Comments by Ginnie Chan, President, Allen E. Broussard Scholarship FoundationMarch 3, 2000 Three years ago I received a message from Steven Kazan of Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons & Farrise saying he wanted to talk about scholarships. That call was the beginning of an incredible blessing for the Broussard Scholarship. In the intervening three years I have become aware of something that many of you may not know. The Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons & Farrise firm is populated by incredible individuals whose service to the community goes generally unnoticed, AS IS APPARENTLY THEIR PLAN. I would like to share with you what I know about this low-key group of extraordinary people. The Kazan firm has been in existence for 25 years and, with 20 attorneys, devotes a significant amount of time to service in the community. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
In addition to their support of the legal community, the Kazan firm devotes its resources to supporting minority youth by hiring high school students, through the Street Law Program, for summer internships. This program provides students, many for the first time, with work experience in a professional environment. They also provide summer employment for minority law students, through the Bay Area Minority Summer Clerkship program. The staff at Kazan is as dedicated to the community as the attorneys. They support the Alameda County Food Bank and participate in the toy drives during the holidays, among other community pursuits. But what really took my breath away happened last May. As you may know, in 1999 and again this year, the Kazan firm funded a matching Broussard Scholarship of $5,000. Their 1999 scholarship was awarded to LaShawn Johnson. However, during their review of the scholarship applications there were two students with whom they were very impressed. When they inquired whether these students would receive scholarships, they were told "no" - there were no funds available. They could have shrugged and said, "that's too bad." But they didn't. What they did was to dig deep and provide the Wiley Manuel Law Foundation with funding so both these students would receive scholarships. Wow! I have mentioned The Firm's involvement with several organizations, and obviously I cannot speak on behalf of these organizations. What I can do is thank Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons & Farrise for their very generous support of the Broussard Scholarship. And, I also have the great honor of presenting Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons & Farrise with the first Allen E. Broussard Scholarship Foundation Appreciation Award.
Ginnie Chan
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