E X E C U T I V E
D I R E C T O R ’ S
M E S S A G E
J o h n F. K y n e s - H i l l s b o r o u g h C o u n t y B a r A s s o c i a t i o n
Continued from page 10
Yang shared her personal recollections with the crowd
gathered at the Installation of 2019-20 HCBA Officers &
Directors in June when she was sworn in as HCBA
president.
Yang is the first Asian American to lead the HCBA in
its 123-year history.
Richard Blau, who introduced Yang at the installation
event, said he recruited Yang to work in what was then the
nascent alcohol law practice at Holland & Knight.
Both Blau and Yang are now shareholders in the
Tampa office of GrayRobinson.
Blau said the attorneys from across the country who
specialized in alcohol regulation back then were
predominantly white, older men, mirroring the industry
they served.
“It took a special kind of courage back then for a
newbie lawyer like Grace to venture into that milieu,”
Blau said. “But she did it, and she did it with intelligence,
diligence, and perseverance.”
Yang, who got her undergraduate degree at Yale and
her law degree from Cornell University, is now one of the
preeminent alcohol law attorneys in the United States,
Blau said.
“Grace Yang is a lawyer in whom we all can take
pride,” Blau told the crowd gathered at the Ferguson Law
Center.
Yang was in the HCBA’s inaugural Bar Leadership
Institute class in 2008, and she twice served as editor of
the HCBA’s Lawyer magazine.
After being sworn in as president by Chief Judge Ron
Ficarrotta, Yang talked about leading the HCBA this year.
“The HCBA has helped with my career development …
and I truly feel a part of the Tampa community,” Yang said.
She said one issue she plans to work on, in conjunction
with other Bar groups, is the centennial celebration
marking the passage of the 19th Amendment to the
Constitution giving women the right to vote.
Along with working with the newly installed HCBA
Board of Directors on all the HCBA’s programs and
events, Yang also intends to offer personal words of
support and encouragement to other members just as
other Bar leaders did for her.
“The words [of encouragement] I heard meant a great
deal, and I plan to offer as many words of encouragement
as I can as your Bar president,” Yang said.
* * *
The fall season and a new Bar year also brings
new opportunities for HCBA members.
These include the opportunity to forge new
relationships with other HCBA members at the various
free membership events held during the Bar year.
And the opportunity to advance your career through
the numerous educational and CLE seminars available
through the HCBA.
So, stay connected to your colleagues and the HCBA
through the HCBA’s various social media platforms.
Plus, make it a point to attend the HCBA’s 23rd
Annual Bench Bar Conference and Judicial
Reception scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 3, at the
downtown Hilton, which is always a highlight during the
Bar year.
Let us know what we can do to help you.
See you around the Chet. n
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in the tampa Bay area?
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SEPT - OCT 2019
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HCBA LAWYER
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