As the Proverbs tell us, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."
When the NDAA Board of Directors selected me as executive director in 1992, 1 told the board I would serve at its pleasure for no more than eight to ten years. It has now been 12 years. It is time to take my leave.
As I told the board last November when I announced my intention to retire, it has been for me, "a great run." I hope that it has been the same for this association. It has been an eventful, challenging 12 years. I am proud of the many advances we have achieved together during those 12 years. Our mission statement has become a fact. We are indeed recognized as "the voice of America's prosecutors" -- the nation's premier organization of prosecuting attorneys -- and are a major player in Washington, consulted by the White House, Congress, the Department of Justice and other governmental bodies in the formulation of criminal justice policy. We are financially sound -- in fact, in the best financial shape in our history -- and building a sound financial base for the future. Our National Advocacy Center on the beautiful campus of the University of South Carolina is the unchallenged leader in the cutting-edge training of prosecutors from the smallest jurisdictions to the largest. And the National College of District Attorneys has expanded its offerings in trial advocacy and management.
I have also had the privilege of serving as president of the American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI). As one of four persons who established APRI in 1984, I have watched with pride the Institute's remarkable growth over these last 12 years, reinforcing its stature as the nation's premier source of research, training and technical assistance for prosecutors. As gratifying as these achievements have been, the greatest source of pride and satisfaction has been this association itself -- its officers and members, whose networking and volunteer expenditure of time in chairing committees, traveling and testifying for this association before Congress and representing the association in countless conferences and other bodies has made NDAA what it is today.
The message that I would like to leave with this association is a plea that you continue to work aggressively in the field of public and media relations to explain the role of local prosecutors, as well as to protect and defend the image of these dedicated, overworked and underpaid "people's attorneys" against uninformed criticism and baseless attacks. I also would urge continuing and increasing efforts in making a major impact on legislatures at the national and state levels.
I am especially gratified to know that the day-to-day management of this association's affairs will be in experienced hands. My successor, Tom Charron, has been a very close personal friend going back many years to our careers as DAs -- he in Marietta, Georgia, and me in Boston -- and as we rose in the NDAA hierarchy, each of us eventually serving as president. He will assume the executive director's position with unusually broad and varied experience. First, he has served with distinction as the DA in a major jurisdiction and a lecturer on the prosecutorial function and other criminal justice issues. Second, as director of education at the Ernest R. Hollings National Advocacy Center, he has displayed superb managerial and administrative skills under challenging conditions. And third, having been "through the chairs" of NDAA's structure from committee member, committee chair, member of the board of directors and executive committee to the presidency, he is uniquely familiar with what makes this association work.
The best advice I can give Tom Charron is what he already knows. This association is people and its work is done largely by dedicated volunteer public servants who give freely of their time and energy to achieve the association's goals in a vast variety of activities, from serving on and chairing committees to representing NDAA before Congress and a continuously expanding list of government departments and agencies, as well as professional organizations. These individuals deserve continuous encouragement and recognition.
I have had the honor and privilege of working with 12 NDAA presidents and I want to thank each one of them for the rewarding experience and their friendship: Bob Macy, the late and beloved Bill O'Malley, Dusty Deschamps, Mike Barnes, John Kaye, Bill Murphy, John Justice, Stu VanMeveren, Bob Johnson, Kevin Meenan, Dan Alsobrooks and Bob McCulloch.
And now, after 44 years as a prosecutor, four terms as DA and 12 years as executive director of this great association, I prepare to retire to a more relaxed life -- proud of things accomplished, sad at leaving so many cherished colleagues, staff members and other friends, and with many, many fond memories. I have been asked what I would do next. On the professional side, I'm not sure. Perhaps I can use my accumulated experience and expertise with an appropriate governmental agency.
But this much I do know: I'm heading back to my beloved Boston and Cape Cod -- where as far as I can tell, the locals don't speak with an accent -- to enjoy my time with my seven children, my 12 grandchildren (and counting) and Eileen, my bride of 50 years. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to Eileen and our children, who have been so supportive and understanding through all these years. As I have told friends and colleagues, we have grandchildren in high school. Some are athletes; others are into drama. We have never seen them play or appear on stage. We plan to make up for that.
Look for us in the bleachers or auditoriums in the sections reserved for proud parents and grandparents.
