 or email at [email protected] or [email protected] or you can contact any of our Executive Board members.
Kindest Regards,
Richard C. Mendoza, Esq.
President
Osceola County Bar Association
407-782-4638