Remarks of Elizabeth L. Fite to the Board of Governors
| Publication year | 2021 |
| Pages | 0040 |
| Citation | Vol. 27 No. 1 Pg. 0040 |
Feature
The following is excerpted from Elizabeth L. Fite's remarks to the Board of Governors on June 12, during the 2021 Annual Meeting in Isle of Palms, South Carolina.
BY ELIZABETH L. FITE
I am incredibly grateful and most assuredly ready to stand before you today.
Before I talk about what I hope we can accomplish together, I'd like to take a moment to thank those who had the unenviable task of leading our profession and this organization during the COVID-19 pandemic.
First, I'd like to thank Chief Justice Melton, who suspiciously timed his retirement from the Court to coincide with start of my Bar year. Next, to thank Darrell Sutton and Will Davis, who found
the end of their Bar years as president and YLD president, respectively, upended by a virus that had never before been heard of and that resulted in many of us becoming armchair epidemiologists. Last, but certainly not least, to thank Dawn Jones, immediate past president, and Bert Hummel, YLD immediate past president, who bore the brunt of the challenges facing this organization at a time when we had to become fluent in Zoom to be able to continue the work of the Bar. To each of them, I say, "Thank you.” Thank you for your service to the profession and for your leadership. I hope everyone will join me in showing our gratitude for their leadership during this unprecedented time.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020 was the beginning of an era unlike any other in our lifetimes-for the world, our nation, our state and our profession. No one could have predicted in March of 2020 that it would be June 2021 before we were able to gather together again. It makes me think about the last time we were able to meet in person at the Midyear Meeting in January 2020 in Atlanta. Knowing what we know now, would we have stopped to say hello to or caught up with one other person? Would any annoyances about venue or menu seemed trivial? Would we have stayed and chatted a little longer with someone else? I think the answer is "yes,” and it is with that in mind that I look forward to the upcoming year. We will face additional challenges, but we will do it together. If the past year has taught us anything, it is that we are better together.
As excited as we are all to be here at this meeting—indeed, the atmosphere is electric—Georgia is still reeling from the...
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