Dear Members, Board of Directors, ABC, the Bail Coalition team, PBUS, Sureties and Corporate Sponsors, GSBAA, and NABA.

As the first order of business, I’d like to welcome our new CBAA President, my friend and longtime ally, Mr. William (Bill) Armstrong of Cecil C. Armstrong Bail Bonds. Thank you, Bill, for stepping up as our new CBAA President. I pledge my support to you and will work tirelessly to help you, as you did me, going forward.

For those who may not know Bill, he is a third-generation bail agent who has been in our industry for close to 40 years. In that time, he and his family have been dedicated supporters of our organization, a support that traces back to the early days of the Independent Bail Agent Association, the forerunner to CBAA. 

Bill served as my Vice President for two terms.  Then and throughout his career, Bill has been a tireless advocate for CBAA, our industry and for those wishing to pursue careers as bail agents, often paying for the latter’s memberships and initial training.   

As I end my almost six years as President and turn the gavel over to Bill, I sincerely want to thank my Board of Directors, Executive Board members and Regional Directors, for their dedication and tireless work on our organization’s behalf.

Speaking of tireless support, I cannot thank enough my daughter Brandy for her work as CBAA’s officer manager.

While I am thanking people, I would be remiss to not thank CBAA’s Corporate Sponsors, our sureties’ and all the other stakeholders who support Bail as a vital part of our criminal justice system.

But most of all, thank you to our members, the life blood of any organization, for your willingness to adapt to change in the age of Covid.  Zoom meetings, social media marketing and working from home while social distancing was just some of the of the hurdles presented and successfully mastered by our members these past two years.

The road has been long for us all, long and fright with challenges. Sadly, there is no real timeline where life will return to normal, or what normal will look like. 

I’m proud to say that even in these uncertain times, under my leadership, CBAA members successfully mobilized to help defeat Prop 25, which had it passed would have ended Cash Bail as we know it. And the fight is not over. It is just between onslaughts.   

CBAA’s mission statement is to defend the Eight Amendment of the United States Constitution.  Make no mistake, bail is a constitutional right and it is our job to uphold this right. 

CBAA’s commitment further states that as Professional Bail Agents, we have greater obligations then does traditional private enterprise. The Bail Agent, therefore, must be zealous in maintaining and improving the standards of the bail professional and share with fellow Bail Agents a common responsibility for the integrity and honor of the bail industry profession.

In closing, on a personal note, being your president has been one of the most gratifying experiences of my life.

It gave me direction as I and my family suffered the ravages of sickness and disease, a condition that we share with far too many.

My kindest regards to you all,

Keep the Faith and never give up, WE GOT THIS.

Gloria Mitchell, Past President

Mic drop!!!