Letter to the Editor: Tom Henze

Letter from Tom Henze to Lisa Reep, CCCBA Executive Director:

Dear Lisa,

I just received the November issue of the Contra Costa Lawyer a day ago. I was very impressed with the issue, the continuing accomplishments of our Bar Association members and the timely subject of ‘giving back’. The opportunities to help those in need stretch one’s imagination!

My attention was drawn to the article by Elva Harding about Amigos de las Americas as my two oldest daughters participated in the Amigos program many years ago while they were still in high school. They each spent a summer in Latin America. We parents became involved in raising funds and of course worrying about sending our ‘youngsters’ to an unknown experience in a strange and foreign location.

The issue of the Contra Costa Lawyer prompts me to suggest to our membership a book I just read, entitled ‘365 Thank yous – The year a simple act of gratitude changed my life‘. It was written by John Kralik who attended law school at the University of Michigan. He then practiced law for 30 years and became a partner in both large and small firms in California before being appointed in 2009 as a Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court. The book travels through those years of his successes and many failures in law and personal living experiences and how his act of expressing gratitude daily in one year by writing thank you notes changed his life and those of others. If you read this book it may very well bring a tear to your eyes as it describes in his way what being a lawyer should be all about.

You could find out more about the book from www.hyperionbooks.com . It’s also available on Hyperion Audio and e-book.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and of course for your many efforts each year in establishing our Bar Association as one of the best in the State and the Nation.

From an ‘inactive’ member of the California State Bar and Contra Costa County Bar Association.

Tom Henze