Fort George G Meade, Fort Meade, MD
Contact:
Captain Kent Herring
Office of the Staff Judge Advocate
Building 2257, Huber Road, Fort Meade, MD 20755-5030
E-mail: herringm@emh1.ftmeade.army.mil
Fort Meade's Law Week was a winner of the 1999 Law Day Activity Awards
Activity Summary:
Partnering to Success-Our office arranged to put on the Goldilocks play at three
elementary schools, an essay contest at two middle schools, a moot court at the high
school, and a trip to the United States Supreme Court for selected high school students.
We also found partners within the community to sponsor each contest in order to award
prizes to the winners. These events were publicized to the 40,000 person Fort Meade
community by means of extensive newspaper coverage, a Law Day Luncheon for community
leaders, and announcements on an “electronic bulletin board.” Twenty attorneys,
ten days, many activities, and at least 1,350 direct participants.
Activity Narrative:
The Fort George G. Meade Law Week 1999 program was a success due to the intensive
partnering we did with those in our community. This was the first year that we attempted
an expansive Law Week program in our area. As a result of this hard work, we were able to
put on a poster contest, an essay contest, a moot court competition, a Law Day luncheon, a
United Sates Supreme Court student trip, have Law Day T-shirts made, and receive $800 in
sponsorship funds.
In order to expand public awareness, we had the Law Day theme and date publicized on
the Fort Meade Community Bulletin board. This highly visible board was seen by a great
number of the members of our 40,000+ community over the 10 days that it was posted.
However, the most public exposure of our Law Week activities was gained in three
successive editions of the Fort Meade newspaper. Our Law Week Goldilocks play even made
the cover of the May 6, 1999 edition. Additionally, we had T-shirts made with the Law Day
theme and had the winning posters and essays prominently displayed in the local Citizens
National Bank lobby.
With regard to highlighting the theme of Law Day, we coordinated with Fort Meade’s
highest-ranking officer and Commander, Brigadier General Johnson, to have a Law Day
article placed in our local newspaper. In addition, he signed a proclamation announcing
May 1, 1999 as Law Day at Fort Meade.
We maximized our outreach to the community by planning activities directed towards
large target audiences and by getting maximum publicity. Through our contests and
activities with six local schools, we directly reached 1350 students and teachers. By use
of our electronic bulletin board, proclamation, and newspaper coverage, we reached an
untold number of or 40,000 civilian and military community.
Through successful partnering with the community, we not only guaranteed a great 1999
Law Week, but have set ourselves up for a better year 2000 Law Week. Since this was the
Staff Judge Advocate’s first attempt at an encompassing community wide program,
partnering with schools, private groups, and other legal organizations was critical to our
success. During the course of planning for Law Week, our office partnered with:
- three elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school for our contests;
- the United States Army Claims Service to arrange for Judge Susan Crawford of the United
States Court of Appeals for the Armed Services to be or guest speaker;
- the Fort Meade Officers’ Wives Club, the Fort Meade Enlisted Spouses’ Club,
and Citizens National Bank for $800 in sponsorship prize money;
- the Unites States Army Military District of Washington’s Judge Advocate General
Offices for the creation of a Law Day 1999 T-shirt;
- Citizens National Bank to display all winning essay and poster contest entries in their
lobby;
- The United States Supreme Court for a tour for the Anne Arundel Country Academy of Law
and Public Service students;
- The Fort Meade Public Affairs Office for newspaper and photo coverage;
- The Fort Meade Marketing Office for the Electronic Bulletin Board Law Day display;
- 16 civilian and military lawyers who work on Fort Meade and were our judges during the
moot court competition.
The effectiveness of our approach in covering different grade levels with different
activities was made clear to me by members of the local education committee. We used a
poster contest and play at the elementary level, an essay contest for middle school
students, and a moot court competition for high school students. Our moot court contest
was so interesting to the students that some who weren’t able to take part wanted us
to come back again so they could participate.
With the success of this year’s activities, we are planning to continue with what
worked well this year, and also add some other activities for next year. One event we
would like to participate in next year is the Images of Freedom photo competition. Also,
we would like to extend the moot court contest to the entire high school. This year we
learned a lot with the ninth graders, which will make next year’s event even better.
Finally, we presented certificates of appreciation and followed up with each sponsoring
group so that we will be remembered for funds for Law Week 2000. We used this year’s
funding to buy Law Day pencils, bookmarks, certificates of appreciation, a moot court
first place plaque, and to award 15 savings bonds.
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