Annual Signature Event continues growth spurt

 By Tom Kirvan

Legal News
 
“More” continues to be “better” for the Oakland County Bar Foundation, the nonprofit organization that will sponsor the 15th Annual Signature Event on Friday, April 25 at Oakland Hills Country Club.
 
The OCBF already has raised $230,500 in “sponsorships alone, which is a $27,500 increase from last year” at this point, according to Dan Quick, president of the organization that is dedicated to supporting legal aid work and other worthwhile charitable causes in the legal community.

“While we like to position ourselves in the legal community as ‘the lawyers’ charity,’ this year our committee has really reached out to businesses in Oakland County for their support, not just law firms and those directly associated with them, and most of these businesses have really answered the call for action,” Quick said. “Some 119 businesses or firms have stepped up this year in support of the Signature Event.”

The Signature Event, which will run from 7-10 p.m. and features a strolling supper, has been in a record-setting mode of late, according to organizers. Last year, upward of $265,000 was raised through sponsorships and ticket sales, helping the Bar Foundation respond to the inevitable increase in grant requests.

“Although the economy is shifting, the call for Foundation support is just as strong as ever and with this being the main fund-raising tool for the Foundation, this event is extremely important to help us continue to meet our mission statement,” Quick indicated. “Halfway through our fiscal year we have already received (grant) requests totaling $150,000 and we anticipate more.”

A 1992 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Quick has long been active with the Oakland County Bar Association and the OCBF. In 2009, he received the prestigious Distinguished Service Award from the OCBA, while he also has made his mark on various projects with the American Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan.

An attorney with Dickinson Wright in Troy, Quick expressed his gratitude to the four Platinum Sponsors for 2014, each agreeing to donate $10,000 to the event. The four include Conway MacKenzie, Computing Source, Kenwal Steel Corp., and the law firm of Williams Williams Rattner & Plunkett. 

Serving as Gold Sponsors ($5,000 each) are Dickinson Wright; Flagstar Bank; First Merit Bank; Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss; Stout Risius Ross; Kohn Financial Consulting; Sue Ellen Eisenberg & Associates; and Groen, Kluka & Company and Resolution Experts.

“This is the first year we are hosting a premier reception to allow our sponsors an extra opportunity to network and the board can show its appreciation for their support,” Quick said. “This is a special invitation event.”

Proceeds from the April 25 fund-raiser will be channeled into a number of legal aid programs and educational projects that OCBF supports, according to Quick. Among the beneficiaries are the Family Law Assistance Project, the University of Detroit Mobile Law Office, Beaumont Hospital Legal Aid for Children, the Legal Aid Mini Clinic, Michigan High School Mock Trial Tournament, Senior Law Day, and the Youth Law Conference.

Those interested in purchasing tickets to the April 25 Signature Event can contact the Oakland County Bar Association at (248) 334-3400 or by visiting the OCBA website at www.ocba.org. Ticket costs $175 apiece and organizers expect another sellout this year.

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