Jacksonville Bar Association President Dan Bean
It is difficult for me to fathom that my service with The Jacksonville Bar Association (JBA) Board of Governors (BoG) comes to a conclusion at the end of this month. It has been a tremendous experience and I am truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to serve. While there have been a plethora of great memories for me during the past nine years, the memories I will undoubtedly cherish the most are the friendships I made along the way. And thankfully there have been quite a few.
I ran for The JBA BoG in May 2001 because, after having served two years on the Young Lawyers Section Board, I wanted to continue serving The JBA and I was being aged off the YLS (let’s just say that my path to the law and civilian practice in Jacksonville is a long one that should not be recounted here but rather is best saved for some night that you are having difficulty falling asleep).
Thus, in order to continue to serve, I ran for The JBA BoG. Fortunately, I was elected in May 2001 and was re-elected three more times before becoming President-Elect.
I was asked a couple of times throughout those nine (9) years why I chose to serve on The JBA BoG. While I have certainly gained professionally and socially because of my service, my main reason for serving was that I believed, and still do, in the importance of The JBA. It is the primary representative of the legal profession in our City. It is the second largest voluntary professional association in our City. It is the foundation from which Jacksonville lawyers caucus, go forth together and make a significant difference in our community. Time and time again it is the members of our Association that step forward and advance our City and make life better for our fellow citizens. I do not see any other profession doing as much on a daily basis as our profession does for the citizens of this City.
I obviously take great pride in our legal profession and believe that The JBA possesses a large responsibility in keeping our legal profession in the forefront in our City. The JBA fulfills that responsibility every day and I have enjoyed doing my part in making that happen for the past nine years.
When I started on The JBA BoG, The JBA President was Judge Tom Beverly. Our monthly JBA BoG meetings were held on the seventh floor of what was known as the Gulf Life Tower. Around the table, among others, were soon-to-be JBA Presidents Bill Joel, Jim Moseley Jr., Reginald Luster, Alan Pickert, Kelly Mathis, Caroline Emery and Joe Camerlengo.
I would be joined throughout the next nine years by Courtney Grimm, Sheri Worman, Mike Freed, Ray Driver, Joel Toomey, Braxton Gillam, Robert Devine, Geddes Anderson, Troy Smith, Tammy Butler, Kevin Cook, Tad Delegal, Katie Dearing, Christa Figgins and Kirby Oberdorfer.
This was quite a group of talented folks with whom I was privileged to serve and they are also the reason I am extremely confident that The JBA will continue to get better in the future.
I also know that The JBA will be better in the future because of another talented group of folks: The JBA Staff. We have been extremely fortunate to have quality staff members that are loyal to The JBA. Executive Director Diane Gill retired after a successful tenure and was followed by Susan Sowards, who has consistently increased membership and revenues during her first three years. Susan has been assisted by Shotsie Main (1995), Jesse King (2002), Kendra Rhodin (2006), Lori Barnes (2008) and Linda Morris (2008). These ladies labor daily to help The JBA fulfill its mission and keep its 2,200 members happy.
Finally, I realized very early on during my service that while The JBA BoG and The JBA Staff are important, the most important piece of The JBA is you.
In addition to thanking my fellow JBA BoG members and The JBA Staff, I need to thank each of you for making The JBA successful. Accordingly, I also thank each of you for making every day a great day to be a Jacksonville lawyer.