1. St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands February 2, 2010 Isabel Picó-Vidal, JFI Chair

2. The Judicial Family Institute is delighted to open this new decade in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is here under the gracious gaze of our host Chief Justice Hodge and his spouse Jean that we will preview our new redesigned website. The year, 2010, is JFI’s launching pad for a technological highway that will take us places, new and old, near and far. This highway affirms the famous maxim that we are not islands unto ourselves but that each of us is a part of the main. Our hope is that each of you joins us in the remarkable journey of our judicial community. On behalf of the Judicial Family Institute, welcome to our Midyear Business Meeting.

3. What a great pleasure it is for us to meet in Charlotte Amalie, the birthplace of Camille Pissarro, the great Impressionist artist. I imagine Pissarro would enjoy the artistry of the special technological event we have in store for you today—the presentation of our test website. We are going to walk you through an ongoing endeavor that honorary member Barbara George began seven years ago in 2004. I am referring, of course, to our updated and redesigned website. The test site you will see blends Art and Technology, a combination that we hope you will enjoy.

4. Building a website is clearly a major accomplishment. Redesigning a site is a labor of love. What drove us to take on this enterprise? As Jesse Rutledge of the National Center for State Courts told our newsletter: “The hardest part about redesigning any Web site is that it requires extra work and most of us have overloaded fulltime jobs.” We were willing to do the extra work.

5. We set our goal to attract more visitors with up to date articles on topics such as ethics and security, of interest to the judicial community. We wanted to put the talents of our members and the expertise of our courts to good use. We did our research. We attended the Court Technology Convention in Denver to learn more about website design. We established a committee for website graphic design. That Committee, chaired by Jan Aikman Dickson,

6. included Lindsey Borshel, a leading graphic designer. Claudia Fernandes accepted our invitation to be Website Chair and Editor. We carefully planned each time-consuming step in the process. We organized those steps into four distinct tasks: research, organizing and display, design and preparing test site for review and approval. As we relive the process in our presentation later today, you will see the result of that process. Before we describe our exciting venture, allow me to present my report as Chair.

7. AUGUSTAUGUST

8. Clearly present information and educational resources for judicial families. Help visitors quickly find information on a content rich site. Make it easy to contact us and navigate a user- friendly web. Stay current with announcements about JFI work and events. Increase readership of JFI website.

9. - Identified audience needs and preferences to deliver correct content. - Analyzed JFI Website Statistics to learn why people visit our site and what they are looking for. - Engaged State Contacts to find out their needs for our site. - Involved Section Chairs and JFI Members in updating content to ensure redesign met needs of membership.

10. Section chairs and membership involvement George Durham Health and Quality of Life Mirelsa Modestti Judicial Assistance Programs Jan Johnson Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Christine Alexander Law and Literature Susan Minton Political Life Mary Torres and Ruth Newcomer State Programs

11. Jesse Rutledge, Vice President of External Affairs, NCSC Susan Sobel, Online Strategy Director, Free Range Studios NCSC Court Technology Conference, 2010 Claudia Fernandes, Senior Education Specialist, Judicial Council of California Website Graphic Design Committee members: Lindsey Borshel (IN), Indiana’s Court Webmaster, Ilona Holland(DE), Website Design Professor, Harvard University, Roz Smith (MD) and Jan Aikman Dickson (IN) Chair IT Group, Puerto Rico Office of Courts Administration Experts advising JFI on this project include:

12. Site Map was used as planning tool. It helped us organize entire site content.

13. Homepage design with blue band across the top and orange USA map and a new logo with the word “A” as a house were submitted by Website Graphic Design Committee and adopted by JFI.

14. Website at http://jfi.ncsconline.orghttp://jfi.ncsconline.org

15. Creating content for web sections and drafting new pages. Updating and presenting proposed content to Website Chair. Moving large volume of files to new website format

16. - Website Chair and Website Editor Claudia Fernandes reviewed and updated content for topics such as health, security, ethics and judicial assistance, organizing topics into three categories: articles resources links Role of Website Chair and Website Editor

17. Design and develop web pages based on JFI requirements and best standards and practices. Allow for “modules” of content to be repositioned, resized, added or removed far more easily. Update content in the design and development of test site of redesigned web site. Plan and transfer new design and development to host server at NCSC.

19. Purpose of test site: The Test Site has been prepared for the review and approval of the design and content of the new website before going online. The test site can be accessed at the following link:

20. JFI expects to work on the following tasks in the months ahead: Installation and maintenance of new website with the support of the Puerto Rico IT Group and the NCSC as host of JFI Website. Prepare a Maintenance Plan and identify processes and persons responsible for maintaining and updating the new website. Prepare one more issue of Online with the JFI. Continue our participation in the ABA-sponsored JAI Committee Meetings and the development of a model program for Judicial Assistance Programs.

21. Today is an extraordinary day for the Judicial Family Institute. Surrounded by the beauty of an affable island our imaginations are stimulated by the memories of a great artist who was born in St. Thomas and spent his early childhood in the port city of Charlotte Amalie. As we begin a new decade, we are opening a new window-—with the best website, the best available articles and the best resources. We have reinforced the mission of the Judicial Family Institute to set aside differences and highlight what we have in common. Allow me to thank our membership, our board of directors and our hosts for joining us along this journey that will surely bring our judicial families closer together.