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'Equality by Law' (Tampa edition)
Members of the George E. Edgecomb Bar Association celebrated its 21st annual law week banquet.
By David R. Corder
Associate Editor
Sandy Nedd flashed a smile that spoke volumes. The George E. Edgecomb Bar Association had just awarded her son, KeJuan, with a four-year, full-tuition scholarship. Then she watched amazed as an audience of about 470 guests - among them Florida Supreme Court Justices Peggy A. Quince and Barbara J. Pariente - honored the King High School freshman with a standing ovation.
It was the stuff of dreams for this intellectually and athletically gifted young man, who carries a 3.4 grade point average, blows the saxophone in the school band and still has the time to play on the football and basketball teams. He was an instant hit. Within moments of the presentation, as the evening program continued, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio traveled nearly the length of the banquet room to congratulate him, give him hugs and pose with him for photographs.
It's a sure bet that only his mother's pride exceeded that of the association committee members who picked her son for the group's highest scholarship award during its annual law week banquet celebration April 26 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Tampa.
It was the highlight of the evening for Elita D. Cobbs, association president, and Julie Sneed, chair of the scholarship selection committee. Besides Nedd, the group also presented two $1,000 scholarships to Vincent E. Adejumo, a senior at Middleton High School, and Kristin S. Pinder, a senior at King High School.
While Pinder's career aspirations lean toward veterinary medicine, Sneed took great satisfaction in telling the audience that Adejumo plans to study law with a focus on intellectual property matters.
"They are talented," Sneed said. "They are brilliant, noteworthy, creative and articulate. You should be assured they are the best and the brightest Hillsborough County has to offer. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to get to know them."
This was the 21st consecutive year this Tampa-area association of black lawyers has met to celebrate its members' successes and reinforce their continuing goal "to win equality by law" - the theme of this year's event.
For only the second time in its history, perhaps, an incumbent city mayor attended the annual program. Cobbs says the association's elder members recall only former Mayor Sandy Freedman as one who attended a prior banquet. This year, too, there were judges from the Tampa division of the U.S. District Court, the 2nd District Court of Appeal and the 13th Circuit. Several members of the Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough County Commission joined the festivities.
They witnessed the presentation of the group's prestigious Francisco Rodriguez Award to U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich for her decision in the controversial 43-year desegregation lawsuit, Manning, et al, v. School Board of Hillsborough County. Some members of the families that joined that lawsuit also attended.
They also heard words of inspiration from guest speaker Alison Bethel, the Washington, D.C., bureau chief for The Detroit News. She, too, extolled the accomplishments of the annual scholarship winners. It is important, she noted, to nurture the leadership in young people such as Adejumo, Nedd and Pinder.
"We need bright minds to identify and articulate new solutions to problems old and new," she said. "It is critical that these young people move forward. As those of us in this room with more experience move forward, and as America moves forward, we must inspire a new generation of African-American leaders in all areas of American life."
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