Strengthening Families, Securing Futures

Welcome to the 59^th Annual Training Conference of the Domestic Relations Association of Pennsylvania in Cranberry Township, Butler County Pennsylvania.  Having spent my entire life living and working in Butler County, I’ve developed strong bonds with the community we serve and the people I work with.  I am excited to host our annual conference in Butler, and I hope that your experience here leaves you with fond memories and a desire to visit our county again. 

This year’s slogan was created by Leslie Bailey from Warren/Forest Counties – Strengthening Families, Securing Futures.  Congratulations Leslie!  May your message resonate with all of us while we are here this week, and may we all appreciate that every day we do just that! 

Planning for this event requires an army of volunteers and I’ve been very fortunate to work with an amazing group of people on the Annual Conference Committee.  If you see anyone wearing a conference committee tag on their name badge, please take the time to thank them for all of their hard work.  To our President, Tricia Sorg, I appreciate all of your encouragement, patience, and support. It has been great working with you while planning this event.

Before I acknowledge the committees that made this conference come together, I want to express my appreciation and gratitude to the staff of the Butler County Domestic Relations Section.  Without their hard work and dedication, I would not have been able to chair this committee.  I also want to thank our Court Administrator, Candace Graff, for continually supporting my involvement with DRAP.  To Michelle Dehart, I cannot thank you enough for everything you do.  We wouldn’t be able to host this year’s conference and continue to manage the office without all your support, effort, knowledge, and willingness to take on any challenge.  Thank you, thank you. 

To Steven Schaub and the entire Agenda Subcommittee, thank you for putting together such a full and complete agenda.  It didn’t take long for the first draft of the agenda to be created, and from there, it has grown into an exceptional and all-encompassing educational opportunity for our attendees.  Thanks to Rebecca Krueger for working with our presenters and moderators to obtain descriptions and bios, and to Jackie Dimun for arranging our CLE accreditation. 

To our Vendor & Sponsor Chair Chris Dunham, you continue to outdo yourself.  This year you raised over $40,000.00 in funds to help offset conference related expenses.  Thank you so much for what you do!

To our child support program vendors and event sponsors, thank you for continually supporting DRAP, not only through your financial generosity, but also through the products you offer that help Pennsylvania’s Child Support program continue to be the best in the nation.  Conference attendees, please take the time to visit with and speak to our vendors and sponsors near the registration area. 

To the Entertainment Committee including, Daniel Elsass, Brittany Robinson, James Gallagher, Dawn Wise, Daniel Yantos, and Jill Burns, thank you for putting together the after-hours events we have planned for our conference attendees. 

To our partners at BCSE, OCSE, PACSETI and the AOPC, thank you for your contributions to this year’s event and for your continued support of DRAP and our commitment to help Pennsylvania’s children get the support they so desperately need and deserve. 

To Brittany Robinson, thank you for working with VOICe to coordinate this year’s DRAP gives back event.  I appreciate your organization, planning, and dedication to working with a local agency that supports members of our community. 

To Sari Love, Margie Nazzario, Tonya Aspinall and Andy Henderson, thank you for your combined efforts in managing our conference registration information. I appreciate the amount of effort it takes to make sure all of the registrations and payments are received, the hotel room reservations are correct, and the conference materials are organized, prepared, and ready for all of our attendees. 

Lastly, I want to recognize the DRAP Board of Directors. You’re an incredibly smart and hard-working group of individuals.  Thank you for the time you donate to DRAP and to Pennsylvania’s Child Support Program.  Training conferences like this are not possible without all of you. Thank you for what you do!

Enjoy your time at this year’s conference!