News - Friday, April 10, 2015

The solo practitioner is a unique breed in the practice of law. Rather than becoming a smaller member of a larger body, he’s on his own in a way no other attorney is. He’s a firm of one, the only named partner, and his success or failure rides solely on his efforts. It’s a brave endeavor.

As the CEO and executive vice president of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors, Carol Seal is committed to doing whatever she can to ensure it offers the best possible services to its members and the general public. She’s also fully focused on making sure the organization is healthy, strong, and moving forward.

(The purpose of this monthly column is to discuss problems common to Chattanooga attorneys. To the extent a personal opinion occasionally slips out, such opinions do not reflect the opinions of the Board of Governors of the Chattanooga Bar Association or of the Hamilton County Herald.)

With over 40 years of legal experience, including nearly a decade handling collections for law firms, attorney Art Grisham knows a thing or two about the devastating effects of debt. Now he’s taking what he’s learned and using it to help consumers who are experiencing problems with overbearing creditors.

Dale Buchanan and Associates has hired attorney Luke H. Neder. The firm, which specializes in social security disability matters, recruited Neder to develop a personal injury and workers’ compensation practice.

Neder has experience representing plaintiffs in personal injury actions in a variety of contexts. He has represented insurance companies and defended insured parties. He has experience in jury and bench trials and appears in state and federal court.

The American Bar Foundation (ABF) recently announced the nomination of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel attorney Rosemarie Hill to its fellowship program. The Foundation issues fellowship invitations to those attorneys, judges, and legal scholars who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievements and an unyielding dedication to the welfare of their home communities.

Next week, we observe the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day has inspired millions of people to take action to improve the environment. But the lessons of environmentalism can also be applied to other areas of life — such as investing. Specifically, as an investor, you may well want to follow the “three Rs”: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Whether you’re currently in the market to buy or sell property, it’s hard not to notice advertising campaigns from national real estate listing sites touting their number of listings or the accuracy of their data. What the general public might not be aware of is a national race, if you will, for who has “all” of the listing data. This is a battle Realtors face on a daily basis.

From left to right, Keller Williams team leaders Charlotte Mabry, Jim Lea, and Mark Hite host a panel discussion for local real estate agents about how to build their business.

The meeting took place prior to a free vendor fair at Black Creek Clubhouse on Tuesday. The event featured dozens of vendors whose products and services benefit Realtors. The proceeds will go directly to Chambliss Center for Children.

For most of its running time, “Furious 7” is a terrible movie. All of the hallmarks that have earned this series notoriety are on full display: a ludicrous plot, insane stunts, laughable dialogue, and schmaltzy emoting about family and taking “one last ride.” At this point, though, I have to believe the filmmakers are doing it on purpose. No one writes a script this bad without knowing it.

Dominion Senior Living of Hixson will soon begin construction on a 47,000 square foot, $8 million assisted living and memory care community. Serving 84 residents, the community will be located at 2143 Northpoint Boulevard in Hixson.

Services will include therapy and wellmess programs, on-site enrichment activities, and 24-hour care. The community will also feature four large courtyards with picnic areas, games, and botanical gardens, as well as sensory gardens designed to engage residents living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Cabela’s will celebrate the grand opening of its new Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., store on Wednesday, May 13, with a unique ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a weekend-long celebration featuring giveaways, family activities, and more.

This column was originally published in the Hamilton County Herald on April 18, 2014.

I love roasted vegetables. The flavor that comes about when roasting a vegetable as opposed to steaming or boiling one is completely different. Take carrots or sweet potatoes, for instance. When you boil carrots or sweet potatoes in water, they taste exactly the same as if they were raw. However, if you take those same two vegetables, cut them into bite-size pieces, and stick them in the oven to roast for about 20 minutes or so, you’ll get an entirely different taste. They come out of the oven all caramelly and sweet.

There was a blurb in last week’s “The Week,” about a Washington State motorist who tried to pull a fast one. He was traveling in the carpool lane and had a cardboard cutout of the “most interesting man in the world” riding shotgun. After he was pulled over and given a ticket, the state trooper tweeted: “I don’t always violate the HOV lane law… but when I do, I get a $124 ticket.”

^“Done! Done!” That’s what I heard, almost simultaneously, as 300 voices cheered, 300 voices groaned, and 600 people stood and applauded. Including me, there on the front row in the Stamford, Conn., Marriott ballroom, venue of the 2015 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

Since I no longer drive to work, I’m now pleasantly awakened each weekday to the sound of my favorite radio station, WSM, and the Bill Cody program. “Cody In The Morning” is one way I start the day, and have been doing so for some time. His radio show is like a radio program should be on a station with a legacy like WSM. It’s always been a mainstay in my family, and has also been around ever since I came into this world. As a matter of fact, we had an old brown Philco radio bought at the local Firestone store that sat on top of the white, green-trimmed cabinet in the kitchen that only would pick up “The Air Castle of South.” I still think it ought to be the law that all kitchen radios be tuned to a local AM station and the radio knobs pulled off so the station can’t be changed.

This column was originally published in the Hamilton County Herald on April 18, 2014. 

April 22 marks the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, a day set aside to bring awareness to and promote appreciation for the Earth’s environment. How much do you know about Earth Day? Take this quiz – maybe learn something new!

If you follow my articles at all then by now you know I have children; three small children to be exact. With small children comes stickers, gum, Sharpie on the walls, crayons and glitter. All this and more leaves a small amount of time for cleaning. That is, until I discovered an awesome post on the many wonderful uses of WD-40.

Lunchtime Jazz 

at Miller Plaza

Jazzanooga will host the Brown Bag Music Series on Fridays in April. The concerts will take place at the Waterhouse Pavilion from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Scheduled to perform this month are: Dana Rogers, Nikki Ellis, and Shane Morrow. The event is part of Jazzanooga’s Big Nine Jazz Series, events held to animate MLK Boulevard.