Age: 49
Family: Wife, Gloria Hodapp Buhler (owner of Savoir-Vivre Inc., a cosmetics importing company, and an attorney licensed in Colombia); son, Vincenz Buhler (chemical engineering student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute).
Pets: The neighbor’s Pomeranian.
Education: College of William & Mary, BA; University of Miami School of Law, JD; Tulane University School of Law, LLM.
Admitted to the Bar: Florida, Louisiana and District of Columbia.
Employed by: Moseley Prichard Parrish Knight & Jones.
Fields of practice: Transportation, admiralty and maritime, civil and commercial litigation, international and environmental.
Professional organizations: Inter-American Bar Association (board member; past chairman, International Law Committee); Maritime Law Association of the United States (vice chairman, International Organizations Committee); Florida Bar International Law Section (Executive Committee); American Bar Association International Law Section; Associated Industries of Florida (chairman-Maritime Council); Propeller Club Port of Jacksonville (past president); Federal Bar Association Jacksonville Chapter (past president); Hispanic Bar Association of Northeast Florida (past president); Chester Bedell Inns of Court (barrister).
Community involvement: daniel (board member); GlobalJax (formerly International Visitor Corp.); Jacksonville Sister Cities; Jacksonville Maritime Museum (board member and past chairman).
How did you get involved?
daniel – approximately four years ago I was introduced to daniel by a long-standing member of the board who had been a supporter of daniel for decades. She was passionate about the work of daniel and its care for kids. She convinced me that despite other commitments and responsibilities I should join the board of this organization and she was persistent in enticing me there. I took a tour of the daniel campuses with daniel’s CEO Jim Clark. I was impressed with the varied programs, which provide a broad range of services for youth and families ranging from prevention to intervention, and from foster care to adoption. I also noted how committed the staff was in helping their charges with a variety of issues. However, the experience that caused me to commit to daniel occurred when I was invited to lunch in one of the dormitories with a group of boys between the ages of 12 and 14. Some of these boys were the same age as my son at the time. I had pleasant conversations with them and they all came across as bright-eyed and hopeful. After the lunch, Jim Clark pulled me aside and explained that every one of those boys had been the victims of abuse, many times sexual abuse. I learned that on average every hour of every day a child in Jacksonville is being abused and that daniel has been helping kids like these for 128 years now. I immediately asked how I could help. I have been a supporter of daniel since that time. Unfortunately work and other commitments do not allow nearly the time commitment I would like to give to this organization, but everything we can do to help our most vulnerable and deserving residents is worth every effort.
How can someone else get involved?
First and foremost you should contact daniel and ask to have a tour of the facility to fully understand the value of this organization. Merely reading about daniel on its website, or even speaking with persons who are involved, does not give the full impact or relay the importance of this organization. After you have had that tour, ask what you can do to help the organization. Help can come in many forms, not just financial, although that is very important, particularly in this day of budget cuts. daniel also needs help in terms of volunteers, mentors and event sponsors as well. Unfortunately there remain many children who urgently need daniel’s assistance. Any financial contribution, even the smallest, would be most appreciated.
What have you learned/achieved through the experience?
It may sound a bit trite, but each and every child who can be helped through organizations such as daniel makes a tremendous impact not only for that child but for our community as a whole. If these vulnerable members of society can be cared for and properly guided at this most impressionable age, this will go a long way toward avoiding potential delinquency down the road. It may also help to break the cycle of abuse which too often seems to be handed down from generation to generation. I believe the children who I have met in the care of daniel can make successes of themselves in life, so long as they receive the help and nurturing that our own children may take for granted.
What was the last book you read or are reading?
“Early Medieval Ireland” by Daibhi O. Croinin.