New law requires large employers to provide 
leave for victims of domestic violence 

Gregg Gerlach Receives Board Certification

Gregg Gerlach has recently received Board Certification in Labor and Employment Law by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization.

What is Board Certification in Labor and Employment Law?

Board certification is the highest level of recognition given by The Florida Bar for competency and experience for labor and employment law practitioners.  Board certification recognizes Gregg’s special knowledge, skills and proficiency in labor and employment law, as well as in professionalism and  ethics in practice.    Certified attorneys are the only lawyers allowed to hold themselves out as specialists or experts.  Board certification is intended to provide consumers  with assurance in the selection of legal counsel. 

Of the over 80,000 licensed attorneys in Florida, only about 4,200 are board certified.

What Did Gregg Have to Do To Become Board Certified?

To become Board certified, Gregg had to practice law for a minimum of five years, demonstrate substantial involvement in the field of  labor and employment law, pass a rigorous examination covering the entire area of labor and employment, demonstrate satisfactory peer review assessments of his competence in labor and employment law, as well as his character, ethics and professionalism in  the practice of law,  and complete numerous hours of continuing legal education in labor and employment law.

Andrew Harper' s Eagle Scout Achievement

1. Where Tom went in China & How he as invited to teach

Tom was one of five teachers on a "team" that presented a continuing education program at Honghe University in Mengzi, (pronounced Munzaî) China. The program was sponsored by the Edge English Institute, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team was the guest of the University and the local government in Mengzi which is in Yunnan Province. The program was presented to a group of 225 Chinese school teachers as a continuing education program for English as a second language. These Chinese teachers were high school and middle school English teachers from the Yunnan province in China.

The Yunnan province is located in south central China immediately above North Vietnam and Laos and just to the east and south of Tibet. The northwest corner of the province contains the eastern end of the Himalayan mountain range and the famous area of Shangri-La. The Dali area of Yunnan province is just to the south of Shangri-La and is known for its strikingly beautiful terraced agriculture on mountains in that area.

As in Florida, teachers are required to receive continuing education each year. The university scheduled and invited these teachers to stay at the University and take this English course. The team teachers paid for their own airfare and spending money and the University provided a motel room and a meal card. The cost per person to teach and go on the trip is approximately $2,000.00. Many of the students were graduates of Honghe University.

Mengzi is a beautiful city of approximately 350,000 persons surrounded by mountains. There is no western food and there were no American or western tourists in Mengzi. Mengzi is a city that has only been open to the west for about 5 years. This was Tom's second trip to China. In 2004, Tom and his family visited Hong Kong for 10 days. In Hong Kong the family took a one-day tour into China visiting the city of Guangzhou.

Honghe University has 7700 students. The campus is a mix of mostly modern new buildings and older facilities. We stayed in a brand new two story hotel that was built as red brick two-story homes with tile roofs. The rooms were top-quality with marble and mahogany everywhere. Mengzi has a moderate climate normally not above 85 degrees in the summer or below 50 degrees in the winter.

Tom found that this was wonderful way to see and experience China. The Chinese officials and University officials simply could not have been more hospitable or thankful for our service. The University took us on a sightseeing tour about 100 miles away visiting Sip Ping and the ancient city of Tian Jusay. The local Chinese were free to speak openly and candidly with us.

2. What Tom learned from his trip to China

1. How China's one-child policy has and is changing their culture.
2. How we in the United States are a society of excess. In China they waste nothing and do without the excesses we consume and take for granted.
3. I left with a greater appreciation for the freedoms that we take for granted.
4. I believe that the Chinese people have made tremendous advances in the last 5 years toward a more free and open society. I found that this was wonderful way to see and experience China. The Chinese people that we spent time with I felt were free to speak openly and candidly with us.
   
   Tom has prepared a summary with more details on his trip and his China experience. If you want to learn more about the Edge English Institute or other programs available for teaching English in China, send Tom an e-mail or call him at 296-7000.