PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE
Julia Wyda 2021-22 PBCBA President
This is my final President ’ s Message . It has been an honor to serve the Palm Beach County Bar Association (“ PBCBA ”) in this capacity .
Simon Sinek once said , “ Leadership isn ’ t about being in charge . Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge .” These words have guided me throughout my year as President , and I hope our members know how deeply I have cared for them , our Board of Directors , our Committees and Sections , and our organization .
I would like to recognize and personally thank once again our Committee Chairs for all of their hard work this year : Kenyetta Alexander , Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee ; Steve Brotman and Scott Edwards , Appellate Practice Committee ; Nadine White- Boyd and Joshua Lanphear , Bankruptcy Law CLE Committee ; Kristin Vivo and Sheena Smith , Business Litigation CLE Committee ; Amy Levenberg and Michael Kugler , Circuit Civil Practice Committee ; Scott Wortman , Community Association Law CLE Committee ; Victoria Mesa-Estrada and Andrea Lewis , Committee for Diversity and Inclusion ; Mark Stempler , Construction Law Committee ; Ron Herman and Ilana
Marcus , Criminal Law CLE Committee ; Tequisha Myles and Heather Samuels , Elder Law Affairs Committee ; Kenneth Rehns , Employment Law CLE ; Mallorye Cunningham and Allison Sabocik , Probate Law CLE Committee ; C . Debra
Welch , Family Law CLE Committee ;
Rebecca G . Doane and Frank Pilotte , Guardianship Education Committee ; Bridget Berry and Jean Marie Middleton , Judicial Relations Committee ; John
Webber , Law Related Education Committee ; Kelsey C . Burke , Law Week Committee ; Brad Avakian and Jessica
Latour , Lawyers for Literacy Committee ; David Tolces , Local and Government Land Use Committee ; Ashley Dolan Houlihan , Membership Committee ; Olga Patterson and Samantha Angel , Paralegal Committee ; Jennifer Dinetz and Katie
Kiziah , Personal Injury Wrongful Death CLE Committee ; Mitchell Kitroser and Kathryn Lewis , Probate Guardianship Committee ; Kalinthia Dillard and Johnathan Galler , Professionalism Committee ; Gemma Torcivia , Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Committee ; Deborah Boyd , Real Estate CLE Committee ; Lloyd A . Comiter , Small Claims Court Clinics Committee ; Chioma Deere , Technology Committee ; Amy Consentino and Elizabeth Berkowitz , Unified Family Practice Committee ; and Isabel Alcocer and Nicole Hessen , Workers ’ Compensation Committee .
I would also like to thank the members of this year ’ s Board of Directors : Dean Xenick , Immediate Past President ; Scott Smith , President-Elect ; Grasford Smith ; President-Elect designate ; Andrea Lewis ; Lyndsay Demmery ; Jack Rice ; Jean Marie Middleton ; Scott Perry ; Nichole Segal ; Lawonda Warren ; Lauren Johnson ( Young Lawyers Section President ); and Lindsay Warner ( North County Section President ). I have served many years with most of this group . I have observed their commitment to and endless work on behalf of the PBCBA . They have grown with me this year as we navigated , for the first time in the PBCBA ’ s history , detailed and concerning reports from Florida Supreme Court-formed workgroups and how best to educate our members about these reports and prepare written responses on behalf of our membership . I look forward to seeing what they will do next year under Scott Smith ’ s leadership , and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for all of the support , honesty , and joy they brought to my life this year .
The PBCBA is lucky to have Carla Tharp
Brown as our Executive Director . During this past year , I have often felt like this
Thank You !
is the closest I will ever come to working with a samurai warrior . Samurai were to exhibit courage , benevolence , politeness , honesty / sincerity , honor , loyalty , character , and self-control . I have watched Carla face challenges this year with all of these qualities on full display . She would calmly , directly , and successfully address a crisis and then look at me with her kind smile as if nothing had happened , totally undeterred , laser-focused , and ready to continue to serve the PBCBA . She sets a wonderful example for the rest of our Bar staff , who are each exceptional in their own right . Thank you to Lynne Poirier , Kathy Clark , Nicole Nelson , Derek Loiseau , Yanelud Echevarria , Vicky Vargas , and Dee Maeyens .
It is important that I recognize and thank the judges of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for their tremendous efforts in working with the PBCBA this past year . I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand their encouragement of our members , especially our young lawyers ; their willingness to volunteer for our CLEs and events ; and their active role in participating in and even creating service projects with us for the community . I specially thank Chief Judge Glenn Kelley for his important role in helping us educate our members about the many ongoing changes we are facing locally and statewide to the practice of law . He never turned down an invitation to join us for town halls and events , always making himself accessible to our membership .
Lastly , I thank the members of the PBCBA for entrusting me with the responsibility of leading our organization . I hope you have found this to be a year of inclusion , discussion , support , and education . I thank all of you who have served on Committees or in Sections , attended our events , signed up for our CLEs , joined our town halls , or contributed to our charitable fundraisers and service projects for the community . Our collective efforts this year have confirmed for me that the PBCBA does , in fact , continue to rise by lifting others .
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3