Vol. 31, No. 1, #5. From the President.

• Author: Author: Gay V. Woodhouse

Wyoming Bar Journal

2008.

Vol. 31, No. 1, #5.

From the President

Wyoming Bar Journal Issue: February, 2008 Author: Gay V. Woodhouse From the President . . .

Outward. So many attorneys know the importance of serving their communities. Many in our ranks serve tirelessly on the boards of non-profit entities that provide much needed services for our communities. Others serve in the legislature, as members of the local governing bodies, as public servants with local, state and national offices. While I may be aware of some of the volunteer work and other services that you provide, I only hear about this work in passing. In order for us to know and to be able to inform others, I would like to have you tell us about the work that you do or tell us about someone else who is reticent to come forward. As we prepare for this year's Law Day, May 1, 2008, we would like to have a series of press releases issued from the Bar highlighting the work of attorneys in their local communities.

It is true that to whom much has been given, much is expected and I personally believe that the attorneys I know are aware of this more than any other group of professionals. Attorneys seem to be aware that good things don't happen in our communities without actual hands-on hard work and sweat. Attorneys are quick to volunteer when they see the need.

One of the most compelling of drives for every human is to be needed. To feel at the end of the day, that we have done something for someone else, that we have, in some small way made a difference in someone's life. In order to find fulfillment in life, we need to get out of ourselves, those daily struggles that can consume our lives and get into helping someone else.

Last month I put my father in a nursing home. He has advancing Alzheimer's and can no longer be cared for without 24-hour supervision. At lunch after he arrived, he was trying to make jokes and make the other residents at his table laugh, but they were simply not getting his humor. It was so typical of the way Dad has always been: jovial, engaging, friendly, always looking for a way to inject humor into a situation. My reaction was to laugh almost uncontrollably and then start sobbing. Fortunately, my dad didn't notice. Although there were a lot of things going through my head and my heart through that experience, I think one of them was just that...