I landed last week at Southwest Florida Airport (RSW). They are celebrating 40 years. Imagine that in 1983 Ft. Myers' airport opened. Don't misunderstand, the town was there long before. The old timers will reminisce occasionally about Page Field. There may have been some romance to that old spot, but their recollections may also be shaded a bit by nostalgia and denial.
Ft. Myers in the springtime. There is construction everywhere. Sure, the winter crowds had eased by mid-May. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes have migrated back north. Sure, there are the lingerers. The town is not deserted by any sense of the word, but the congestion is decreased. Did I mention that there is construction everywhere?
Quick Ft. Myers joke - How can you tell when the seasons change in Ft. Myers? That's easy, the colors on the license plates change.
Ft. Myers was hit pretty hard in September 2022. Ian arrived with a fury and delivered significant devastation around town. It was one of those modern hurricanes that somehow devastated one house or side of a street and ignored others. It was described to me by a local as "surreal." The explanation was visibly difficult, stilted, and halting. The residents of the area were traumatized and impacted. by the storm or its sequela.
As I reflected on that conversation, I realized he described Ian much as I had Ivan so many years before. Most Floridians have a storm they remember. Sure, we recall many. We discuss many. But, we each seem to remember a particular one. We each have our hallmark, our nemesis. It is the one that we somehow dodged, lived through, and reflect upon. Over Ivan? No. I understand the sentiments and emotions. The Ian survivors are recovering, as did the Michael survivors before. They will progress and time will pass. But they will likely remember nonetheless.
We are accustomed to hurricanes in Florida. Not accepting. Not welcoming. But we are accustomed. We live with them in our thoughts. We wonder what is coming next, and we persevere, we rebuild, and we prepare for the next one. See Its that Time Again (April 2023).
I was in Ft. Myers for a lawyer gathering. This all started in December with a roundtable program in Orlando. The tip of the spear on that project was Paolo Longo, who will soon take the helm of The Florida Bar Workers' Compensation Section. The idea is an informal lunch. There is camaraderie and conversation. The judges rotate from table to table or room to room. There is collegiality, reminiscent stories, questions, and community. That last is the key, community.
The Orlando event in December was wildly successful, drawing more than 50 lawyers. There is a palpable desire to get back to the face-to-face. The success was noted, and plans began. Mr. Longo and Judge Humphries produced a great gathering in Jacksonville in early April. Ft. Myers last week was the third example, thanks to Mr. Longo and Judge Weiss. Tampa remains in June, and then a hiatus is predicted until the writer's strike is over. You don't think we make this stuff up ourselves do you? Seriously, we will break for the summer and all that entails with family, the WCI, and more.
But first, we will be in Tampa on June 2, 2023. This event is at the workers' compensation office at noon. Thanks to Judge Arthur for his effort on this iteration. No, there is no agenda. Yes, everyone is invited. No, there are no power points. Yes, any questions you bring will be addressed. That is not to say everyone will love the answer(s) perhaps, but there will be an answer.
This is a great opportunity to rejoin your community. It is high time we appreciate our community, The workers' compensation professionals have a great deal for which to be thankful. And though there are some perhaps eclectic community members, it is a very collegial group to engage with, to practice with, and to enjoy.
The pandemic should remind us of the importance of community. The experience of our neighbors with Ian should remind us of our interdependence and community. We should be celebrating the fact that this practice survived and thrived in recent years while other practices, communities, and jurisdictions failed, utterly. We persevered. Come join us for a light-hearted and interactive gathering in Tampa. Let's talk about what is right (or not) in Florida workers' compensation.
The opportunity is important. The need for us to be face-to-face is critical. We are, at our core, a simple community. We need to appreciate each other, our contributions, our successes, our failures, and our interdependence. We need to gather and focus on how we can be successful today, recruit and retain the best for tomorrow, and build a new future. I hope to see you there.
