Bail Agents Ready to Bond at the 2010 PBUS Midyear Meeting

• June 28, 2010
• by Collateral Staff
• In the News

[caption id="attachment_237" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Bail Agents Ready for PBUS Midyear Meeting."][/caption]

Just as summer is kicking into full swing in Chicago, the Professional Bail Agents of the United States (PBUS) association will arrive to commence its midyear meeting.

Bail professionals from around the country will be flocking to the meeting, which will be held July 21-24 at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park hotel. The four-day event -- the last PBUS meeting before the association celebrates its 30-year anniversary in February 2011 -- will give bail agents a chance to network, participate in lectures and attend association meetings.

Chicago was a somewhat controversial location to hold the event, PBUS President Linda Braswell said. Some members opposed the choice because Illinois is a no-bail state, but many others used surveys to indicate their interest in larger metropolitan areas such as Chicago or New York. Braswell also explained that holding the meeting in a no-bail state gives PBUS a chance to advocate the bail system.

"They're (Illinois) a 10-percent state, but if you don't continue to spread the good word and be positive and do positive things, positive things will not happen. We need to go there and let people know bail is alive and well in other parts of the country; let them know there are other, better options than the sorry system that's in place. The positive part is that Illinois Senator Mike Jacobs will be joining us, who is very much interested in hearing our story and what we have to offer," Braswell said.

Braswell told AboutBail.com about some of the noteworthy events scheduled during the meeting, including:

• Hot Topics Breakout Session: This is a moderated open-mic event where bail agents can discuss hot topics in the bail industry such as bail legislation or news from their states, and anything else on their minds.

• For Women Only Luncheon: Originally formed to give women something to do while their husbands were in meetings or classes, this event headed by Linda Roche has become a can't-miss chance for female bail professionals to bond. In the past, the luncheon has featured activities such as visits from fortune tellers, scrapbookers and breast cancer specialists.

• Lieutenant Michael Kline, Berrien County Sheriff's Department: Lt. Kline will bring the actual weapons used in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929. That historic event was a leading cause of the founding of the country's first independent crime laboratory.

The midyear meeting also enables bail agents to earn continuing education credits while learning about topics that will better their businesses. The classes focus on key aspects of the bail industry such as professionalism, legislation and bail recovery. As Braswell pointed out, technology has changed immensely for bail businesses in areas such as bail recovery, so it's useful to present courses that keep people updated.

The events aren't all business-related, though, as attendees can spend July 21 golfing, fishing and going on an architecture cruise.

"We always tell our members to come early and stay late," Braswell said. "It's a chance for members to get together with their spouses and do something fun while you're there."

PBUS organizers outdid themselves to put the midyear meeting together, and Braswell wanted to thank a few people in particular for their efforts. She called attention to Wanda Zumas, Fred Anschultz, Pam Jackson, Stephen Kreimer, Emilie Flynn, Betty Newman, and Rupendra Pant as individuals who have worked hard to plan and shape the event.

More than anything, Braswell said she wants to stress that all bail professionals should make an effort to attend at least one PBUS conference each year. According to her, they owe it to themselves, their businesses and the profession that provides a living for them.

"I don't think there's a bail agent alive that couldn't make a concentrated effort to come to one of the conferences each year for the betterment of himself," she said.

Braswell said many bail agents will fail to appear at meetings, "then they'll hear what a good conference it was and say 'I wish I had gone.' Quit wishing you had gone and come be involved and care about the profession you chose."

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