President’s Page

Building on Our Legacy

People join the Lake County Bar Association for myriad reasons. Some people are looking for an opportunity to volunteer in the legal community or gain professional development. Some are looking to build business relationships or foster career advancement. A few were even solely drawn into the fold by the effervescent personality of LCBA Past-President Rick Lesser, following their attorney swearing-in ceremony in Elgin, IL. But no matter the reason for which people have joined the LCBA in the last 109 years, their contributions and efforts have formed the foundation of the professional organization that we are a part of today.

Being mindful of our past is important. There is a biblical quote from the Book of Deuteronomy that has been adapted in different ways over the years. It speaks of living in “ . . . cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig . . . .” (6:10-12, paraphrased). In a purely religious context, it was to serve as a reminder to the people that what they had been given was from God. However, it also served as a lesson that we benefit from the work of those who came before us, and that their legacy is the foundation that continues to be a part of us.

I am very mindful of this concept, both personally and professionally. I was raised with the stories of the hard work, sacrifice and perseverance of the prior generations of my family, both in the United States and in Brazil. Good or bad, each generation that follows continues to build on the foundation laid for them by those who came before them. The family legacy built over decades was left to my older brother William, me, and my younger sister Christine, and it became our responsibility as adults. Our choices, our decisions, our efforts are what we leave for the generation that follows, and how we define our legacy, and how we will be remembered.

This concept of legacy is important for our organization as well. We have members who are second- or third-generation attorneys, whose predecessors helped build the Lake County Bar Association and our legal community as we know it today. We also have first generation attorneys and judges whose family legacies are no less important, as the efforts and sacrifices made by those who came before them laid the groundwork for the professional achievements they have been able to obtain. But it does not matter

Joseph Fusz President Tara Devine First Vice President Katharine Hatch Second Vice President Kevin Berrill Treasurer Daniel Hodgkinson Secretary Hon. Patricia Cornell Immediate Past President Dwayne Douglas Hon. Jacquelyn Melius Craig Mandell Sarah Raisch Jeffrey O’Kelley Jeremy Harter

The President’s

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BY JOSEPH FUSZ PRESIDENT