Greetings, ELULS members and friends. Hope your summer is off to a great start. It is my honor to be the Chair of this wonderful Section of The Florida Bar for the 2018-19 year. I have been a member of the Section since 2005, when I started as an affiliate, and have met many wonderful people along the journey who have helped professionally and have become good friends. So, as we embark on a new Florida Bar year, I remind each of you to renew your membership in the Section when paying your bar dues. And, if you’re not yet a member, I hope you will join the Section.
If so inclined, I encourage each of you to increase your involvement with the ELULS Section by volunteering for one or more Section committees covering Section activities including CLE, Treatise, Law School Liaison, Florida Bar Journal, Membership, Public Interest, Affiliate, Internet, Young Lawyers, and Section Reporter, or to participate on a committee that focuses on a substantive practice area including Land Use; Pollution Assessment, Remediation, Management and Prevention; Natural Resources; and Energy. The Executive Council of the ELULS Section would love to involve you, whether you are a first-year attorney, government lawyer, non-profit attorney or partner with years of experience. Joining a committee is a great way to meet lawyers from around the state and learn about a variety of environmental and land use law practices. To join a committee, please email me at david.bass@cityoforlando.net and/or the ELULS Program Administrator, Cheri Wright, at cwright@floridabar.org, and tell us which committee(s) you would like to join.
In addition, this year the Section is planning a variety of continuing legal education opportunities that will include live events as well as our popular webinar series. We are always looking for speakers for these events, and speaking is a great way to impart your knowledge to others in the Section. We also will have many social mixers throughout the year and throughout the State. This is a great way to meet your fellow lawyers and affiliates in an informal and fun format. Ain’t no party like an ELULS party! We need sponsors for these events and encourage you or your firm to become a sponsor to the Section. It’s relatively inexpensive and helps out a lot. Information on becoming a sponsor to the Section, as well as the webinars and other live events can be found on the Section’s website, http://eluls.org and through the Section listserv. Finally, we welcome your suggestions on making 2018-19 a productive year for the ELULS Section.