PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By: Cheryl G. Rice
Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis, P.C.
FRIENDS AND FAMILY November is here. The year is drawing to a close, and I find myself thinking, as I seem to do more and more often in recent years, “How can that be? This year has flown by!” I love fall, and I especially look forward to November each year. In November, we finally have sweater weather. November brings the official start of basketball season. I enjoy watching my husband and other men I know take on “No Shave November” for a cause. Last and certainly not least, as October ends and November begins, I start looking forward to the season of gatherings with family, friends, and colleagues, and one of the highlights of that season for me is Thanksgiving. Like many, I enjoy the Thanksgiving meal, but more significant to me is the opportunity to gather with those I care about. For many years, our firm held a “Firm Thanksgiving” during the week of Thanksgiving. We all brought in food and the entire firm, from the most senior attorney to the newest runner, turned off the phone, paused our workday and enjoyed a traditional holiday meal together, mid-day, in the office. Though the size of that gathering has grown and the meal has moved to early December, the firm’s tradition remains, as does the firm’s reason behind it: to recognize, as an organization, the many blessings we have received, including the clients we are privileged to serve and our opportunity to work with one another in that service. More than just the official Thanksgiving holiday, the whole of November is a season of gratitude. Rev. Dr. Mark Roberts says, “Gratitude is like savoring a fine meal, enjoy every bite, rather than racing through a meal as if it’s some sort of race.” In 2019 at the KBA’s inaugural Wellness Conference, local radio and television talk show host Hallerin Hill kicked off the programming with plenary remarks that focused on finding joy in our lives. He explored the concept of gratitude and suggested the first step to finding joy is to align our minds, each day, by naming three things for which we are grateful that day. This practice helps our brain chemistry to bring about a state of peace and joy, and also hope for the future. So, while our national day of giving thanks is still a few weeks away, I’d like to encourage us all to practice gratitude this month. I’m going to start now by sharing a few bits of my own gratitude with you. In this season of thanks-giving, I want to recognize a few of the many people who have contributed to making 2021 a great year for the KBA and, in turn, a great experience for me as KBA President. First and foremost, I am grateful to my husband, Bill, and to my firm, Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis, P.C., for supporting me in this role. You’re the best. I am deeply grateful for KBA Executive Director Marsha Watson and her team: Tracy Chain, Chandler Fletcher, Jonathan Guess, Jeannie Matthews, and Tammy Sharpe. They are the “sine qua non” of the KBA--all that the KBA does, it does thanks to their involvement and support! I also want to thank the current KBA Board of Governors, our Committee and Section Chairs, and each Committee member, through whom the work of the KBA is carried out. And, I want to express special thanks to this year’s President of the KBA Barristers, Amanda Tonkin. Amanda has shown grace, strength, flexibility, optimism, and leadership November 2021
as President of the Barristers. And the Barristers continue, as they have for many years, to give of themselves greatly to better our bar and our community. Looking at the Barristers, it’s clear to me that the future of the KBA is bright. I’m also pleased that the KBA has experienced increased access to and participation in the efforts of the KBA as a result of embracing technology. I am especially glad the KBA has been able to, at least in some forms, safely gather members together in person to work, learn, and build relationships over this year. Those events have been and continue to bring joy to me and many others who have missed the chance to gather as we did in past. Last but not least, I also want to express my gratitude for each of you as KBA members. I’m appreciative of the so many of you who have said “yes” without hesitation when approached by me, to Marsha or to another KBA leader to serve the in some way. While every organization needs leaders, the KBA does not exist or have success without its members. And what members we have! Members who write; members who edit; members who study and consider rule changes; members who educate others; members who support one another; members who explore the future of the law and our society and are willing to share their ideas, successes and failures to help better us all; members who plan ways for us to connect with one another outside of the practice of law; members who show up and participate, both virtually and in person; members who support the judicial system in Knoxville and beyond; members who share their gifts with the bar and with our community at large in many different ways. If you are reading this article, I’m talking about you. If you scroll through your own list of contacts or thumb through the KBA Directory, I’m sure you can think of numerous KBA members who fit one or more of these categories. We are blessed to have a diverse range of interests and talents reflected within the KBA. I am truly thankful for my increased involvement in the KBA as President this year. At times it has been challenging (and I’m sure that will continue for the next little bit), but overwhelmingly it has been rewarding and fun. I’m glad for the chance to have met so many KBA members whom I did not previously know and to better my relationships with many of you I already knew. I invite you to join fellow members for the KBA Fall Hike on November 6th, get involved in a Committee or Section, or find another way to better connect with the KBA—you will be glad you did. More than 20 years ago, a good friend told me that I was forever a part of his family. As a part of that conversation, he told me something that I’ve kept with me ever since. I had never heard it before, but now I see it on greeting cards and social media posts. He said, “Friends are the family we make for ourselves.” As life brings me more experience, these words continue ring true. I’m thankful for each of you and grateful that I can count so many of you as a part of my chosen family.
DICTA
Happy thanks-giving!
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