Citizen Lawyer Honorees Selected
Article Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009
Written By: Russell Rawlings
The North Carolina Bar Association, in conjunction with the Citizen Lawyer Task Force, is pleased to announce the 2009 recipients of the Citizen Lawyer Award. Formal presentation will take place on Friday, June 26, during the General Session of the NCBA Annual Meeting in Asheville.
The NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award was established in 2007 to recognize lawyers who provide exemplary public service to their communities. Honorees include elected and appointed government officials, coaches, mentors and voluntary leaders of non-profit, civic and community organizations.
The 2009 recipients are Carole Bruce of Greensboro, Sen. Dan Clodfelter, Kristi Kessler Walters, Robert Harrington and Shirley Fulton of Charlotte, Paul Meggett of Hillsborough, James Narron of Smithfield, Kim Stogner of Winston-Salem, Lisa Angel of Raleigh, Philip Baddour Jr. of Goldsboro, Paul Holt Jr. of Sylva and Wade Harrison of Burlington.
Gene Pridgen of Charlotte chairs the Citizen Lawyer Task Force for 2008-09 and will join NCBA President Charles Becton in presenting the awards.
Carole Bruce
Carole Bruce has provided volunteer leadership to numerous causes in the Greensboro area. She has served as president of the Rotary Club of Greensboro and treasurer of Sit-in Movement Inc. of the International Civil Rights Museum and Center. Bruce has served as a trustee of Guilford College and North Carolina A&T State University and as a director of the Stanley and Dorothy Frank Family Foundation, Greensboro Partnership, the Greensboro YMCA and the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation.
Bruce practices with Smith Moore Leatherwood and is a 1980 graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law. She received her bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Auburn University.
Sen. Dan Clodfelter
Sen. Dan Clodfelter is currently serving his sixth term in the General Assembly and previously served on the Charlotte City Council from 1987-93. He is past chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission, a trustee of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and previously served on the Commission on the Future of the Courts and Justice in N.C. He received a special certificate of recognition from the NCBA Board of Governors in January.
Clodfelter practices with Moore & Van Allen and is a 1977 graduate of the Yale University School of Law. He received his bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.
Paul Meggett
Paul Meggett serves on the NCBA Board of Governors and provides volunteer leadership to the organization through leadership of the Diversity Task Force and its Pathways to Inclusion initiative which he co-chairs. He also serves on the board of the Threshold Clubhouse targeting mental health issues in Durham and N.C. Prisoner Legal Services. He serves on the regional selection committee for the Park Scholarship at N.C. State University and previously served on the statewide advisory board of the N.C. Child Welfare Education Collaborative.
Meggett serves as associate general counsel for UNC Hospitals and is a 1998 graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law. He received his bachelor’s degree from NCSU.
James W. Narron
James W. Narron has provided leadership to numerous endeavors in Smithfield and Johnston County, including Boy Scouts of America Neuse River District and the Greater Smithfield-Selma Chamber of Commerce, both of which have honored him as Citizen of the Year. A past chair of the NCBA Senior Lawyers Division, he provides board leadership to the N.C. Community Foundation, Inc., Johnston Community College, Campbell University, the Public Library of Smithfield and Johnston County and First Citizens Bank (local).
Narron practices with Narron, O’Hale and Whittington and is a 1975 graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an LL.M. from New York University.
Kim Stogner
Kim Stogner is past chair and current member of the board of directors of Crisis Control Ministry. She is also a current or former board member of the United Way of Forsyth County, the Crosby Scholars Program, First Citizens Bank (local), the Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem and the Community Services Research Group and Major Gifts Committee of the March of Dimes. She previously served on the board of trustees for the NCBA Health Benefit Trust.
Stogner practices with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice and is a 1994 graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law. She also received her bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest.
Lisa Angel
Lisa Angel chairs the Governor’s Domestic Violence Commission. Her commitment to domestic violence initiatives originated with volunteer service for Interact of Wake County, where she created the Project Together program that has served thousands of domestic violence victims. She previously served as board chair for the Women’s Center of Wake County and regularly tutors children living in public housing in Wake County. She is a previous recipient of the NCBA’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award presented by the Young Lawyers Division.
Angel practices with the Rosen Law Firm and is a 1993 graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Philip A. Baddour Jr.
Philip A. Baddour Jr. served four terms in the N.C. House of Representatives including two terms as House majority leader. He is past president of the Institute of Government Foundation, the Goldsboro Area Chamber of Commerce and the Goldsboro Rotary Club, and has provided board leadership to the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the UNC General Alumni Association, the N.C. Board of Transportation, the N.C. Board of Economic Development, Wayne Community College and the Wayne County Economic Development Commission.
Baddour practices with Baddour, Parker & Hine and is a 1967 graduate of the UNC School of Law. He also received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
W. Paul Holt
W. Paul Holt and Southwestern Community College are interchangeable. The Sylva lawyer is recognized as one of the institution’s founding fathers. The library bears his name in recognition of more than 40 years of dedicated service as a member of its board of trustees, during which time he founded the SCC Foundation and served as its first chair. Holt’s loyalty is also evident at the Jackson County Board of Education, where he served as board attorney for 50 years. He is also past president of the Sylva Rotary Club, Jackson Savings and Loan and the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.
Holt is a 1957 graduate of the UNC School of Law and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Kristi Kessler Walters
Kristi Kessler Walters provides volunteer leadership to the Charlotte Housing Authority Scholarship Fund, where she has served as a member of the board and the executive committee and chair of the Governance Task Force, and the Community School of the Arts where she has served as a board member, vice chair, committee chair and task force chair. She has also provided volunteer service to Davidson College, the UNC School of Law and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.
Walters practices with Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein and is a 1999 graduate of the UNC School of Law. She received her bachelor’s degree from Davidson College.
Robert E. Harrington
Robert E. Harrington serves as board chair for the Levine Museum of the New South and is a member of the Equity Committee of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He previously served on the board of Seigle Avenue Partners which provides out-of-school opportunities year-round to youth in one of Charlotte’s poorest neighborhoods.
He has also been involved in local bar-related activities and served as co-chair of the board of directors of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Harrington practices with Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson and is a 1987 graduate of the Duke University School of Law. He also received his bachelor’s degree from Duke.
J. Wade Harrison
J. Wade Harrison, past chair of the NCBA Family Law Section and past president of the Alamance Bar Association, has provided extensive community leadership and service to Alamance County. He served as chair of the Alamance County Strategic Planning Task Force, the Alamance County United Way, the March of Dimes Steering Committee for Alamance County, and the Professional Division of the Alamance County Arts Council. He has served as an assistant scoutmaster for Troop 9 of the Boy Scouts of America for more than 15 years.
Harrison practices with Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman and is a 1979 graduate of the UNC School of Law. He also received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Shirley Fulton
Shirley Fulton served 26 years as a Superior Court and District Court judge in Mecklenburg County. She chairs the Charlotte School of Law Board of Trustees and serves as co-chair of the United Agenda for Children in Mecklenburg County. She has also provided board leadership to the Evergreen Fund, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools Foundation and as co-chair of the Mecklenburg County Justice and Public Safety Task Force.
Fulton practices with Tin Fulton Walker & Owen and is a 1980 graduate of the Duke University School of Law. She received her bachelor’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University and an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte.