Citizen Lawyer Paul Holt
Article Date: Friday, June 26, 2009
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| Paul Holt, right, accepts award from President Charles Becton. |
Nestled in the western corner of the state, Jackson County is known for its
rolling mountains, lush green valleys and small-town charms.
Thanks in no small part to the work of Sylva lawyer W. Paul Holt, the area is
also now widely recognized for being the home of one of the top community
colleges in the country.
Holt, who is being honored by the N.C. Bar Association as a Citizen-Lawyer
Award winner, is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Southwestern
Community College, having served on its board of trustees for more than 40
years.
It began as a small trade school in 1964 with less than 200 students. Today,
it offers diploma, certificate and associate degrees in more than 60 programs,
including a wide variety of technology and health profession concentrations, and
its enrollment tops 2,600.
The school also features two campuses and four centers in western North
Carolina, including its 57-acre, seven-building main campus near Sylva.
Washington Monthly recently ranked the school as the No. 4 community
college in the nation.
“It was something that was needed here for people who did not want to go to a
four-year college or could not financially afford college, and I just got
involved in it, and it evolved,” Holt said.
“We’ve all got our different talents, and we needed an institution to develop
these talents, whatever they might be.”
After receiving his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Holt moved to Jackson County in 1957. He has been
there since, practicing law and raising his two sons, Flip and Drew.
He admits that his late wife, Pat, a teacher with a passion for promoting
literacy, inspired him to become involved with the community college and
actively promote its growth, including his work in establishing the SCC
Foundation and serving as its first chair.
The school recently celebrated Holt’s contributions by naming the library at
the heart of its main campus after him, which he called a “humbling” honor.
But Holt, who has been married for the past six years to the mayor of Sylva,
Brenda Oliver, has contributed to his community in variety of other ways.
He has served in the chamber of commerce and Rotary Club. He currently is on
the board of directors of the Jackson Savings Bank and an elder of the First
Presbyterian Church in Sylva.
“You need to have people involved in community affairs if you’re going to
have decent communities,” he said.
Provided by the Young Lawyers
Division of the North Carolina Bar Association in conjunction with the Citizen
Lawyer Task Force in recognition of recipients of the 2009 Citizen Lawyer
Awards. The awards were presented on Friday, June 26, at the NCBA Annual Meeting
in Asheville.