by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Diane Gill, executive director of the Jacksonville Bar Association, celebrated 10 years of service to the organization last week.
Gill is responsible for running the JBA, a task which includes preparing all the minutes and agendas for meetings, hiring and managing the staff, representing the association at various functions and coordinating all the special events, seminars and service projects.
“I was on the board [of directors] when we hired her,” said Circuit Court Judge Waddell Wallace. “She was a sharp candidate with good communication skills and a professional appearance. During her tenure, Diane has expanded the infrastructure, staff and equipment. She brought a level of competence to the position that we hadn’t had before. Plus, she has played an instrumental role in expanding the scope and reach of the bar association through different activities. Things have run much better and everybody has been real pleased with her.”
A graduate of the University of North Florida with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Gill recently received the nationally recognized designation of certified association executive.
Past presidents of the JBA praised Gill’s administrative ability during the past decade.
“Diane was very good at what she did,” said Mike Prendergast of Coffman, Coleman, Andrews & Grogan. “She’s got a great relationship with the members and the judges. Her biggest achievement [under his administration] was how she kept things going. When she handled an investiture, it always came out nice, something the bar was proud of. She works well with people from senior attorneys to new associates. We needed someone to run the daily affairs who is organized, well-spoken and presents a good public image.”
“Diane was never too busy to make time to answer questions for members or prioritize the work of the association,” added immediate past president Tom Beverly. “She was always professional, helpful and resourceful in everything she did. Diane is important to the administration because every year the leadership changes. She is there with the institutional memory. When we decide to do a project, Diane remembers how it was done so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. That continuity allows the organization to run efficiently and effectively.”
Prior to joining the bar, Gill was a senior executive at Barnett Bank, an executive with Coldwell Banker in its commercial real estate division and the executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy Center in Macon, GA.
“She did a lot of volunteer work,” said her daughter and JBA development director Kelley Padgitt. “She was active with both the heart and lung association, the leukemia and cancer societies and the Symphony Guild. I’d love to follow in her footsteps.”
Under Gill’s direction, the JBA has received numerous awards, including the Harrison Tweed Award for Public Service (1996), the Supreme Court Voluntary Bar Association Pro Bono Award (1997 and 2002) and the E. Smythe Gambrell Pro Bono Award from the American Bar Association (2001).
“We’re crazy about Diane,” said Winn-Dixie counsel and current JBA president Bill Joel. “I knew I would be working very closely with Diane when I took office. We usually talk to each other at least once a day. Members tell me how much they appreciate her efforts.”