by Jacksonville Bar Association President Dan Bean
What The Jacksonville Bar Association Board of Governors initially thought would not be a time intensive evolution — amending our Association’s by-laws — turned into a two-year marathon project. Watching the sausage being made is never pretty; however, it is nevertheless important as the amendments will bring our by-laws into compliance with state laws regulating non-profits.
The amendments will also codify practices that we have had in place for multiple years and help us to operate more efficiently. The time has come for our members to review the amended by-laws and hopefully vote to approve the changes that are necessary.
The Board started this journey in the Fall of 2008 because we realized that our over two decade’s old by-laws were not in lock-step with current Florida laws for non-profit entities. Board members Ray Driver and Braxton Gillam volunteered for the thankless job of leading from the pointy end of the spear (it is not certain which direction they were actually facing) and produced a virtually new set of by-laws. The changes were so dramatic that when we produced a red-lined version of the by-laws as compared to the proposed amended version, the only terms that were not marked through were “The Jacksonville Bar Association.” The changes, it turns out after a thorough review, are necessary.
The process of discussing the proper wording of the amended by-laws with my fellow Board members was slightly easier than the recent health care discussions in Congress. Geddes Anderson consistently asked us whether we had read the entire bill – err, amended by-laws. Giselle Carson kept saying that the change was necessary to cover our members with pre-existing conditions. I kept trying to sell my vote for the betterment of my constituents until someone correctly pointed out that I do not have a vote. Details, details.
Having discussed the amended by-laws amongst the BoG (including an all-night pizza party), and conducting multiple sessions discussing various aspects of the amended by-laws with the Past Presidents of The Jacksonville Bar Association, we believe we have produced a set of amended by-laws that will serve the Association well for the next two decades.
While you are welcome to review every scintillating word on our Web site, www.jaxbar.org, the significant changes in my view include the following: the president-elect will need to have served as a member of the BoG for a minimum of four years. While most of the current members will have served close to a decade on the BoG before running for President-Elect, we believe that four years of service will provide the necessary experience to operate the second largest professional association in the City and that also possesses an operating budget that exceeds a million dollars.
We also have simplified the membership classifications to make it simpler to understand and created a secretary and treasurer position because we recognize that the complexity of the Association has increased as well as the time commitment involved. We are hoping that the secretary and treasurer will be able to assume some of the responsibilities from the President and president-elect.
Lastly, we have codified the process in which BoG members may be removed for misconduct. While we hope this procedure is never exercised, it is an important procedure that should be included in our official by-laws.
While I make some fun of this particular experience, I will miss the camaraderie with my fellow members of the BoG. Our monthly meetings and nearly weekly interaction taking care of the Bar’s business has been thoroughly enjoyable. I strongly urge all of you that have considered running for the BoG to do so. The business of the Bar is important and educational, but it also has been a lot of fun as well as gratifying to me. I will miss serving with these folks. Their dedication to our Association is worthy of our gratitude and it serves as a daily reminder to me that every day is a great day to be a Jacksonville lawyer.