“Integrity first; service before self; excellence in all we do.”
These 10 words outline the core values of the United States Air Force and are emblazoned on a wall at the United States Air Force Academy.
My dad, a 1977 graduate of the academy and a career Air Force fighter pilot, first introduced this slogan to me.
He, together with my mom (the “general” of the Hyde household) instilled a sense of integrity, selflessness and excellence in my siblings and me from a young age, in line with their values.
Recently, a gentleman whose son graduated from the Air Force Academy was reminiscing about his son’s transformation from a civilian freshman to a graduating senior who was now a commissioned Air Force officer.
He credited this change to the academy’s insistence on utilizing the dual-pronged approach of focusing on the “big picture” — an individual’s purpose and motivation — while also emphasizing the importance of sharing common core values with the group at large.
The father recalled watching the cadet wing in parade formation to illustrate this concept. Viewed from a distance, the wing seems homogenous, especially when the cadets are wearing their dress blues and marching in lockstep with one another. An impressive sight, for sure.
This scene is somewhat deceiving, however.
While these drill movements may be precise and in unison, the individual cadets who make up the wing are cut from different cloths.
The wing comprises students from every state and exchange students from other countries, all with a diverse range of ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. These cadets all possess different “big pictures.”
Despite the differences, the group’s collective focus on precision, uniformity and excellence while marching as a cohesive unit creates an impression the members are identical.
In other words, despite the cadets’ distinctive backgrounds and individual motivations, the academy culture as a whole remains remarkably compatible and committed to achieving excellence academically, culturally, physically and militarily.
The moral of the story is that a vibrant culture does not require sameness. In fact, the academy’s values are enhanced through diversity and interaction between the cadets’ different personalities, backgrounds, temperaments, talents and convictions. Diversity enhances the culture.
However, in order for the culture to thrive, it also requires a strong sense of core values that are shared among the individual cadets. The individual and the group need both to truly excel.
If you have made it this far you may be asking yourself, “What’s the point, Ryan?”
Well, coincidently, the 10 words comprising the core values of the Air Force are not much different from the words that describe the goals of The Jacksonville Bar Association — professionalism, ethics, civility, building a strong legal network, diversity, leadership, public service and service to our members and our community.
These values are similar to the vision of the JBA, which is to encourage participation in Bar activities, promote professionalism, unselfish service to the community and camaraderie among members so that we all live up to the highest ideals of the profession at work and in the community.
A common core of values, if you will.
Similarly, participation in the various JBA committees and sections offers opportunities to focus on an individual attorney’s “big picture” while simultaneously strengthening the presence of the Bar as a whole.
Rose Marie Preddy, section chair of the Member Services Section, and myself as vice chair, oversee a number of JBA committees, which include the Bar Bulletin, Health & Wellness, Hispanic & Latino Interest, Membership and Solo Practitioner/Small Firm committees.
Each one of these committees has a different “big picture,” i.e. lifestyle goals, ethnic or cultural identification or a law firm business model.
The same can be said for the other sections of the Bar, whether it is the Litigation Section, Transactional Law Section or Family and Children Section. Each section has its own “big picture.”
Involvement in these committees is important to further your own individual goals and to strengthen the resources and activities available to you and your fellow attorneys in a particular practice or area of interest.
Regardless of your “big picture,” we all share common core values and it is these values as a whole that are the driving force behind the overall success of the Bar.
The Jacksonville legal community is richly diverse in many ways — practice, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, geographical backgrounds, etc. It is only through active participation in the JBA and its various sections that the organization’s true potential can be realized.
We thrive because we collectively fight for the less fortunate, promote access to the legal system, give back to our community and encourage professionalism amongst our Bar members.
Failure to participate is noticeable and creates gaps in the overall “formation,” while simultaneously hindering your ability to accomplish “big picture” objectives — making an otherwise impressive organization scramble to fill the empty space.
Each of us is striving to fulfill our own “big picture.” The legal profession as a whole is also more successful when the Bar collectively concentrates on values we should share and cherish.
Participation in JBA committees and sections allows an attorney to do both. We encourage you to incorporate your “big picture” into the JBA through committee engagement and activity.
Only together can we reach the heights of our professional development.
Ryan T. Hyde is an associate attorney at the law firm of Thames Markey & Heekin, P.A. and serves as vice chair of the JBA Member Services Section and as an ex-officio board member of the JBA Young Lawyers Section.