Farewell, Jack Harkness, and Thank You.

• Author: Higer, Michael J.
• Position: Florida Bar Executive Director

Just two months in and I still can't wait to get up in the morning and don't want to go to sleep at night--so excited and honored to be the president of a Bar that is made up of so many people who are so committed and dedicated to serving the interests of justice for everyone who touches our legal system. No one more represents this guiding principle than our longtime Executive Director Jack Harkness who will retire from The Florida Bar after 37 years at the helm.

At the ripe age of 35, Jack took the reins of The Florida Bar in 1980, when Leonard Gilbert was Bar president.

Just like Leonard, I will soon be the first president to serve under a new executive director--Joshua Doyle--who will become our new executive director in January. Josh cannot replace Jack but he has the right credentials and background to take our Bar into the future and to meet the great challenges that we will face. I look forward to working with him.

A lot has changed since Jack became executive director 37 years ago. Bar staff size more than doubled, thousands more lawyers have joined as members, and the budget has increased by millions of dollars.

Because of Jack's excellent leadership, the Bar has not only maintained a stable and effective staff, but flourished by implementing new programs for its members and the public, which have made the Bar a more effective leader. Behind the scenes, he offered his wisdom to 37 different Bar presidents, all of whom--regardless of the variety of issues they faced over the years--turned to him for guidance. For all these years, the one constant was that Jack gave good counsel and served as a trusted advisor. We will all greatly miss his guidance.

On a national level, Jack is revered as the country's longest serving executive director of a state bar and valued for his advice to other state bars, which has been important to the legal profession's success. All of the programs he had a hand in establishing have been critical to Florida lawyers, our courts, and the public. Among the...