News - Friday, June 10, 2011

Equal justice for all citizens took center stage on May 26 as attorneys, judges, paralegals and summer associates filled the elegant confines of Lindsay Street Hall to observe Pro Bono Night 2011: An Evening with the Stars.

Hosted by the Pro Bono Committee of the Chattanooga Bar Association, the Young Lawyers Division of the bar and Legal Aid of East Tennessee, the event honored the members of the bar and bench who donate their time and talent to help low-income members of the Scenic City community achieve access to justice.

Attorney Wade Hinton has impressive credentials. Since he came home to Chattanooga in 1999 to practice law, he’s been the president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Chattanooga Bar Association, served on the bar association’s board of governors, and completed the Tennessee Bar Association’s Leadership Law program.

Sunday, June 11

Dr. David A. Lock-miller, president of Ohio Wesleyan University and former president of the University of Chattanooga, was presented the honorary degree of Doctor of Hum-ane Letters at the 47th annual commencement of the American University in Washington, D.C., Sunday night.

I spent time reflecting in the Levison Towers Meditation center this week. I believe this suite on the 18th floor was supposed to be a “Mediation” center where clients would come and work out their disputes. The good folks at Mike’s Diskount Sygns thought differently and misspelled the placards in the lobby and halls. Rather than repaint and admit that a mistake was made, the partners decided to add a rock garden and pipe in pan flute music. We still hold mediations here, by the way. They are just more zen.

This year’s Tennessee legislature debated a long list of subjects from handguns to honey bees, but none of them was as “refreshing” as the content of Senate Bill 0912 and House Bill 0580 back in 2004, making milk the official beverage of Tennessee.

Pull up a chair, its time for “The Otis Head Show.”

For 56 years, thousands of North Georgians have sought a weekly dose of down-home charm and bluegrass music from this beloved radio personality.

As a child, when I visited my grandparents, his show was always a welcome favorite.

Last Saturday was moving day for mom who is as excited as a kid at Christmas about her new digs. I met the movers early on Saturday morning at her house. I arrived before them so I could do some prep work. By the time they got there I was sweating pretty good. Yes it was hot. How hot was it?

The column about my knee evoked a record amount of viewer mail. Evidently, many folk have joint pain issues.

My PRP injection was one month ago, and my knee feels better than it has in years. On a couple days there’s been some semblance of the old pain, as after three days of golf and yard work Memorial Day weekend.

The last time I visited the Warner Park Zoo, Hank the monkey was still alive and the famed centerpiece of the Zoo. Unfortunately, Hank, the oldest resident of the Zoo at 42 years old, passed away early this year.

I found it nothing short of amazing to see the outpouring of support from the community after Hank’s death. Local papers wrote stories about the famed chimp, he was featured on the front of the Zoo’s ChattaZooga Magazine and a party was even thrown in his honor.

The Memorial Day weekend provided more than enough material for my column. Where to start? Like all good detectives, I will start at the beginning: Friday night. I started the weekend off with a rowdy bang: I bought eyeglasses. After looking around JCPenney Optical for about 45 minutes and trying on about 130 pairs of glasses, I settled on one pair.

They say the economy’s getting better.

They say things are looking up, that business is starting to recover.

But they couldn’t prove it by you. For months now, you’ve been spinning your wheels in the sand, your dreams on hold along with your life. You’re wondering if the economy is to blame or if there’s something else…

By Kay Bona

The inspiration for my trivia puzzle today came from one of our sons. He just got back from some training in the desert of California and was telling us about the Kangaroo Mouse, a little rodent that I never knew existed. Here are some more interesting critters!

Melissa Harrison is a Realtor of many talents. The wide range of activities, classes, and endeavors she has undertaken since she began real estate in 1998 has led to her current success as a skilled professional including her designation last year as a multi-million dollar producer for Crye-Leike in Ft. Oglethorpe.

Minor details on well-known downtown Chattanooga buildings have stories all their own Krista Seckinger, co-owner of Chattanooga Sidewalk Tours, tells those she tours with.

One example is a Star of David engraved into the structure of the Dome Building that illuminates the heritage of New York Times and Chattanooga Times owner Adolph Ochs whose office once resided at this location. Another is the face of Andrew Jackson that is overlooked almost everyday from where he gazes out from his position over the doors of the Volunteer Building.

These days, a buyer’s biggest concern shouldn’t be so much about finding the lowest interest rate, but finding a lender who will approve their application. There are three basic types of mortgage providers, each regulated by a different agency, and following different disclosure laws.

I had a dear family friend, Dale Evans, passed away recently, and needless to say, Dale will be missed at every family function. However, this past week, I received an unexpected gift of something that belonged to him.

I met Dale around 16 years ago in Arlington, Texas. He was a good friend of my husband, Don, and constant companion to Judy, Don’s sister. My relationship with Dale started when Don and I decided to get married in Arlington. It just so happened that Dale and his sister, Jesse, managed a catering business, and knew a Baptist Minister; so the rest was history. Dale, Judy, and Jesse got busy cooking, and we had the sweetest wedding with the best food around at Jesse’s house. Sweet, dear memories.

During its opening weekend, “The Hangover: Part II” grossed enough money to end poverty in a small third world country, even though it received generally bad reviews. I believe the reason for its success is simple: viewers want to know how the sad sacks at the center of the movie ended up in a strange city with no memory of how they got there.

A Champion Agent must show that, in terms of net dollars, the client will make more money. Being able to sell to the client’s inherent greed factor creates an advantage. The discount agents are selling to the greed factor through fee structure reduction. We have to engage in this game as well but by using truth in net dollars. The successful businessperson raises their value and enlarges the whole pie, so the piece they are requiring for their services is small. We can demonstrate more money from the sale through what we at Real Estate Champions call the Big 3. We have been teaching the Big 3 for almost a decade. It has become fashionable with many of the major brands that are beginning to teach it to their agents, as well.