Feel free to sing that title in your best Bon Jovi voice. I just got back from scout camp with my boys and if you have ever been to Bartle Scout Reservation you know you hear those lyrics daily during the "60 second cleanup" at the mess hall but it also applies to us and 2021. And what a first 6 months it has been.
I wanted to write to give you an update on your Board and the goings on across the State. First, as you can see from our home page we are down a couple of board slots. Shannon Rush resigned her position to pursue a career as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Kansas. Some of you will most likely still get to see Shannon when she appears in your court. She served on our board for a year and a half first as the third vice president and most recently as the second vice president. As any of you who know Shannon know, she is a fierce advocate, a hard worker and a delightful human being and I so enjoyed working with her. While I miss her intelligence and input, I hope you all join me in wishing her well.
We also lost Marty Clark to the joys of retirement. Marty served as a magistrate judge for 23 years, held numerous positions on our board, and is an all around great guy. Here is the news release regarding his retirement: https://www.kscourts.org/Newsroom/News-Releases/News/2021-News-Releases/April-2021/District-Magistrate-Judge-Marty-Clark-to-retire-Ma. I had the good fortune of reconnecting with Marty at the Lake of the Ozarks over the 4th. He is available for hire as a captain for you and your family. He spent a glorious afternoon dragging my kids behind a boat while I was able to enjoy his company and a few adult beverages. If you are in need of an experienced boat captain who knows the lake like the back of his hand, Marty is your guy. His cell number is still the same but if you need that contact information, please just let me know. I included a photo of Marty and I from our day on the lake above. I think I also saw on Facebook that he recently acquired a new race car so I fear his wreck at Bristol failed to knock any sense in to him. It warms my heart to know that he is enjoying his retirement but I miss him greatly.
In July you should have noticed a change in your paycheck. Although the increase surely does not reflect the amount you deserve for all of your hard work, the legislature did approve an increase in salary for our staff, our judges, and 70 new court services officer positions this last legislative session. I cannot thank you enough if you participated in a zoom call with a legislature (I know many of you did) or if you reached out on your own. These personal conversations and connections prove far more valuable then a cold call from Judge Boone or myself so I thank you!
I would also ask that each of you take the time in the next few weeks to reach out to your local representative and senator. This can be as simple as an email, phone call or hand written note or inviting them to have a cup of coffee with you. I request that you do this for a couple of reasons. First, to thank them for supporting our budget this last year and encourage them to support future budgets. Second, to share your personal experiences in regards to serving as a magistrate judge and answer their questions. You would be surprised how many legislators do not know what types of cases we handle or confuse us with municipal court judges. Finally, these meetings will begin building those relationships that we can use when we begin advocating for our association in the coming legislative session. You will find that making these contacts now when they are on recess will be much easier scheduling wise and more productive when they are not in the middle of a legislative session.
As you are in the mood for thanking people, a quick email or note of thanks to Chief Justice Luckert for her advocacy for the judicial branch would also be appreciated. I know she would appreciate hearing from you and knowing that you acknowledge her hard work. My respect and affection for her grows the more I get to know her and it was pretty high to start with. She never fails to return a call, respond to an email, or makes me feel like my voice was any less important than the other voices in the room. She is a great Chief Judge.
Judge Gilligan continues his work on our association's behalf and with the Washburn Tax Clinic to resolve our back taxes issues. We hope that an end is in sight. As I understand it, we have completed all of our required steps and are just waiting to hear back from the Federal Government. If you are still in the mood for more thank yous, Judge Gilligan most assuredly deserves our thanks for all of his hard work on this issue.
Now turning to the months ahead. We have our first (hopefully) in-person judicial conference in October. It will be at that time that we elect new officers and award our Lee Nusser Award to one of our deserving members. Please start thinking about what position you might be interested in serving and possible nominations for this award. As a newer judge, I found that serving on the board gave me immediate access to judges I may never have gotten to know if I had not served on the board. It also gave me the opportunity to work closely with Chief Justice Luckert and her staff as well as members of the legislature. It really is an amazing experience and one I hope you will consider.
The time commitment is not onerous. We meet once a month by zoom. There is the Legislative Reception in January (hopefully). Our annual meeting in October at the Judicial Conference. During the legislative session we participate in meetings with legislators and attend different meetings but many of those were held by zoom this last year. It is time well spent and will only make you a better judge in the long run. Our association needs people from across the state to serve on the board so that we ensure we are informed on the issues facing judges from across the state and can advocate for equitable resolutions for our members.
With that I will close wishing you peace, good health, and abundant happiness. I look forward to seeing you all in Overland Park in October!
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