by Kelley N. Padgitt
Have you noticed that times are changing and Jacksonville is growing? The signs of change are all around us. Just look out your office window or look around as you walk to lunch today. The bridges are being painted in anticipation of a busy Super Bowl week. New construction is everywhere. In fact, Duval County issued over 5,000 new home building permits last year alone.
While Jacksonville grows, The Bar grows. More men and women are attending law school every year. As The Bar grows, it is inevitable that some changes are on the way. One example of a change that we have already seen is luncheon reservations. All luncheon reservations must be made in writing now; either e-mail or fax. This new procedure is to help circumvent some of the confusion which goes hand-in-hand with a monthly luncheon. As you may be aware, but we have, on average, 250-300 members attend every monthly luncheon.
Another change which is visible to those attending luncheons and members who use our website, www.jaxbar.org, is the presence of sponsors. We have sponsors present at most luncheons, our golf tournament, Law Day and most other events. Our sponsors not only provide discounts to members, they also provide education and their sponsorship dollars help keep the cost of events and annual dues low.
An example of change in our ways which will be come very apparent to most members is the reorganization of our Annual Golf Tournament and Meeting. In the past, the two have been held at the same facility on the same day with dinner immediately following golf. Due to the remodeling of Deerwood Country Club (another change) our location must change.
Pay attention here: not only the location is different, the time and format is different as well. Our golf outing will be held on Thursday, May 20 at Windsor Parke. We will have lunch available at noon. Rather than the old standby of yucky sandwiches in a box this year, we will have hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixings and a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. The Annual Meeting (dinner) will be held the following Thursday, May 27 at the Omni. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. with a cash bar available. There will be the traditional entertainment provided by some of our “senior” members and the results of the elections will be announced. By hosting the Annual Meeting at the Omni, we hope that more members will be able to attend.
Voting for your Board of Governors will be held at the courthouse in Room 220 and The Bar office from May 13 through May 26, prior to the golf outing from noon-1:30 p.m. and prior to the Annual Meeting from 4-6 p.m.
While it seems that so many things are changing, there is one constant. The golf outing and Annual Meeting are still MEMBER ONLY events. You will find flyers in this issue of The Bulletin for golf registration and Annual Meeting reservations. If you have any questions, please feel free to call The Bar office and we will be happy to assist you. We hope these are all positive changes which will further enable you to take pride in your association.