H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award: Douglas Carmichael “Mike” McIntyre
From being a Shakespearean actor in a children’s arts fundraiser to judging a middle school science fair, from leading downtown revitalization to preserving our beaches, from coaching All-American Drug-Free youth sports teams to chairing a children’s daycare, from helping the mentally-challenged to engaging youth in civic action, from earning a black belt to cofounding the Special Forces, Responsible Fatherhood and Prayer Caucuses on Capitol Hill, from promoting our Constitution to protecting a worldwide standard for Scottish literature, and from teaching Sunday School to winning several national awards while serving in the US Congress, Mike McIntyre undeniably fulfills the criteria of the Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award.
Mike founded and chaired the Robeson County Bar’s Citizenship Education Committee, chaired the NCBA’s Citizenship Education Committee and served on the ABA/YLD Citizenship Committee. He wrote lesson plans for the NC Department of Public Instruction, and with his extensive work promoting the Constitution, he has received the National Bicentennial Leadership Award and has won the Liberty Bell Award. Mike’s work volunteering in the classroom and his Youth Leadership Summit in Congress resulted in the establishment of the McIntyre Youth Leadership Challenge for students as part of the NCBA Law Day celebration statewide.
Mike was named as the “least partisan” Member of Congress. For 18 years in Congress, his fight for rural areas, recognition of the Lumbee tribe, the tobacco buyout and to help economically-distressed communities in the southeastern US, as well as his work as Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development and as Vice-Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Terrorism, resulted in his being recognized nationally for his work on agriculture, military, veterans, law enforcement, economic development, coastal and senior citizens issues, rural healthcare, and youth sports. The Secretary of the Navy presented him its Distinguished Public Service Medal.
Because of his outstanding contributions to the bar, his starting a mentorship program for law students at UNC, Campbell and NC Central, and his strengthening of our democracy, he has received the NCBA’s Justice I. Beverly Lake, Jr., Distinguished Public Service Award, was chosen “Lawyer of the Year” by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly in 2019, received the Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina State Bar, and has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by UNC-Chapel Hill for his “distinguished career in law and public service, while remaining a community volunteer.”