Message from the President, October 2017

The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
  -Nelson Henderson

The beauty of that quotation resonated at the September 16th dedication of the GBA’s eighth Habitat for Humanity house.  Palpable joy and love were felt by all who witnessed the R’Mah family’s emotional words of thanks.  Our thanks and congratulations to Bill Cooke, who drove this project from inception to completion, as well as to all GBA members who donated or volunteered on the project.

The spirit of service also shone brightly at last month’s member meeting.  Many of our committee chairs spoke about the activities and goals of their respective committees, and encouraged our members to join them.  As a result of their efforts, 21 members signed up for new committees!  It is not too late to sign up for a committee.  If you would like to participate, please complete the sign-up sheet included in this newsletter.  Thanks to all who signed up, and we look forward to planting some trees with you in the very near future!

On Friday, October 13th at 3:00 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Room of the Old County Courthouse, our Young Lawyers Section will host the annual swearing-in ceremony for newly licensed attorneys.  Judges from both federal and state court will give remarks before swearing-in the attorneys.  Please consider attending this uplifting event and supporting Greensboro’s newest lawyers.

Our next member meeting will take place on Thursday, October 19th at 12:30 p.m. in the Empire Room.  The meeting will feature an informative presentation on the Middle District of North Carolina’s Civics Initiative.  Launched in March 2017 as part of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts’ nationwide civics outreach program for middle and high school students, the Middle District offers many different interactive programs (both at the courthouse and at high schools) including the role of the federal judiciary, the law of sentencing, and the search and seizure law of the Fourth Amendment.  To learn more about this educational and important initiative, please come to the meeting and visit www.ncmd.uscourts.gov/node/529.

I hope your fall is off to a great start, and I look forward to seeing you at the swearing-in and the member meeting.