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Thank you for electing
me President of the Association. It is both an honor
and a challenge. I look forward to working for you
this year.
First, I would like
to thank Tom Daily for the splendid job he did in
leading our Association this past year. In cooperation
with his Chair of the Board of Governors, Price Marshall,
he accomplished many goals. These include:
(1) Working
with Ron Harrison of the Bar Foundation to finalize
the sale of the Bar Center Building;
(2) Placing
the Association on a sound fiscal footing by advocating
and obtaining a long overdue increase in the bar dues
(first dues increase in 11 years);
(3) Continuing
to upgrade our Arkansas VersusLaw legal research tool;
and
(4) Presiding
over hugely successful mid-winter and annual meetings.
Second, I appreciate
the strong show of support from our members. Everyone
I have asked to serve in a leadership position has
generously agreed to serve and work on behalf of the
Association. Many others have indicated that they
stand ready to work on whatever projects they are
assigned. In regard to my appointments, I am pleased
that Eddie Walker of Fort Smith has agreed to serve
as Chair of the Board of Governors. His experience
and insight will be invaluable to the Association.
Several of you have
asked me what goals I have set for my year as President.
I am fortunate to lead an Association that is already
one of the finest in the country. We have one of the
highest membership percentages for a voluntary bar
association. Our attendance at meetings is the envy
of states much larger than ours. The quality of our
meetings is great. It will be a laudable goal to continue
our tradition of success in these areas.
There were 1,194 attorneys
and judges at our Annual Meeting in Hot Springs, which
this year was a joint meeting with the Arkansas Judicial
Council. This was a record attendance, and there were
also hundreds of other family members present. It
was an excellent meeting, and we have Annual Meeting
Chair Brian Ratcliff to thank for that.. As usual,
the meeting provided the opportunity to visit with
friends from all over the state and to obtain CLE
from an abundance of quality programs.
Please remember to mark
your calendars for the 2005 Annual Meeting - June
8-11.
In addition to maintaining
our successful programs, the area which will probably
take most of my time is planning for the move of the
Association from the present bar center to a new home.
As most of you know, the current bar center, which
was owned by the Bar Foundation, was recently sold.
This was done after much study, deliberation and discussion
by both the Association and Foundation. I will not
recount those discussions in this brief space, but
I will simply state that I concur in the decision.
It was determined that it would be too costly to attempt
to remodel the building to meet our current needs.
We now have a 30-month lease from the present owners
with options to renew. We, therefore, have time to
plan for the future in an orderly manner.
I welcome the challenge
of finding a new home for our Association. I intend
to work in full cooperation with Sherry Bartley, who
is the new President of the Foundation. We have appointed
a joint committee consisting of members of both the
Association and the Foundation to come up with a plan.
It is an excellent group of proven leaders from all
sections of the State. I am confident that we will
formulate a plan which will meet with the approval
of the membership of both the Association and the
Foundation.
Two weeks after our
annual meeting in Hot Springs there was the yearly
retreat for the Association's leadership, which was
held at Judge John Stroud's cabin on Lake Greeson.
Your bar leadership worked on developing plans and
programs which will benefit you and the other members
of our Association. I appreciate the time and effort
which so many of our members devote to our Association
and to the profession.
When I ran for this
office I pledged to you that I would devote whatever
amount of time was necessary to lead our Association.
I welcome any comments, suggestions or questions you
have about our Association. Do not hesitate to contact
me at my direct line (501-370-1555), fax (501 244
5355) or email (ursery@fec.net).
Finally, I want to thank
the fine staff we have at the Association for the
dedicated work they perform on our behalf. •
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