ON THE FRONT COVER
	JOHN WADDELL, PRESIDENT, B.C. BRANCH, CBA by M. Jerry McHale
On August 24, 1995, John Waddell became president of the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. John began his CBA career as chair of the B.C. Branch Young Lawyers Section in 1985 and has been an elected member of the Provincial Council since 1987. He has participated actively in the National Organization in a variety of positions including chair of the National Membership Task Force and chair of the National Young Lawyers Section. John is also a director of the Canadian Bar Insurance Association and an honorary member of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. He is a past executive member of the Victoria Bar Association and a director of the Victoria Civic Heritage Trust. John was born in 1953 in Calgary. His father, Cal, a dentist, was also active in his profession, at one time serving as president of the Alberta Dental Association. From his father John inherited his considerable initiative and very affable nature. From his mother, Joyce, a homemaker devoted to raising John and his two sisters, he inherited his sense of humour and quick wit, together with a congenital inability to pass up a social gathering. Armed with these and other talents, John began to distinguish himself at an early age. Adults around him remarked at his precocious facility in sports, in academics and in making conversation. One of these adults, a writer with the Calgary Herald newspaper, ran a daily column chronicling life in Calgary in the 1950's. A recurring character was his neighbours' young son, "Little Johnny Waddell". Over a period of years the column featured photos and stories of things said and done by your president. Waddell has always tolerated being the centre of attention well, and this experience may account for it. He had a good deal more media exposure as an accomplished high school football player. His public profile may well have played a role in his election as high school president in grade 12. At least one person, however, was unimpressed. The runner-up in that particular election subsequently burned John in effigy before a large crowd of onlookers, the size of the crowd being attributable, we are assured, to curiosity, not enthusiasm. At 19 John left Calgary to attend Queen's University, where he played for four years for the Golden Gaels Football Club (the last as team captain), met almost everyone on campus and secured a Bachelor of Arts degree. He returned to Alberta in 1975, where he attended law school in Edmonton served as vice-resident of the Law Students Society and met his wife-to-be Linda. After articling at Code Hunter in Calgary and being called to the Alberta Bar in 1979, John took the unconventional step of interrupting his legal career to live in St. Mawes, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. There he intended to write the great Canadian novel. The novel narrowly eluded writing (for the time being only), but the spirit of independence and self-assurance that prompted the attempt have continued to remain in evidence to this day. On his return to Canada he landed on the west coast in proximity, as design would have it, to the aforementioned Linda. John put his writing skills to work for a brief period as an assistant editor of the BCLRs and as a contributing author to the Canadian Encyclopaedic Digest. From 1980 to 1986 he enjoyed a successful association wit the Victoria firm of Owen-Flood Turnham Green and Higinbotham and one of its successors, then known as Turnham Green Higinbotham and Woodland. In 1986 he and fellow Queen's alumnus Andrew Stewart opened the doors to what is now Stewart Waddell Raponi and McLean on the inner harbour in Victoria. John's practice is primarily in civil litigation with a focus on personal injury, wrongful dismissal, commercial and construction law. His productivity and his ability to get things done are legendary. He is a living demonstration of the adage "if you want something done, ask a busy person." In addition to handling a very full practice and attending countless meetings for the CBA and other organizations, he manages to coach his daughter Morgan's softball team and his son Conner's hockey team, run almost daily, take fanatical good care of his lawn and read almost as much as Peter Gzowski. Fortunately, John's family is supportive of all this activity. Linda, a speech therapist, is the calm at the centre of the storm. She manages her own career and the logistics of the Waddell household with aplomb. In fairness, there are things that Waddell does not do well. His mechanical ability would justify his disability insurer requiring an annual undertaking that he will never use a power tool. When he uses tools without moving parts he is safer but productive only of repair work for the paid help. He cannot cook and when he insists on barbecuing is allowed to do so only with adult supervision. He tolerates the pressures of the courtroom with complete equanimity, but as a Little League coach regularly falls apart in the dugout. These imperfections, however, have done nothing to undermine the esteem in which his friends and colleagues hold him. He is conscientious and principled in his dealings with people, and he is informed and articulate as a professional and as a problem solver. John brings to the office of president a genuine dedication to his profession, willingness to work hard for it and confidence in the CBA as a vehicle to maintain and improve it. These qualities and his exceptional ability to bring people together augur well for his success in the coming year. As members of the profession we all stand to be beneficiaries of this success.