A Message From GSBA President
Geraldine Reed Brown
June 2008
Good Evening:
I am deeply honored and privileged to welcome you to the Garden State Bar Association's 33rd Anniversary Scholarship and awards gala. This gala is our premier event for awarding scholarships to deserving law students from Rutgers Law School and Seton Hall University Law School. We also have the privilege of presenting awards to five distinguished individuals who have made their mark in the legal community.
The Garden State Bar Association has a great history of achievement and of spotlighting issues of importance to African-American lawyers, law students, and the entire community of New Jersey.
Our theme for the gala this year is "Inspiring Activism. Defending Justice." We have done that this year-making our voice heard in the effort to increase the number of minority judges and collaborating with others to increase the number of African-American law clerks. Our members have also been active with organizations such as New Jersey LEEP. We have participated in Law Day programs and will participate in community law day programs in collaboration with other bar associations. And so much more. Go to our web site and see what we have been doing!
This evening we take time to celebrate the past and reflect on the present. And when it comes to the future, we know there are only three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened. By your presence here tonight, you have become part of the GSBA's commitment to make it happen. And as lawyers, we continue to strive to secure equal opportunity and justice for all and to fulfill the dream of the drum major for justice, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the officers of GSBA---President-Elect Greta Gooden-Brown, Vice-President Nashon Hornsby, Secretary Loryn Lawson, and our Treasurer Demetrice Miles--- for all their hard work and support this year. I also want to thank the GSBA Board of Directors and GSBA Committee Chairs, especially my husband Ronald W. Brown, for unfailing support.
I also want to thank the scholarship committee, chaired by Sharon McGahee, for its work in selecting tonight's scholarship recipients. I also want o thank the Gala Committee and our event planner Mary Jones for their hard work in putting this wonderful evening together. I especially want to thank our sponsors and advertisers. I want to thank every person present this evening. Thank you for the support you have provided to GSBA in the past, are providing currently, and will provide in the future. It is with your help that we can make a difference, improving the status of African-American attorneys and citizens of New Jersey. You are the wind beneath GSBA's wings. Thank you again. Have a wonderful, wonderful evening.
