Message from the President
My President’s Message is dedicated this month to the loving memory of Judge Jere Lober, BCBA President in 1975, and active BCBA member and staunch supporter of BCBA. He always answered the call to serve and help BCBA, his colleagues, and his fellow man. Because of his life, he left the world a better place. He will be sorely missed by all of us who had the opportunity to know him.
In 2004, opportunity presented itself to me in the form of a phone call from Kim Rezanka, who said, “Have you ever considered serving on the BCBA Board?” I had no idea then that this single phone call would have such a profound impact on my life, both personally and professionally. That phone call led me on an unexpected seven-year journey on the Brevard County Bar Association Board that has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My service on the BCBA Board afforded me the opportunity to get to know other lawyers in our legal community and form life-long friendships with them, which might not have formulated otherwise. Another priceless component of service on the BCBA Board has been the opportunity to create new programs and initiatives that benefit membership. BCBA’s Spring and Fall Afternoon CLE Programs is one of those programs, and truly filled a need for quality and consistent CLE programming at a very affordable price in our own backyard. Being on the BCBA Board means you can see a need or concern of local lawyers and try to fill that need or fix a problem. It is certainly a way to help others and our legal community. Serving on the BCBA Board also means celebrating the achievements of colleagues, and recognizing their good efforts in this most noble profession.
The BCBA Board is a working board, which means everyone pitches in and chairs at least one committee, attends BCBA general membership events and monthly Board meetings, writes articles for the newsletter, and does all sorts of unexpected countless, and at times, even humorous tasks, that must get done.
Okay, I was hoping that anyone who was reading at this point would be intrigued by the “humorous tasks.” I think if you talk with any current or past BCBA Board member, they’ll give you their favorite ones, but I’ll just share a few of mine: Visiting all the parks in Brevard County looking for sites for our socials and assessing the quality of their public washroom facilities and parking lots; wrapping and trying not to eat hundreds of Hershey’s chocolate bars as favors for Law Day; interviewing a sloth, an emu, and a giraffe (literally) as candidates to be photographed with our membership; figuring out how to properly press or iron a judicial robe for official presentation; cramming into my tiny car all kinds of Bar-related props, tools, and most recently toys for YLD’s Toy Drive. And, then there was storing the past BCBA Presidents’ photographs for months in my office until they could be hung, to which one of my then-assigned judges, Judge Bruce Jacobus said, “Why do you have a framed 16 x 20 photograph of Keith Szachacz hanging in your office?” A little hard to explain. But by far, my best and most humorous memory is working with Judge Lisa Davidson over the course of one year and half to contact every United States Supreme Court justice and John Grisham to see about speaking at our meetings. And yes, there was actual e-mail correspondence with John Grisham personally, but in the end, alas… his schedule would not permit an appearance. These “humorous” adventures bring a huge smile to my face just thinking about them. The bottom line is that service on the BCBA Board, doing these tasks in service to better our legal community, and assist our members is fun even though it does take substantial time and commitment out of Board members’ lives that are already busy and hectic.
Opportunity is calling you now. The deadline for running for the 2010-2011 BCBA Board of Directors is April 15, 2010. Elections are in May. There will be several vacancies on the BCBA Board, so there is no better time to consider serving on this working Board. Yes, you can nominate yourself! In this edition, is the form to fill out if you are interested in serving your legal community in this capacity.
Also, don’t forget to register on-line at www.brevardbar.org to attend on March 25, 2010, the amazing Spring CLE Program that our own Dedra Sibley planned. Among the wonderful surprises this year, the famed attorney, Ben Kuehne, agreed to come to Brevard County to speak to us about his nationally publicized encounter with the issue of right to counsel! Even if you don’t need any CLE credit, it will be well-worth coming for this one-time-opportunity to hear renowned Ben Kuehne speak over the lunch hour. The afternoon break-out groups include Judge David Demers, who teaches the judges at their judicial college, speaking on Search and Seizure Law, as well as David Hendry and Ed Kinberg speaking on arbitration and mediation.
See you soon!
Ashley
