On Wednesday, April 4, 2012, ten volunteers were sworn in as guardians ad litem at the Leon County Courthouse in downtown Tallahassee.
Joining Circuit Director Deborah Moore in welcoming the new guardians ad litem were Assistant Circuit Director Leigh Merritt and other members of the Second Judicial Circuit Guardian ad Litem Program staff.
The ceremony began with brief remarks from Deborah Moore. She thanked and congratulated the new volunteers and introduced the members of her staff in attendance. She also spoke about the "A Voice Heard" 2012 Status Report and encouraged everyone to read it.
Next, Moore turned things over to the Circuit Judge presiding over the swearing in ceremony, the Honorable Dawn Caloca-Johnson. After thanking the new volunteers and inviting them to approach the bench, Judge Caloca-Johnson briefly discussed the process from her perspective and highlighted the importance, value and essential nature of guardians ad litem. She then asked each volunteer to introduce themselves.
After meeting the volunteers, Judge Caloca-Johnson asked them to raise their right hands and repeat the oath as administered. Completing the ceremony, Judge Caloca-Johnson congratulated the new guardians ad litem and the courtroom broke into applause. Before moving on to her next judicial proceeding, Judge Caloca-Johnson took a few minutes to answer questions and take photographs with the volunteers.
We are very proud of and thankful for all of our volunteer guardians ad litem!
To see our photographs from this event, view the Volunteers Sworn In 2012-04-04 set on Flickr.
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