I was at the
Florida Association of Self-Insureds (FASI) on Monday. It was a hectic trip, exacerbated
by an excruciatingly early departure, a delayed flight, a malfunctioning GPS,
and an arrival at the podium literally two minutes before my time to speak. It
is always fun to speak at FASI, though and well worth the effort.
Afterwards, I
stepped out of the room to share a few words with a fellow attendee, and
noticed a couple of messages on my phone. I returned the calls as I headed back
north, and I was kicked in the gut by the news that David DePaolo had passed. I
have known David for about ten years. He was a fellow techy and we have spent
hours discussing electronic filing, legal process, procedure, and workers’
compensation generally.
I've always
admired David's entrepreneurial spirit. His enthusiasm for the law generally,
and for Worker's Compensation specifically, were inspiring. He was the driving
force behind WorkCompCentral. He instigated the CompLaude awards. He was a
fellow blogger, an enthusiastic student of the law, and a consistent cheerleader
for everyone trying to make a difference in the market.
David had an
amazing way of cutting to the chase, with great precision and frank bluntness. One
of my lasting impressions of him will be from the National Conversation Summit in
Dallas last May. Due to other commitments, David was late. He appeared only on
the second day. Here he was at a business meeting among luminaries of workers’
compensation, wearing some of the loudest colored running shoes I've ever seen.
He explained them to me on a break, but did not have to. His Depaolo’s World
blog was one of my regular stops.
Having missed
day one of the Summit, and I suspect some sleep to get there, David was behind
the curve. He worked hard to catch up. More than once he defused a tense moment
with one of his quips. David could always make people laugh. Sometimes with
what he said, but often just by the way he said things.
At one point,
in classic DePaolo style, he redirected our efforts. I was trying to put some
notes on the overhead screen to discuss and he looked at me and said "I
guess I really just don't know what we're doing here." He then succinctly
described his frustration with that moment’s process, and suggested some other
routes to our end goal. He was good at that, pointing out incongruity,
suggesting alternate methodology; analyzing without being critical or harsh. I
had seen that modus operandi before, it was typical DePaolo.
I'm told that
he passed while riding his motorcycle. I find some solace in that. In all of
the time that I have known him, I believe he was never happier than when he was
writing, flying his airplane, riding his bicycle, or enjoying his motorcycle.
Last year he rode motorcycles
through Italy with his son.
I envied him
his passion, his focus and his joy in life. He had a certain joie de vivre that
was hard to describe, but which was infectious. You could not spend time with
him without being inspired, motivated, invigorated to the task of making a
better industry. Every time I spoke with him he was enthused about something,
brainstorming a new idea, questioning the status quo.
It is hard to
lose a colleague. It is difficult to lose a kindred spirit. It is hard for an
industry like ours to lose anyone with the kind of passion and intellect the
David DePaolo brought to the table. But as I headed north on I-75 from FASI, I
selfishly lamented losing a friend. In the end, that is how I will remember
him.
Rest in peace David, and peace be on your family through this time.
