LET US HEAR FROM YOU!
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Inspiring is an Understatement
It’s always gratifying to read and learn about the current WSBA APEX Award recipients featured in the September issue of Bar News. To hear how they “walk their talk” from those who know their accomplishments in the APEX Awards videos, inspiring is an understatement.
This year I was surprised and viscerally saddened to find that four of the 10 chosen are no longer with us; but their spirit, deeds, and accomplishments live on.
Justice Susan Owens, the longest serving female judge in our state history, who treated all with respect and went to great lengths for “those whose voices are often drowned out.”
Bruce Johnson, dubbed “one of the country’s preeminent First Amendment lawyers,” who still had time for decades of pro bono service and mentorship.
Dennis Cronin, who wore so many hats it made me dizzy with envy and volunteered as the Carl Maxey Center’s general counsel and legal director, and senior supervising attorney for the Sandy Williams Justice Center.
Kim Tran, the first woman of color to serve as president of the King County Bar Association, who “worked fiercely to improve the lives of the Asian and Pacific Islander community.”
It is our job now to take the baton they have passed to us and keep their stories alive through our own access to justice actions. As for the other very deserving award recipients who are very much with us—aside from heartfelt kudos from this fellow APEX alum—I leave you with these thoughts (which I have shared with several of you individually).
May your award not be simply a recognition of what you’ve accomplished to date, but an incentive and reminder to keep up the fight for access to justice, to be a mentor to others, and to strive to make our community better—especially in the face of the challenges we now face.
As the saying goes: You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give. And as Justice Sonya Sotomayor reminded us in Seattle at Third Place Books in September, “What you really need are people in the world who care to do the small things that make a difference.”
With appreciation, and thanks to you all for making a difference.
Michael B. Goldenkranz
Seattle
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