Perhaps that should read “The end of an era.” At any rate, my term as president of this noble Association comes to an end in just a few short weeks. I know that all of you will be relieved to learn that this will be my last President’s Column.
I hope you will indulge me as I use this last column to extend heartfelt thanks to some of the people who have helped get me through this year. First, I would like to thank our outstanding Board of Governors. It has been a privilege to work with a group of such talented, dedicated, funny, opinionated and truly good men and women. They have served this Association with the rarest form of honor and integrity. I know that under the leadership of Jim Moseley Jr., Reginald Luster and each of the other members of the Board of Governors, our Association will be in wonderful hands for the years to come.
I would also like to thank Diane Gill and the entire staff of the Jacksonville Bar Association. The Jacksonville Bar Association enjoys a reputation as one of the finest voluntary bar associations in the nation and that is in no small measure the result of the hard work and dedication of Diane and her staff. It takes tremendous talent, skill and diplomacy to keep somebody of my limited abilities from totally destroying the over 100 years of achievement that this Association has enjoyed, but this outstanding group of people was able to do that.
I also must thank Joe Milton, John DeVault, Hank Coxe, Jim Cobb, Jim Moseley Sr., Bob Spohrer and so many, many other local bar leaders who have been so generous to this Association (and to me) with their time, wise counsel and encouragement. We are truly blessed to have so many fine men and women who have such a deep affection for our Association.
We are also blessed to enjoy a great relationship with our outstanding local state and federal judiciary. Chief Judge Don Moran, Judge Karen Cole, United States District Court Judge Harvey Schlesinger and United States District Court Judge Tim Corrigan are just some of the shining examples of the many leaders of the bench who are so supportive of our Association.
There are many people and organizations outside of our Association who help make all that we do possible. Our Association has no finer or more generous friend than Jim Bailey of The Financial News and Daily Record. We also have benefited from many other generous sponsors, including Special Counsel, West Publishing and Verizon Wireless. We also enjoy great relationships with outstanding organizations such as the Florida Coastal School of Law, the Northeast Florida Paralegal Association, the Jacksonville Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators, the Jacksonville Legal Secretaries Association and the Legal Studies Institute at FCCJ.
Lastly, but certainly first in my heart, I want to thank you, our members. I am honored by the confidence you have placed in me, truly misguided as it may have been, in giving me the opportunity to lead this Association. I know that I take much more from this experience than I was ever able to give. Whenever people ask me what the best part of being President of The Jacksonville Bar Association has been, I always say that it has been the opportunity to work with and get to know so many men and women who give so much of themselves to this Association, their profession and to their fellow man. It has been my privilege to serve you.
But enough about everybody else. What will become of me after the end of my term? I have either been a member of the Young Lawyers Section Board of Governors or JBA Board of Governors continuously for the past 13 years. So many of our past JBA presidents are so spent from the experience that they are rarely seen or heard from again. One day they are speaking to hundreds at the Law Day Luncheon and the next day their picture is on a milk carton.
Notwithstanding that my friend Brad Johnson says that the fact that I aspired to such a meaningless position for so many years can only be seen as a desperate cry for help, there is more to Bill Joel (I enjoy referring to myself in the third person like Rickey Henderson does) than just being JBA president. The following are just some of the things I want to do with the rest of my life:
I want to be the 10th caller.
I want to have groupies.
I want to come up in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and the bases loaded and have Vin Scully say “This game can turn around with one swing of Joel’s mighty bat.”
After destroying my suite at the Ritz and a little “misunderstanding” at Customs, I want to be told that my band will never, ever be allowed to play in Singapore again.
I want to call within the next 60 minutes and get a bonus set of these incredible steak knives.
I want to let “the Man” know that I am sick and tired of him always keeping me down.
I want somebody to say “You look even taller in real life.”
I want you to want me. I need you to need me. I’d love you to love me. I’m beggin’ you to beg me.....
I want to herd cats, or die gloriously while trying.
I want to open a campaign committee and explore running for another term as JBA president.
Thanks again for a great year. I hope to see you soon!