Chief Justice Sarah Parker dedicates new courthouse. |
Mecklenburg County’s sterling new courthouse, which opened for business in January, has now been formally dedicated.
The dedication ceremony and open house were conducted in grand fashion befitting the $148 million facility on Friday, Feb. 9. Major events included an invitation-only appreciation breakfast and a luncheon for all courthouse personnel in recognition for their efforts in relocating the state’s largest county courthouse. Interspersed throughout the day were tours of the nine-story facility.
Jennifer Roberts, chair of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, presided over the dedication ceremony, backed by members of the judiciary who will maintain offices in the new courthouse.
Chief Justice Sarah Parker of the N.C. Supreme Court headed a list of dedication speakers, followed by Attorney General Roy Cooper and Parks Helms.
A longtime community leader who currently serves as vice chair of the county commission, Helms spearheaded the effort to construct the new courthouse while serving as chair of the county board.
Parks Helms |
Lee Keesler, president and CEO of the arts and sciences council, dedicated the impressive artwork that adorns the new facility.
Also impressive within the confines of the courthouse is a display of photographs depicting all of Mecklenburg County’s courthouses. The Mecklenburg County Courthouse Historical Exhibit was made possible by funding from the North Carolina Bar Association Foundation and the NCBA totaling $12,000.
Additional courthouse funding from the NCBA Foundation has been provided in support of Larry King’s Clubhouse ($5,000), a children’s play and care center, and the Mecklenburg County Self-Serve Center ($25,000).
Past-President Gray Wilson of Winston-Salem provided official representtion on behalf of the NCBA, joined by fellow Past-Presidents Jim Talley, Ace Walker and Ozzie Ayscue of Charlotte and NCBA Director of Development Tom Hull.
Courthouse Historical Exhibit, funded by NCBA Foundation. |
Sherriff Jim Pendergraph directed the ceremonial opening of the court, during which Roberts and Helms presented the gavel to Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Robert P. Johnston. Chief District Court Judge Fritz Y. Mercer Jr. also participated in this portion of the program.
Students from Devonshire Elementary School, Northwest School of the Arts, Myers Park High School and Garinger High School joined the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office Color Guard in providing music, song and presentation of colors.
The event was a homecoming for Chief Justice Parker, who warned members of the Garinger band in which she once performed to beware, lest they one day find themselves serving as chief justice of the state’s highest court.
The remark was wonderfully received by the audience, which filled the seating area and overlooked from railings encircling floors two through five.
A nice touch was also added during recitation of “We Hold These Truths.” Participants included a number of NCBA members from Mecklenburg County: District Attorney Peter Gilchrist, Clerk of Court Martha Curran, Maurice O. Green, chief operating officer of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and Mecklenburg County Bar President Tony Lathrop.
From left, Courthouse Dedication Committee co-chairs Mark Merritt, Judge Nancy Norelli and Doug Ey. |
The elaborate dedication event, underwritten largely by contributions from law firms maintaining offices in Mecklenburg County, also included the distinctive presence of NCBA involvement in co-chairs Doug Ey, Mark Merritt and Judge Nancy Norelli.
Merritt, who provided an overview of the 10-year process that culminated in the opening of the new courthouse during the appreciation breakfast, is immediate past chair of the Antitrust & Trade Regulation Law Section. Ey, who delivered the invocation at the dedication ceremony, and Norelli are both former members of the NCBA Board of Governors.
The new Mecklenburg County Courthouse, located at 832 East Fourth Street, contains 35 finished courtrooms with an additional 12 rooms that can be refitted into courtrooms as the need arises.
The NCBA Board of Governors will conduct its spring meeting at the new courthouse on April 12-14, preceded by a meeting of the Executive Committee there on March 29.
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