Acceptance Remarks from President-Elect Jon Heyl

August 19, 2020

Editor’s Note: Jon Heyl of Charlotte is the new president-elect of the North Carolina Bar Association. He was elected on Friday, June 26, during the 2020 NCBA Annual Meeting at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary.

His name was placed in nomination by Jacqueline Grant, immediate past president and chair of the Past Presidents’ Council, which annually selects the nominee for president-elect. Seconding speeches were provided by longtime law partners Larry Sitton, a past president of the NCBA/NCBF, and Patti Ramseur, a former NCBA/NCBF board member.

Following his election, Jon Heyl provided the following acceptance remarks:

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Thank you, LeAnn and Jackie, and thank you, Patti and Larry, for your kind remarks.

I am honored to be elected to serve the North Carolina Bar Association as president-elect. I will be brief this morning, but I wanted to say a few things about why I am honored to do this. I initially joined the North Carolina Bar Association coming out of law school because our firm had a deep dedication to the Bar Association and was very encouraging.

I did not know a lot about it at the time. It was early in my practice, I had a lot on my plate, and I was working a lot of hours. I had a toddler and later a newborn, so in the first few years I did not put a lot in, and I did not get a lot back out. Once I became involved, especially involved in the sections and committees of the Bar Association, I really came to learn of and appreciate the value and the richness of the community that the Bar Association is. I was fortunate to meet people from all over the state, from all backgrounds, from all practice areas – people I never would have come in contact with, had any occasion to be with, other than through working with the Bar Association. And rather than never getting to meet those people, I was able to meet them and get to know them and to serve with them and to work with them on projects that are bigger than us.

I also came to learn of the Bar Association’s deep service commitment. Programs of the Bar Association are real; they have substance. From the larger Bar Association and Foundation programs like 4ALL, where statewide we serve thousands of people ever year, to all the things that the young lawyers do – multiple service initiatives – and all the things that the sections and committees may do.

The Bar Association also serves its members, from CLE to Fastcase to all the other tools and resources. I was really impressed by the level of service, both to the citizens of the state and to its members that the Bar Association gives.

I also learned that the Bar Association strives to build leaders and provides lots of opportunities to do that. It did for me. I remember on the first committee I served on – the Membership Committee – when Phyllis Pickett was chairing it, and she had to recuse herself, given her employment, on a particular issue. She handed the keys to me to drive the meeting for a few minutes to cover that issue.

I ended up chairing the Membership Committee the next year and then was fortunate enough to serve in other leadership positions on other sections and committees. Throughout the Bar Association, the opportunities are there for the taking. I’ve seen many people come up and learn leadership through service with the Bar Association. I think there’s no other place that offers you more opportunities to take your leadership positions and learn and grow. It has been incredible to watch other people move through those positions and grow.