Thank You for a Great 12 Months

Bob Tomaso
Office Managing Partner, Husch Blackwell LLP
BAMSL President, 2021-22

Originally published in the April 2022 issue of the St. Louis Lawyer magazine. Download PDF.

When the BAMSL staff informed me that I could write a stream of consciousness wrap-up article for my final President's column, I asked how that would be any different from the other columns I have written? Well, this column is supposed to highlight accomplishments of our one-year tenure. Hence, it should be a very brief column.

In all seriousness, I am very proud of the last 12 months and believe we have accomplished quite a bit. First, our charitable efforts made great strides. Thanks to the likes of Judge Carol Jackson, Jeff McPherson, Beth Boggs, Ed Dowd, Sarah Bardol, Christina Moore, and many others, our St. Louis Attorneys Against Hunger initiative has helped feed thousands of needy families in our region. We also contributed more than $60,000 and dozens of volunteers to food drives for The Urban League.

Second, the last year has brought a semblance of normalcy to our Bar Association. After postponing or holding mostly virtual events in 2020 due to COVID, we returned live for 2021, including Law Day and Bench & Bar. Helping to facilitate that sense of normalcy, we owe a debt of gratitude to Amy Rebecca Johnson and her Well-Being Committee.

Third, during my brief tenure as your President, I am extremely grateful for the contributions of our local judges to our Bar Association. Simply put, they show up. Whether it is Bench & Bar, Law Day, our many social events, or the Judicial Retirement Dinner, our judges contribute. Of course, when the judiciary attends events, the rest of the bar naturally follows.

Fourth, I am so proud of the work of our Bar Association with respect to some of our historically under-represented populations. We have helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Freedom Suits Memorial. We also elevated our Legal Pioneers event by hosting it at the Missouri History Museum and attracting many generous sponsors. It also helped that we had two great honorees for Legal Pioneers in Judges Anne-Marie Clark and David Mason, as well as a riveting keynote speaker in Reuben Shelton (see photos at www.bamsl.org/photos).

Sadly, Reuben has been the only Black President in our Bar Association's 148-year history. That failing on our part is about to change as our incoming President-Elect, EEOC Judge Kendra Howard, will follow my successor, Anne-Marie Brockland, becoming our second Black President. I can assure you that your Bar Association will be in better hands with Anne and Kendra than it has been with me.

In closing, I would like to thank the BAMSL staff, and especially our Executive Director, Susan Baltz, for all their help.