From the Yld President

• Citation: Vol. 29 No. 4 Pg. 0010
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 0010
• Year: 2024

From the YLD President Vol. 29 No. 4 Pg. 10 Georgia Bar Journal February 2024

PHOTO BY ENVISIONING FREEDOM PHOTOGRAPHY, LLC

BRITTANIE D. BROWNING

YLD President

Joining the State Bar Through Service

State Bar of Georgia brittanie.browning@akerman.com

Serving as an officer of the State Bar of Georgia is an honor and privilege that allows me to represent my fellow members and to act as a resource in the profession. Service to and through the Bar is not limited only to officer positions. Invaluable opportunities exist within the Bar to help represent our entire membership. The Young Lawyers Division (YLD) needs members of all experience levels, practice types and geographic locations to participate in programming, to help plan events and to attend our meetings. Members can engage with our programming, volunteer with YLD committees and join us at quarterly YLD meetings. Through showing up, members can develop a network of connections with colleagues and the judiciary all while serving the Bar. Volunteering your time with the Bar is an opportunity to help the legal community and represent our members in the practice of law. No matter how many years you have been practicing, the State Bar of Georgia offers opportunities to get involved in the business of the Bar. It is never too early or too late to get involved.

For this article, I spoke with three women who were previously involved with the YLD and now continue their service to the Bar as members of the Board of Governors: Hon. Amanda N. Heath, Augusta Circuit Superior Court; Shiriki C. Jones, Coyote Logistics LLC, who also serves on the Bar's Executive Committee; and Tina Shadix Roddenbery, Boyd Collar Nolen Tuggle &Roddenbery LLC, who is a past president of the Younger Lawyers Section (YLS), the precursor of the YLD.

Each of these remarkable women began their Bar service in an effort to get involved and meet other lawyers while contributing to the profession. They view their service as a way to give back to the community—and lawyers have a unique skillset to serve the community. Although the three Board members interviewed for this article began their YLD service at different points in time—either immediately after passing the Bar exam or once they learned of the YLD through a local bar organization—the common thread among their stories was the YLD Community Service Projects Committee.

Hon. Amanda N. Heath

Augusta Circuit, Post 1

Before she was appointed as a...