The theme of the 2007 annual UMBA Banquet was “Mentoring the Next Generation.” Judge Andrew Valdez’s stirring keynote speech kicked off our efforts to increase the number of volunteer mentors in our community. While there are numerous worthy mentoring programs, UMBA has focused its efforts to increase the number of lawyers to serve as mentors in the Village Project. As I mentioned at the banquet, the Village Project is a volunteer mentor program sponsored by the Third District Juvenile Court and the fruit of Judge Valdez’s labor. This project serves court-involved youth in Salt Lake County. UMBA members and other lawyers are encouraged to volunteer to work with these youth.

UMBA’s mentoring initiative takes its cue from the amazing and inspiring story of Judge Valdez. As a child, Judge Valdez was a fatherless paperboy selling newspapers on the street corners of downtown Salt Lake City. It was during one cold day when he met Jack Keller, a local printer, who took young Andy out of the streets and the element of crime, drugs and violence and introduced him to tennis and a world of opportunities and possibilities the boy would not otherwise have known. Jack became a mentor to Andy, teaching such values as honesty, hard work, competition and perseverance. Many years later, Andy would graduate from the University of Utah and become a lawyer. That newspaper boy eventually became a judge.

You can make a difference. In retrospect, I am certain you have been the beneficiary of having a mentor or mentors in your life – whether they are your parents, a relative, close family friend, or professional colleague. I’m certain you are not sitting where you are today if it weren’t for the efforts and influence (and in some cases, the sacrifice) of someone you now consider a mentor. Now, we sit in a position of influence as lawyers and have an opportunity to help a younger brother or sister seek something greater and achieve something they may not have thought was within reach. We have the chance to inspire.

My message to you this week is simply to encourage you to sign up with the Village Project and commit one hour a week for six months and take under your wing a young man or woman whom you can inspire to overcome the obstacles and challenges facing them today. The doors you will help to open may lead to the realization of dreams and remote possibilities.

For more information about the Village Project and its participants, and for a copy of the application, please go to UMBA’s website, http://www.umbalaw.org. We would like to publish and share our successes and experiences in being mentors. Please email Simón (jscantarero@hollandhart.com) with your stories.

Village Project Resources:

Villiage Project Information (PFD)
Villiage Project Mento Application(PDF)

Dear UMBA member and friend,

Summer is winding down, classes will be in session, and soon we will be having our annual scholarship banquet. It's an exciting time of the year because change is in the air. I want to highlight a couple of important issues and events that need your attention and participation.