News - Friday, January 31, 2020

The Chattanooga Bar Association’s 122nd annual meeting at The Read House on Jan. 22 put a new spin on the term “lawyer jokes” as the various presenters took turns earning big laughs.

Sam Elliott got the ball rolling during his presentation of the Ralph H. Kelley Humanitarian Award when he said he was surprised to be the best-looking presenter at the meeting.

As a labor and employment attorney, John Harrison spends his days helping employers who want to minimize their exposure to legal risks.

“I spend most of my time on the telephone telling people how not to get in trouble,” he says. “Those are challenging calls, but I feel like I’m helping someone because I’m keeping them from making potentially costly mistakes.”

Miller & Martin attorney Don Aho is one of five new members appointed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments.

The council manages the application process, interviews candidates and makes recommendations to the governor for vacancies in the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and the Tennessee Claims Commission.

Baker Donelson has received a high score on the 2020 Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. The index is administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

During the Chattanooga Bar Association’s annual meeting Jan. 22 at The Read House, Executive Director Lynda Hood asked all the members who have been practicing for 50 or more years to stand. Many attorneys responded.

“Congratulations,” Hood said. “And thank you for your selfless attitude, unquestionable character and commitment to your profession and to making your community a better place.”

Jordan Cornelison found a love for construction at a young age. Since then, his passion has only grown as the company his father and uncle started in their basement in 1993 – P&C Construction – has developed into a national company with projects in 24 states.

Home sales in Chattanooga are predicted to increase by 2% in 2020 despite projections that sales will drop 1.8% nationally. If you’ve never purchased a home, 2020 might be the year you decide to make the biggest investment of your life.

Buying your first home can be both an exciting and daunting experience. There are many steps to take to ensure the transaction goes smoothly. First-time homebuyers sometimes make a few missteps, such as not checking credit scores or talking to only one mortgage lender. Below is a brief guide to helping you avoid mistakes while buying your first home.

In real estate, we hear and often repeat the familiar phrase, “Location is everything.” We all eat, live and think locally.

As a Realtor, I tend to focus on our immediate area. However, to get some perspective, I believe we sometimes need to step back and take a look at housing from a national perspective.

After serving homebuyers and sellers for three years, Laura Beauchamp has made an important decision about the future of her career: She wants to be a residential real estate rock star.

Not that Beauchamp will be turning down commercial work. She says she’ll continue to focus on “all the residential and commercial pieces of real estate,” as she finds every avenue of the industry “fascinating.”

Marcus & Millichap, a commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, has listed Parkway Towers in Chattanooga.

“This historic building will gather a lot of attention from developers, not only because of its location but also for its high visibility on the city skyline,” says Peter Malone, senior associate.

There’s a scene in “Marriage Story,” a new drama streaming on Netflix, that made me laugh harder than I have in a while. In it, a man who’s trying to convince a social worker he’s a good father accidentally cuts himself with a pocket knife while demonstrating a game he plays with his young son. As he grips his arm to stop the profuse bleeding, he tries to casually play off the seriousness of the wound.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has released the 2020 Online Citizen’s Survey.

The survey is open to all Hamilton County residents who wish to offer feedback on the services the sheriff’s office provides.

“This survey is a way for us to see how we’re doing as a law enforcement agency,” says Sheriff Jim Hammond. “It gives the citizens of Hamilton County an opportunity to voice their concerns and tell us what we’re doing right and what we can do better.”

Southern Lit will host author Jeffrey Blount on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 6 p.m., at Bessie Smith Cultural Center as part of its South Bound Lecture Series. Blount is the author of three novels: “Hating Heidi Foster,” “Almost Snow White” and “The Emancipation of Evan Walls.” He retired from his position as the producer of NBC News in 2017. During his 34-year career, Blount produced several NBC shows, won an Emmy and directed a decade of “Meet The Press,” “The Today Show,” “NBC Nightly News,” “The Chris Matthews Show” and major special events. The event is free but reservations are requested. Reserve a seat.

The Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center will open to the public Saturday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m. The public is invited to join at least 15 visiting Medal of Honor recipients and numerous national, state and local dignitaries at 10 a.m. for a ribbon-cutting ceremony that will culminate a three-year campaign to build the Heritage Center in Chattanooga – the heart of where the medal’s heritage started nearly 158 years ago.

Kyra Elzy remembers her exit meeting with Pat Summitt like it was yesterday.

Elzy had just completed her senior season at the University of Tennessee in 2001, and Summitt assured Elzy she would always be in her corner.

“One last thing she said is I will walk over water for you as long as I have a breath in my body,” Elzy says. “That memory will forever fulfill my heart.”

Most people know Joel Sartore as a National Geographic photographer. For the last 15 years, however, one of Sartore’s primary career ambitions has resembled the work of a lobbyist.

And his client? All the animals on the planet.

“About 15 years ago, I thought about concentrating on a single project: an introduction to the world’s biodiversity using studio portraits,” Sartore writes. “This gives all creatures an equal voice since there’s no size comparison, and it allows us to see animals we’ve never even heard of before.”