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Chair's Column
by Gregory L. Pemberton, Ice Miller, Indianapolis,
IN
 I celebrated a birthday recently. Do not even try to guess which one. When you are as old as dirt, it is
understandable that the celebration is pretty calm. In any event, celebrating the anniversary
of my birth and not being a year older suits me just fine. Aging, gracefully or otherwise, beats the
alternative.
I am not the only one recognizing a birthday. The Health Law Section is currently
celebrating its tenth year of existence.
We were a forum within the ABA
for many years before. The House of
Delegates approved the transformation at the 1996 Annual Meeting. The Forum became the Section with that
action. Some things changed, others
did not.
As a Section, we had greater responsibilities and
duties. We began more extensive live
and teleconference programming, we started broader publication activities,
we became more active in ABA
policy debates and discussions, and we grew our presence on the Web as well
as via listserves and email.
The chief feature that remained the same from our Forum
days was the attitude toward inclusion of any willing participants in the
work of the group. We were always a
welcoming bunch and that remains true today. It is a source of pride with our
leadership and an important legacy we share and preserve.
I invite you to join in the birthday celebration. Our Emerging Issues Program will occur in
Tucson, Arizona next month. It will be held at the Hilton El
Conquistador from February 22 to the 24th, 2006. The program will be thought provoking and
helpful. It is always an opportunity
to share with colleagues and learn in a relaxed atmosphere. We will also play the 7th
annual Margarita Golf Scramble on Saturday the 25th of
February. This non-competitive event
is fun for both
skilled and experience-challenged golfers.
We even end the day with an informal social event where all are
welcomed whether you golfed or not.
Finally, we will be pausing to mark the ten year
anniversary. One of our first
Chairs, Jay Christiansen, has graciously agreed to coordinate the
event. In the nature of full
disclosure, I actually will be presenting the State of the Section
remarks. Do not worry, my plan is to
be brief and to the point. Not
unlike these little chats. We hope
to see you in Arizona. Take care.
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