by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
It’s safe to say Jacksonville attorney W. C. Gentry knows about achievement, and now he wants to make sure Duval County students are provided with an opportunity to achieve to their fullest potential.
Gentry was a member of Florida’s trial team that won a $13.1 billion verdict against the tobacco industry in 1997 and has won a number of substantial product liability cases during a law career that began in 1971. He has a plan in place to reduce his case load at The Law Office of W.C. Gentry, so he can focus more attention on being the District No. 3 representative on the Duval County School Board.
Gentry will be sworn in as a member of the School Board at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the School Board Office along with members Stan Jordan(District 1), Betty Burney(District 5) and Tommy Hazouri(District 7).
“The most important thing in leveling the playing field in society is education,” said Gentry. “Some have said education is a civil rights issue. We need to close the gap and allow children to succeed and reach their full potential.”
He knows his days won’t be any easier after he gets sworn in.
“Being a school board member demands a lot of time,” said Gentry, “but I have a lot of energy and use my time efficiently to get the job done.”
He has been getting the job done as a trial attorney for nearly 40 years, but is no stranger to school work.
He is the founding director and chair of the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership, a training institution for teachers and principals. He will step down from the board of directors before he is sworn in to the school board.
One of his fondest memories of life after he graduated from Jacksonville University in 1968 was working as a teacher and coaching football at his alma matter, Andrew Jackson High School.
“My wife(Susan) and I had good jobs and we were expecting our first daughter,” said Gentry. “We were very comfortable at that time.”
Gentry taught history and civics at Jackson.
“Back in that period of our history, they were important classes,” said Gentry. “You came away with an understanding of how our government worked and what a citizen’s responsibility was in that process.”
Just as Gentry found a comfort zone, the war in Vietnam forced him to make a change in his life: he could either wait to be drafted or go back to school and join in the ROTC at the University of Florida while studying at its law school.
“I first considered a masters in hospital administration,” said Gentry. “Which is kind of ironic because of all the medical malpractice cases I’ve handled.”
That program didn’t last at UF, so he chose the law school.
“I grew up in the 50s and 60s and had a general admiration for what people could accomplish as a lawyer,” said Gentry. “The Civil Rights movement was being born at that time. I really like the idea of lawyers being advocates for those who didn’t have advocates.”
Gentry was hired by the Bedell Firm after graduating from UF in 1971 and spent most of the first few years of his career learning how to be lawyer alongside associate Wayne Hogan, who he would later work with on the tobacco lawsuit.
“I think he is the most complete lawyer I have every known or practiced with,” said Hogan. “He has fully prepared himself by doing the necessary groundwork to serve as a leader on the school board.
“I’ve seen him in situations where he has worked to bring small groups together where there were strong differences of opinion. He will be able to use this ability for the best interests of the students and school board of Duval County.”
From an associate to a former partner, Cory Hodak believes the move to serving on the School Board is a natural progression for Gentry.
“He always taught me, ‘To whom much is given, much is expected,’” said Hodak. “He has been successful in the practice of law and now he wants to give back to the community.”
This also isn’t the first time Gentry has worked with the School Board. He has provided pro bono counsel to the Duval County School Board and Florida School Boards Association. Gentry also chaired the education subcommittee of the “Jacksonville Journey” program and will serve on its oversight committee.
“Our role on the oversight committee has yet to be defined,” said Gentry. “I will continue to serve on it and stay involved with some other nonprofits as long as it doesn’t interfere with my commitment to the school board.”
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