Employed by: Korn & Zehmer
Practice: Civil trial and appellate litigation
Age: 53
Family: Wife Pam, children David 22 and Susan 20
Education: University of Virginia 1976, University of Florida Law School 1979
Admitted to the Bar: May 12, 1980
Organizations:
The Florida Bar
Member of Florida Appellate Court Rules Committee
Jacksonville Bar Association
Member of the Appellate Practice Section
Community Involvement:
Member of the board of directors for the United Way of Northeast Florida
Chair of Life Act:2 program
Chair Senior Partnership Council
Former president of Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. (JCCI)
Immediate past chair of Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida
Trustee of WJCT Foundation
Former Chair of WJCT Community Advisory Board
How did you get involved with the United Way?
I was recruited by its board of directors shortly after I left JCCI. I was doing work with citizen volunteers evaluating ongoing programs involved with youth serving agencies like Boy/Girls Scouts and Big Brothers/Big Sisters while at JCCI. I was on its board of directors and trustees. We toured facilities and examined the books and budgets looking for ways to make them better.
What have you accomplished through community involvement?
A big achievement was the establishment of Life Act:2 senior initiative to meet the needs of a growing senior population in Northeast Florida. We have been able to obtain multiyear grants to support work with seniors about to be discharged from the hospital to see that care continues at home. Programs like “Meals on Wheels” and continued care help to make sure that they aren’t neglected once they return home.
Seniors are more likely to return to the hospital because they didn’t have continued care at home. Life Act:2 also is involved with publishing four books for children to dispel stereotypes about seniors.
The books were created with the help of students who meet seniors. The students wrote stories about their experiences with the seniors they met and those stories are turned into books with the help of professional writers and illustrators.
Also, the Senior Partnership Council was formed to create a community-wide response on aging issues in Northeast Florida. We are exploring ways to increase employment opportunities for seniors. It’s still in the development stage.
You are also involved with the public radio station WJCT?
I was on the community advisory board several years ago. It’s a volunteer board that looks for ways that WJCT can serve the community better. The major issue at the time was change of format. (WJCT changed its format from classical music to talk radio in 1999.) I actively support the station. I’ll do what I can to help during its on-air pledge drives, answering phones or whatever. It’s just a great part of the community.