Rand Hoch leads an inspiring life of service. “I’ve been politically active since my early teens, when I was an organizer in Massachusetts in the movement to lower the voting age. Voting issues have remained a key concern to this day.”
“As a Florida resident, I am appalled by the Legislature’s approval of bills this session making it more difficult to register voters. Tens of thousands of college students in Florida may be disenfranchised between now and the 2012 general election,” says Rand.
A graduate of Georgetown University and Stetson University College of Law, Rand practices law and mediates employment disputes throughout Florida. He has never stopped using his education and his idealism to advance freedom and equality.
LGBT ACTIVISM
In 1988 Rand founded the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council—an organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression—and has served as its President in various terms over the years. In 1992 Rand became Florida’s first openly gay judge when he was appointed Judge of Compensation Claims by Governor Lawton Chiles. His term ended in 1996.
“As an LGBT rights activist on the international, national, state and local levels, I’ve been involved in writing laws and policies to ensure LGBT people access to courts and other avenues of legal redress when they feel that they have been denied equal opportunities.” As just one example, this past spring, Rand and others got the West Palm Beach City Commission and Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners to update their Family and Medical Leave policies to include families based on domestic partnerships.
SHARES PFAW’S MISSION AND VALUES
Rand shares PFAW’s vision of a vibrantly diverse democratic society in which everyone is treated equally under the law and encouraged to participate in our nation’s civic and political life. “I’ve been involved with PFAW since the early ‘80s. Over the past few decades, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with co-founder Norman Lear several times at PFAW events held in conjunction with Democratic National Conventions. Throughout my activism, I have often relied on PFAW staff and materials to help the various causes I have been involved with. Working with and referencing PFAW lends credibility to the work I have been doing.”
GIFT TO PFAW FOUNDATION (PFAWF) THROUGH HIS RETIREMENT PLAN
Rand is a founding member of our legacy society, the Liberty Circle. Ten years ago Rand let us know that People For the American Way Foundation is a charitable beneficiary of his retirement plan. While the specifics of his retirement plans have changed through the years, he always ensures that PFAWF remains a charitable beneficiary. “As the economy has caused ebbs and flows in my annual income, I have been unable to contribute to the organization in a consistently generous manner. By including PFAWF in my estate planning—and encouraging others to do so as well—I can make sure that its great work on critical issues will continue.”
Rand knows that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. “As an American and a Floridian, I have never been as concerned as I am now over the erosion of rights that should not be at risk, but clearly are.”
LEARN MORE
Like Rand Hoch, you too can play a vital role in keeping the promise of America real for every American. To learn more about making a gift through your retirement plan or other estate plans, please call Bray Creech, Planned Giving Manager, at the number below or visit our website: www.pfaw.aboutgiving.net.
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