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2009 News Articles › Ed Adams Receives Lake Service Award
Ed Adams Receives Lake Service Award
Article Date: Friday, June 26, 2009
Edmund I. “Ed” Adams of Adams & Ivey in Sparta is the 2009 recipient of the
Dr. I. Beverly Lake Public Service Award.
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| Ed Adams |
A 1956 graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, Adams began his
career in Winston-Salem and has practiced law in Alleghany County since 1970,
serving as county attorney and president of the 23rd Judicial District Bar.
The award was presented on Friday, June 26, at the 2009 NCBA Annual Meeting
in Asheville. Immediate Past-President Janet Ward Black joined outgoing
President Charles Becton in presenting the award.
The name of Ed Adams is widely known and highly regarded throughout northwestern
North Carolina, especially in Alleghany County where he has practiced law for
nearly four decades. His most recent acclaim was provided by the National
Committee for the New River which honored him last year as the first recipient
of the Wallace and Peggy Carroll Lifetime Achievement Award.
He served as president of the 23rd Judicial District Bar and as a member of
the NCBA General Practice, Small Firm and Solo Section council. He also provides
leadership to Sparta United Methodist Church and the Camp Elk Shoals United
Methodist Camp.
A retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve with 30 years of service, Adams
has provided leadership to Boy Scouts of America, the American Heart
Association, Lions International, the National Committee for the New River,
Alleghany CARES, Hospice, the Northwest Regional Public Library System, the
Highland Camerata regional choral group, the Governor’s One-on-One Program, the
Alleghany County Democratic Party and the Alleghany County Board of
Elections.
He has served as president or board chair of each organization and officiated
high school football for 33 years, serving as president and director of the
North State Football Officials Association. He was named N.C. National
Interscholastic Football Official of the Year in 1996.
Creation of the Lake Service Award, which annually recognizes an outstanding
lawyer in North Carolina who has performed exemplary public service in his or
her community, accompanied the establishment of the I. Beverly Lake Sr. Justice
Fund in 2004.
The voluntary service rendered by the recipient of the Lake Public Service
Award may have occurred with a single non-profit organization or with a number
of groups in the community as well as through public service in elective or
appointive office.
Nominations are sought from all judicial districts and voluntary bars
statewide and reviewed by the Past Presidents’ Council. Recipients have their
names inscribed on the Lake Public Service Award plaque that remains on
permanent display at the N.C. Bar Center and designate, subject to the
concurrence of the NCBA, the presentation of an honorarium to a non-profit
organization.
Previous Recipients of the Lake Award
2005 – Murray Greason,
Winston-Salem
2006 – Jim Morgan, High Point
2007 – Jim Maxwell,
Durham
2008 – H. Parks Helms, Charlotte