Career Support, Friendship and Role Models
Equal Success at AWA Event Jan.
17
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| Photograph by Ben Harrison |
MEMPHIS,
TENN. (Jan. 23, 2013)…The Tower Center at Clark Tower, with its beautiful
backdrop of arched windows and neon lighting, was brimming with camaraderie
among nearly 200 attorneys, judges, educators and law students Jan. 17 during
the 33rd annual Association for Women Attorneys (AWA) Banquet and
Silent Auction. That sentiment of
friendship among colleagues, mentors and mentees was echoed in the acceptance
speech made by the evening’s honoree, U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge Paulette J. Delk, AWA’s 24th recipient of the Marion Griffin-Frances Loring
Award for outstanding achievement in the legal profession. AWA Banquet
Co-Chairs this year were Keating Lowery, attorney with Lawrence & Russell, PLC and
Diana Comes, law clerk to the Hon. Ronald L. Gilman, United States Court of Appeals for the
Sixth Circuit. AWA’s Silent
Auction serves as a fundraiser for law student scholarships to the University
of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. The Marion Griffin-Frances Loring award is named after its very first
recipient, Frances Grant Loring and Marion Griffin, the first woman to be
elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. Judge Delk also inducted the new 2013
AWA board of officers and chairpersons and led the oath of office.
As the evening’s program progressed,
2011 AWA President Lucie K. Brackin, partner at The Landers Firm, and 2012 AWA
President Emily C. Taube, partner at Adams and Reese LLC, introduced the AWA
2013 President Frances M. Riley, law clerk to the Bankruptcy Judges of the Western District. Riley reminded of the rich history of AWA,
dating back to 1975, and shared that the goals set nearly four decades ago are
as relevant as they are today, noting the list of prestigious honorees who were
former recipients of the Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award. Looking to the future, her goals included
introducing a new professional- to-professional
program to match attorneys with one another for the enhancement of the practice
of law, as well as expanding the current mentoring
program. “Shared knowledge and
improved skills benefit us all.”
Earlier in the evening, AWA
Scholarship Chair Anita Lotz, attorney with Farris
Bobango Branan PLC, recognized the scholarship
recipients, University of Memphis Cecil C.
Humphreys School of Law students Angela Denise Harris
(Judge Rita Stotts Scholarship, $2250); Jessica H. Chandler (Dorothy Osradker
Scholarship, $2250); and Kaycee Roberts Arnold ($1000 scholarship).
At the close of the program,
guests were given an extra 10 minutes to make their final silent auction
bids. The diverse items included gift cards to select area
restaurants including Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Alchemy Memphis, Napa Café, McEwen's on Monroe, Miss Cordelia's, and The
Parsonage Bakery & Deli in Marion, Ark., as well as works by local artists
such as a painting by Betsy Brackin, handmade wood furniture by South Front
Fine Furniture, hand-painted pillowcases by Metal & Mud Designs and McCarty’s
Pottery. Guests also
were given the opportunity to bid on performances to the IRIS Orchestra, Ballet Memphis, The Orpheum and Theater Memphis plus a dual membership to Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and a one-hour massage and facial from
Ryan Patrick® Salon. In addition, there
were assorted gift baskets, upscale accessories, knitted baby clothes, and gift certificates to Pavo Salon Spa, Book Traders and Tennessee Massage & Bodywork. The silent auction is a means of raising funds to support
the law student scholarships to the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
