“Service Defines Us”: Elaine Marshall on Receiving the Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. Public Service Award
N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall
N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has been chosen to receive the Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. Public Service Award from the North Carolina Bar Association. She is the 15th recipient of the award. (Read the original press release here.)
Marshall has served as the N.C. Secretary of State since 1997. In 1996, she became the first woman to be elected to an executive branch office in North Carolina. This year, she is the first woman to be selected for the award.
The Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. Public Service Award honors an exceptional lawyer practicing in North Carolina who has contributed to the community with exemplary public service. It is presented in honor of Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr., who served on the state’s highest court for more than 12 years, including the years 2001-06 as chief justice.
Receiving this award is even more meaningful to Marshall because of her friendship with Chief Justice Lake.
“I knew Chief Justice Lake for half or longer of my lifetime,” Marshall said. “To see his outstanding work, as on the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, was inspiring. When someone becomes that successful, that is rewarding. He always recognized you when he saw you. He was relatable.”
Public service, so important to Chief Justice Lake, is a core value for Marshall. Her experience as the Secretary of State has deepened her commitment to her values, which also include giving back to the community, protecting the rights of citizens, and treating others with respect and love. She works hard to embody these principles and to improve the lives of North Carolinians.
When asked what this award means to her, she shares, “Service defines us as a nation and society, and it’s a tremendous honor to be recognized for this work. To see the list of people who have also received the award gives me chill bumps. I’m humbled by the selection because there are many other outstanding women leaders in the profession who also deserve recognition as well.”
While Marshall’s career path was a surprise to herself and her family, her interest in the legal profession is rooted in her concern for the well-being of others. Born in Lineboro, Maryland, Marshall grew up on a farm. Since her childhood, she was part of a family who contributed to the lives of others. In her hometown, supporting members of the community was a natural part of life for her family. Her mother was a church organist for more than 50 years. She remembers her father participating in a community-wide barn raising after a fire. She also recalls a time when a local family was unable to take care of their land; her brother stepped in to help by harvesting their crops.
During her teen years, the organization 4-H was particularly instrumental in her life: the leaders encouraged her to broaden her horizons. While still in college, she had the opportunity to spend seven months in a 4-H exchange program in Brazil. For Marshall, travel was a way of embracing new cultures, languages, and ways of life. In Brazil, she lived with 4-H host families and engaged in their daily activities. She has memories of picking fruit and the Brazilian way of processing tobacco.
Speaking of 4-H, she recalls, “The leaders saw something in me, encouraged me, and provided me these opportunities. All young people need them.” She hopes that teens today will similarly challenge themselves to go outside their comfort zone: “It is very beneficial. Now, it has come full-circle. Part of my job is to help young people.” Marshall continues her involvement in 4-H as a volunteer with the program.
Her 4-H leaders encouraged her to attend college. In her hometown, professions for women were limited to teaching and nursing. She graduated with a degree in Textile and Clothing and a career goal of becoming a 4-H Agent.
Her experiences during her early years helped to shape her commitment to public service, and she forged her own path when she decided to continue her education after high school. No one in her family had gone to college. She became the first person in her family to obtain a college degree and to pursue the legal field.
After getting married, Marshall moved from Maryland to Kinston, North Carolina, and began looking for a 4-H job, but no jobs were open. Instead, she began a teaching career in both the public schools and the community college system. Additionally, she opened an interior design business and co-owned a bookstore and a card and gift store.
Later as she began to reconsider her career path, Campbell Law School opened in 1976 in Harnett County. Additionally, she developed a personal relationship with founding dean Leary Davis and his wife Joy, whom she knew from her interior decorating business.
“Dean Davis was looking for survivors for the first classes,” she underscores, “survivors of the knocks of life.” They were especially interested in people who had life experience; she fit the category. Although she was not directly admitted to Campbell Law School, she was admitted to the Performance-Based Admission Program known as PBAP. After her success that summer, she was admitted full-time. “I was an unlikely person to be a lawyer. I shocked my family when I went to law school.” Law school changed the trajectory of her life. Marshall would later receive numerous accolades for her work and service as well as honorary doctorates from Meredith College, Lees-McRae College, and Campbell University.
When she was first elected as Secretary of State in 1996, the agency was in need of many improvements. The most significant one was related to major technology upgrades. “The website was only an address.” During her tenure, she has turned the agency into a national model for e-government services.
As Secretary of State for the last 23 years, Marshall has extensive experience in administrative law, business law, securities law, trademark law, and notarization. One area she is particularly passionate about is the consumer protection side of her position. She hopes to prevent consumers from experiencing fraud or from buying counterfeit products. In doing so, she helps to safeguard people’s finances.
“Education and consumer awareness are very important because counterfeit goods and medicines are often sold to unsuspecting users. I want to keep individuals, especially senior citizens, safe from these scams. I want people to keep their savings.”
Cybersecurity is another high priority for Secretary Marshall. “It is a race without a finish, but one must be ever vigilant.”
Marshall’s commitment to helping others is a key part of her work as Secretary of State, and it is also part of her faith. “Each and every one of us has a gift worthy of making our lives valuable if we do it.” She preaches the golden rule: “We ask staffers to treat someone the way you want to be treated, as Jesus said. We should set an example in the way we treat others.”
The Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr. Public Service Award is traditionally presented at the NCBA Annual Meeting, which was held online this year due to the coronavirus restrictions. Presentation of the award will take place at a later date.
Jessica Junqueira is communications manager of the North Carolina Bar Association.
This article is part of the August 2020 issue of North Carolina Lawyer. Access a curated view of NC Lawyer or view the table of contents.