SIDEBAR Winter 2019-2020 - 6

MONTGOMERYBAR.ORG

INCOMING PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

I

am deeply honored to have been chosen to serve as president of the Montgomery
Bar Association in 2020. It is a humbling, albeit somewhat intimidating,
experience to follow in the footsteps of so many superb leaders. I most certainly
never imagined that I would be provided such a tremendous opportunity and
responsibility when I first wandered through the front doors of the MBA in 2003
with essentially no understanding or appreciation of the incredible significance and
importance of this noble organization.

Patrick Kurtas, Esq.
Montgomery Bar Association
Incoming 2020 President

In preparation for writing this initial message, I thought long and hard about my
experience in the bar association to date, and reflected on the many challenges our
association has addressed and overcome, as well as the actions and efforts of the many
great leaders that came before me. As a source of vision and inspiration, I sought out
my collection of SIDEBAR issues, which was made a bit easier by the fact that I have
retained each and every issue that has been released since I joined the MBA. While my
vast collection of SIDEBAR issues is surely the envy of many, the preservation of these
moments in time has allowed me the unique opportunity to look back on the incoming
president's message for the last 16 years. Beginning in 2003 with Marc Steinberg, who
was the last to appear with merely a black and white photo, all the way through
Gregory Gifford, who we will honor as our outgoing president this January, the
messages were incredibly diverse, but almost universally touched on topics that
remain so very significant today. It also struck me that, with the exception of
our good friend Robert Slota, who left us far too soon in 2013, but not before
pioneering our increased focus on diversity and inclusion, each and every one of
the past presidents who has led this association during my time of involvement
remains significantly involved in the Montgomery Bar Association to this day.
In my analysis and examination of the messages, the ideals of leadership, diversity,
and collegiality rang through time and time again, as did the significance of our
close relationship with the Pennsylvania Bar Association, our support of the
Montgomery Bar Foundation, the importance of our judiciary committee, and the
unparalleled close relationship between the bench and the bar in our county. Well,
as they say, the more things change, and they certainly have over these last 16 years,
the more they stay the same. Each and every one of those ideals and issues remains
relevant today, as does our need to consistently reassess our commitment to each, while
nonetheless recognizing that we have a finite amount of time, personnel, and finances
to pursue and support these important principles.
Periodically throughout the year, I intend to recognize and thank, and more
importantly, encourage our membership to patronize our affinity partners, vendors
and sponsors who have supported our functions, events and initiatives throughout the
years, and without whose assistance we would not be able to enjoy so many great times.
We will recognize our dedicated and talented staff that works so hard on countless

6 SIDEBAR
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SIDEBAR Winter 2019-2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SIDEBAR Winter 2019-2020
