Alison Smith, the Jamaican American attorney who smashed legal tradition to become the first black woman elected president of the nearly century-old Broward County Bar Association (BCBA) in Florida, is ending her reign tomorrow on a high note.

On the eve of her departure, Smith, who grew up in St Elizabeth and Manchester, was presented with the Professional Development Award by the TJ Reddick Bar Association, capping off a whirlwind year as head of the highly regarded BCBA.

The glitzy presentation ceremony was held at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel with roughly 400 people in attendance, including many prominent judges and attorneys from the tri-county area of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.

The TJ Reddick Bar Association was formed in 1982 to promote and advance the interests of blacks in the legal industry in Broward County. It was named after the first black man to open a law practice and later become the first black circuit court judge in Broward County.