Gilbertson Receives SBAND Distinguished Service Award
The SBAND Distinguished Service Award, the most prestigious award the association bestows, honors a member of the profession who has provided outstanding service to the state and legal community over an extended career. The Distinguished Service Award plaque, which hangs outside the North Dakota Supreme Court, permanently honors recipients and reminds lawyers and the public of their dedication and work.
This year’ s award was presented to Joel Gilbertson, who served as executive director of SBAND from 1978 to 1981 and later as a member of the SBAND Board of Governors from 1989 to 1994, serving as president from 1992 to 1993. For more than two decades, he has also served on SBAND’ s Legislative Committee.
Gilbertson has more than 25 years of experience in lobbying and regulatory representation. Listed in“ The Best Lawyers in America,” he has extensive background in state and national association management in the banking industry and organized bar activities.
Gilbertson was nominated for his role as a significant and vital contributor to the success of SBAND and the improvement of the legal profession in North Dakota. In his acceptance speech, transcribed below, he spoke of the pride he takes in living and working in the law profession in North Dakota.
“ Theodore Roosevelt said the romance of his life began in North Dakota.‘ Ours was the glory of work and the joy of living.’
For thank you’ s I will start with the joy of living and get back to the glory of work.
Thank you, Jan – not“ last but not least” but first and best. My best friend, my confidant, and my partner – in life and at the piano. We have been hanging out together legally, as of last Sunday, for 45 years.
Both coasts are represented in the next generation down. Our son, David, from Boston, and daughter, Lisa, from Seattle, along with my twin grandsons, William and Oliver, are here. Thank you so much for making this even more special.
Joel Gilbertson I am going to include my law firm professional partner, Levi Andrist, on the joy of living side, because he is as much a part of that as the glory of work. Levi is a partner and friend and I am so thankful he came along for me.
Switching to the glory of work side, I want to say a personal thank you to the profession. Our profession.
It is a profession where I learned to be flexible in accomplishing my goals. It is like Chester Smith in New Town, where I grew up. He was a veterinarian and a taxidermist. Either way, you got your dog back.
It is a profession that I am proud of. A profession that works to resolve disputes in a civilized society. Whether our lawyers are spending their days helping people deal with the emotion-charged issues that arise in divorce and child custody cases, assisting businesses in drafting agreements to avoid future litigation, advising school boards in dealing with problems, sitting down with clients for estate planning purposes, volunteering legal help to numerous charitable organizations, working with people who are severely injured in accidents, or helping people who get sued because of injuries to others. Yes, it truly is a profession to be proud of. It is a profession that forms the foundation of a relatively peaceful society as we know and enjoy it every day. A society where we have systems set up to deal with and help resolve the disagreements and issues that have been and will continue to be a part of life here on earth.
More importantly, however, I am thankful to our profession and my career here as a lawyer in North Dakota. The former North Dakota rancher Theodore Roosevelt described the people in North Dakota when he was here as“ a splendid class of good people who believe in a person’ s worth as a person, without regard to wealth, social standing, or position.” As my Dad, the preacher, said often,“ In North Dakota, we recognize the dignity of the human soul.”
How lucky I have been to celebrate the joy of living and the glory of work right here in North Dakota. Maybe I should be thanking God as well. And I will. Thank you, God. And, up there, thank you Mom and Dad as well.
Joel Gilbertson, center, is presented with the Distinguished Service Award by Charles DeMakis, left, and Dan Traynor, right.
8 THE GAVEL
Needless to say, perhaps, but I will say it anyway. Thank you to the Board of Governors and especially to Dan Traynor for this honor. And I will sit down. As my Dad also used to say,“ Joel, to be immortal you do not have to be eternal.”