Well, this is my last article as president of The Jacksonville Bar Association. Heck, this is my last article in any capacity for a while (yes, that is intended to be a preemptive strike).
Ironically, this has been the hardest one for me in terms of having a vision for where I wanted the article to go. Given that I’m pushing on my deadline, here goes the proverbial stream of consciousness.
Our association is strong in almost all facets. Here are some of the reasons why:
• Staff. We have the best staff in the country, “Bar none.” They work incredibly hard, and they are always focused on making us look good. Please tell them “thank you” when you see them. P.S. – Susan, please don’t send Braxton as many emails as you sent me.
• Terrific volunteers. From our board members to our section and committee leaders, from our youngest lawyers to our most seasoned barristers, from our pro bono attorneys to our speakers at CLE programs, we have an amazing number of members that volunteer their time, talent and treasure to make our association and our community what it is.
• Great programs. Between our staff and our volunteers, we have awesome member events and we put on outstanding CLE programs. If you haven’t been to one recently, I encourage you to go. They are every bit as good as those delivered at the national and state levels.
• Financial stability. Given the size of our association and what we do, we have an amazingly small budget. However, our balance sheet is strong.
• Traditions. We sometimes take them for granted, but events like our annual meetings and Bench & Bar parties are activities we should embrace. They bring us together and remind us how fortunate we are to be lawyers in Jacksonville, Florida (yes, Dan Bean, it is a great day to be a Jacksonville lawyer … even without the peppermint patties). We need better participation and we need more of those types of events. I know Braxton is going to focus on it.
That does not mean we do not have challenges. Times are changing for Bar associations all over the country, and we are not immune. We need to be ever-mindful of these issues and do all we can to face them head-on:
• Apathy. I believe it’s our biggest enemy. We must resist the temptation of thinking that “someone else will do it.” We have a great association, but we need everyone involved to keep it that way.
• Fewer volunteers. It goes hand in hand with apathy. We can’t have 10 percent of the people doing 90 percent of the work. People burn out, and quality suffers. Because of the strength of our Young Lawyers Section, I think we are better off than a lot of associations here, but we need to keep an eye on it.
• Technology. As we all know, it changes rapidly and that changes our legal practices. Our association is no different. We are overhauling our website, which hopefully gives us the ability to compete better on things like online CLE. We have to stay on the forefront of technology (yes Braxton, even with social media).
• Finances. This is a tricky one. We have a strong balance sheet and that allowed us to take some “dues free” holidays in years past – several years’ worth in fact. We raised dues last year and there is another increase coming this year. That is not to further strengthen our balance sheet. Rather, it is to ensure that our association is running on a break-even pace rather than eroding the balance sheet. Even with the increases, we are the best deal in town for member organizations like ours and likely the best deal of any association in the state.
If we work on those issues, and continue to capitalize on our strengths, the future of our association will be bright for a long time because we have
great people lining up to lead
us.
In closing, there is not enough space here for me to even begin to thank everyone who made this year a success. So, I will simply say thank you to each of you. One way or another, you all made a difference and I sincerely appreciate it.
As I mentioned last June at my swearing-in, I really questioned whether or not I wanted to do this about four years ago. Due to encouragement from several people, I stuck with it. Sitting here today, I realize what a huge mistake I almost made.
This has been one of the most professionally rewarding things I have ever done. It took a lot of time and effort, but I got a lot more out of it than I put in it. It’s funny how things always seem to work that way.
I met so many cool people, I attended events that I otherwise would never have thought about attending (if you have never been to a Naturalization Ceremony, you should go … you’ll thank me) and, most importantly, I developed friendships that will last way beyond people even remembering that I was the president of The Jacksonville Bar Association.
Again, thank you for this opportunity. I will always treasure the experience.
P.S. – Braxton, please don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Signed, Your friend, Brer Rabbit.