Expressing profound gratitude for their indispensable role in maintaining the standards of competence and integrity within The Florida Bar, Mindy McNichols, chair of the Board of Bar Examiners, commended the board’s dedicated professional staff for their invaluable contributions.
Addressing the assembled Florida Board of Bar Examiners staff at its annual appreciation luncheon on March 21 in Tallahassee, McNichols emphasized their significance, stating, “I just want you to know . . . you are not invisible to us as a board. You are truly, as the saying goes, the wind behind the board’s wings. You are crucial to our mission . . . of ensuring the competence and character of attorneys being admitted to the Bar and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
McNichols said while the staff probably doesn’t think much about the board, the board constantly appreciates the staff’s efforts. She shared her initial unawareness of the extensive work conducted behind the scenes in Tallahassee when she first joined the board.
Gradually becoming acquainted with the staff through various reports, McNichols marveled at the volume of work, stating, “We got reports on everything — investigative reports, reports for the investigative hearings, formal hearing reports, financial reports, reports for petition requests. All of those reports, and I was like, ‘you know these staff people I see all the time cannot possibly be generating all those reports.’”
It was then she realized just how much work goes into the Bar admission process “and I was blown away by the quality of work and the realization that there is no way the board could ever do its job without all the amazing work you all do,” including the administration of the bar exam itself, “which is a truly amazing and remarkable operation that, to me, appears to go off without a hitch.”
Florida Board of Bar Examiners Executive Director Michele Gavagni received this year’s Brandi Cawthon Alvarado Award, presented annually to the employee, as voted by FBBE staff, who best exemplifies the ideals and high standards of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
Florida Board of Bar Examiners Executive Director Michele Gavagni was honored with this year’s Brandi Cawthon Alvarado Award, recognizing the employee, as voted by staff, who best embodies the ideals and high standards of the board. Mark Huntsberger, director of Investigations, praised Gavagni as an exemplary leader, highlighting her competence, passion, compassion, and professionalism.
The award was created in memory of Alvarado, a 24-year-old analyst IV who did background investigations of Bar applicants. She was murdered July 9, 1999, in an act of domestic violence. Promoted four times in little over two years, Gavagni said Alvarado “was just this amazing person that was here with us for far too short a period of time.”
Bar Examiners staff receiving merit awards included:
- Kike V Adekayode
- Reggie Barnes
- Camryn J Cothen
- Kerilyn Gavagni
- Beau A. Luttrell
- Ellen Walker
- Betty M. Lashley
- Todd C. Scott
- Joshua U. Stepp
- Rebecca L. Cross
- William S. Slappey
- Amanda C. Menendez-Aponte
- Horace J. Smith
- Jessica L. Johnson
- James T. Almon
- Andrew H. McElroy
- Renee M. Dodson and Horace J. Smith
- Mark A. Huntsberger
- Edward Guanche and Melissa A. Benn