From the DBA President: Don’t Be a Zax

crumrineby Rebecca Crumrine Rieder
President, DeKalb Bar Association

A hearty thank you to sponsors and attendees of the 2014 DeKalb Bar Association Bench and Bar Dinner! We had a fabulous evening at the Druid Hills Country Club, honoring Judge Ralph E. Merck and all of our DeKalb Judiciary. Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears (ret.) provided the keynote address.

Justice Sears focused on the lack of civility and discourse in the United States, the impact on the legal community, and how we as members of the legal community may conduct ourselves to return civility as the main feature of public interaction, returning mutual respect to our practice and our daily interactions. Her message was clear and poignant: incivility diminishes the vitality of community and we must engage in civil debate, invite growth and offer the possibility of mending society by accepting the other view and attracting compromise. The theme of her speech was “Don’t Be a Zax.” It included this:

“One day in the Prairie of Pax a North-going Zax and a south-going Zax run into each other. Both are trying to get to their desired locations, but neither will move out of the way to let the other one pass. While both stand facing each other too proud to compromise, they fail to see that the world continues on moving and time passes by . . .”

“The world didn’t stand still. The world grew.
In a couple of years, the new highway came through
And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax
And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.”

– Dr. Seuss, The Zax

Also, a thank you to Darren Summerville, Summerville Moore, and to Cindy Harris, executive director of the DBA, who planned the Bench and Bar dinner.

Thank you to our April luncheon CLE panelists John Haubenreich, Katie Wood and Sherry Boston, and to our April luncheon sponsors, A&A All County Monitoring and Eighteen Eight Fine Men’s Salon. Don’t forget the May luncheon celebrating Law Day on May 8. I know Jessica Rock has a fabulous program scheduled for us! As the academic year draws near to close and summer approaches, schedules get hectic so be sure to mark your calendars now for the June luncheon on June 19 and the End of the Year BBQ on June 26.

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