PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE
PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE
Scott B . Smith 2022-23 PBCBA President
Hello fellow Palm Beach County Bar Association members ( all nearly 3,000 strong of you )! As I type ( peck away ) at this President ’ s Message on my Lenovo laptop I am sitting in the Captiva Conference Room at the Courtyard by Marriott on Metro Parkway in Fort Myers . Nelson Baez , Jeff Martz and I are here in Lee County ( Florida ’ s 20th Judicial Circuit ) for a trial in a personal injury and wrongful death matter we have with the Florida Department of Transportation ( FDOT ) arising out of a very unfortunate and tragic motor vehicle crash . The defense attorneys for the FDOT , James Williams and Ryan Meyers , are also from Palm Beach County ( they are doing an excellent job for their client ).
Like clockwork , Carla reached out to me this past weekend and very kindly , but with the needed firmness , to remind me that my President ’ s Message is due for this month ’ s Bulletin and , just like every other month , I find it utterly impossible that thirty ( 30 ) days have already passed since I previously completed my owed and due message . Once again , I inquire of Carla is she certain that such time has zoomed by and could she be mistaken about what day of the month it actually is ! To my slight chagrin , Carla lets me know that the date as indicated on her reliable iPhone is typically 99.99 % accurate .
Gadzooks I exclaim ! How could this be ?? Surely there must be some sort of forbearance given or leniency provided for a current PBCBA President that is in trial ! Carla reminds me no . I get it . The show must go on !
With my spread-a-bit-thin mind deeply wrapped around the facts , circumstances , witnesses , exhibits , schedule , logistics , subtleties , and nuances of and for this current trial , I think I am going to utilize and employ a William Faulkner-esque stream-of-consciousness approach for the remaining 500 or so words I need to finish this message with an emphasis on sharing some of my all-time favorite quotes that I find inspirational , motivating , and otherwise just darn good . In offering these quotes , I certainly recognize and acknowledge that there have been so many other great words spoken and written , but these are just some that come to mind while here in the City of Palms for trial .
As a Junior year transfer from the Air Force Academy to Florida State University , I thought it a good idea to take some literature classes after two years of mathematics and engineering courses . In so doing , I was introduced to or reminded of so many great minds and writers . William Ernest Henley ’ s stanza ( quatrain ) in Invictus of “ It matters not how straight the gate , How charged with punishments the scroll , I am the master of my fate , I am the captain of my soul ” is burned into me forever . I can still remember vividly such words resonating with and impacting that 20- year old reader . Likewise , Alfred Lord Tennyson ’ s Ulysses poem is replete with lines about the search for travel and adventure that makes our lives even that much more meaningful , richer ( with experiences and memories ) and fuller ( for we may “ drink Life to the lees ” if we “ rest from travel ”). As President Kennedy said in his inauguration speech when quoting Tennyson , “… that which we are , we are ; One equal temper of heroic hearts , made weak by time and fate , but strong in will , to strive , to seek , to find , and not to yield .”
Ralph Waldo Emerson ’ s powerful quote of “ The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be ” is a short and simple reminder of who we become is up to us and that all of our everyday decisions and choices mold us into that individual we become . Mark Twain ’ s power packed quotes of “ If you tell the truth , you don ’ t have to remember anything ” and “ The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why ” always provide meaning to the importance of the truth and to the meaning in and of our lives .
President Abraham Lincoln said so many great things , but perhaps none as simplistically brilliant as when he offered “ Whatever you are , be a good one .” It was and remains an incredible reminder that one need not be the President of the United States of America to do good and to be a success . Martin Luther King , Jr .’ s statement of “ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere ” was incredibly true when those words were spoken and surely remain just as true and as important today . I think about such words daily .
If you have made it this far in my sort of improvised President ’ s Message for this edition of the Bulletin , I thank you greatly and offer you these final words from Mr . Twain “ Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn ’ t do than by the ones you did do . So , throw off the bowlines . Sail away from safe harbor . Catch the trade winds in your sails . Explore . Dream . Discover .” Go henceforth to do good , be your best self , strive for justice , explore and discover ! Always wishing each and all of you the best for you and all of yours .
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3