Former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew will be the keynote speaker for the annual dinner of the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society in Tallahassee on April 7.
All Society members and their guests are invited to attend the dinner and the preceding 6:30 p.m. reception at Tallahassee’s Governor’s Club.
The Historical Society is reinstituting its annual dinner after having discontinued it during recent years.
“Our trustees felt we should bring back the annual dinner and encourage attendance by as many members as possible from throughout Florida,” said event chair Tom Cardwell of Orlando. Society President John DeVault of Jacksonville noted that in previous years the annual dinner had featured such well-known guest speakers as former U. S. Attorney General Griffin Bell.
“We certainly feel that Governor Reubin Askew continues that tradition,” DeVault said.
The Supreme Court justices will be special guests for the dinner.
During his years as Florida’s chief executive (1971-1978), Askew championed the importance of a strong and independent judiciary as an essential component in the balance of power among the three branches of state government. He was an advocate of judicial reform, including establishment of a merit selection and retention process for Florida judges.
Askew was named by Harvard University as one of America’s 10 best governors during the past century. He presently teaches at Florida State University’s School of Public Administration and Policy, which bears his name.
The annual dinner will conclude a series of Court-related activities on April 7. The Society’s board of trustees will meet at the Court at 2 p.m., followed by the Supreme Court’s annual pro bono awards ceremony at 3:30 p.m.
Historical Society members have been mailed an invitation to the annual dinner from DeVault and Cardwell.
Reservations can be made by returning the reply card enclosed with the invitation, by telephoning 850-222-3703 or by e-mailing [email protected].