For the children.

• Author: McGrane, Miles
• Position: President's Page

Though the leadership of The Florida Bar changes from year to year, some issues facing our membership do not.

In life, there is not a single day that is guaranteed or promised to us. When I took the oath of office to become the 54th president of The Florida Bar, I felt both blessed and humbled. As my predecessors before me, I pledged to defend our honorable profession and to guard the independence of the judiciary. No one person can do this alone. I ask each of you to be ever vigilant to threats directed to the independence of our Bar and assaults on the independence of our judiciary. I ask each one of you to continue educating the citizens of Florida concerning the vital role both our profession and our courts play in holding the fabric of society together.

In addition to these two bedrock goals, the incoming president of the Bar has the distinct honor to set the agenda for the year. The choice for my agenda was easy.

Among the warrior tribes of Africa, none was more feared then the fabled Masai. When one warrior greeted another, the greeting was, "And how are the children?" The traditional answer given, even by warriors with no children, was, "All the children are well."

Children are my agenda.

As your Bar president, this year I am seeking contributions on your fee statement for The Lawyers Challenge for Children. It is my hope to raise $250,000 for this Florida Bar Foundation program. While this is an unprecedented sum, the children of Florida have unprecedented needs. Please rise to this challenge. Please give for the children.

In 1999, President Edith Osman appointed a Commission on the Legal Needs of Children. Because the commission study could not be completed in one year, President Herman Russomanno continued its work. Both President Terry Russell and President Tod Aronovitz also recognized this need and established a special committee to implement the commission's recommendations.

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