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Lawyer Honored For Work Planning Annual Bar Dinners
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Published: July 4, 2008
NEW PORT RICHEY - NEW PORT RICHEY - For 30-plus years, Roland D. "Chip" Waller has orchestrated the West Pasco Bar Association's annual officer installation dinner so that it ran like clockwork.
It began on time, long-winded speakers weren't allowed and the event never ran too long.
Under Waller's hand, there were no surprises.
That is, until Tuesday night when his colleagues gave the unsuspecting Waller an award and a standing ovation at the dinner at Heritage Springs Country Club in Trinity.
No one is sure exactly when Waller took up the task, not even Waller himself. He estimated he might have begun in 1973 when he was a young associate with New Port Richey lawyer James Altman. At that time, the bar association had about 14 members. Today, it has 166.
Waller has put a lot of thought, organization and work into making all the events run smoothly, said Thomas W. Mitchell Jr., his partner in the firm of Waller, Mitchell & Barnett.
Waller books the event site, establishes the menu, writes a letter to members about the dinner, and arranges the entertainment and speaker.
According to Waller's paralegal, Milli Osborne, his office began working on this year's event at the beginning of May, almost two months before the dinner.
"All anyone has needed to say was, 'Will you handle the banquet?' If the answer was yes, you didn't have to worry about a thing," said lawyer Larry Hart, who also lauds Waller's legal skills.
"Chip is a genius," Hart said. "He is one of the outstanding leaders of the areas in which he practices."
Waller is board-certified in real-estate law and practices probate and estate planning.
He might be ready to turn over the organizing to someone else next year, Waller said, but he'll always be loyal to the bar association.
"I am committed to the bar association," he said. "That doesn't mean I agree with everything they do, but that doesn't mean I don't love them."
Reporter Cheryl Bentley can be reached at (727) 815-1069 cbentley@suncoastnews.com.
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