W. Louis Bissette Jr., attorney with McGuire, Wood & Bissette, PA in Asheville, NC, is the latest recipient of the Dr. I. Beverly Lake Public Service Award. The award was presented on Saturday, June 21, at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Bar Association.
The Dr. I.
Beverly Lake Public Service Award was established in 2004 in conjunction with
the I. Beverly Lake Sr. Justice Fund to recognize an outstanding lawyer in
North Carolina who has performed exemplary public service in his or her
community. The voluntary service of this attorney may have occurred with a
nonprofit organization or with a number of groups in the community as well as
through elective or appointive office. Each year nominations are sought from
throughout the legal community including judicial district and voluntary bars.
Mike Wells,
chair of the NCBA Past Presidents’ Council that selected Bissette, made the
presentation. Bissette previously received the Centennial Award and the Citizen
Lawyer Award from the NCBA.
“Lou
Bissette is one of our state’s finest examples of what it means to be a citizen
lawyer,” Wells said. “Long considered one of our state’s finest lawyers, he is
equally viewed as one of North Carolina’s finest civic leaders in a broad array
of significant community and state leadership roles.”
Bissette,
who has practiced law with McGuire Wood & Bissette since 1976, has provided
extraordinary public service throughout his career. He is a former mayor of the
City of Asheville and past president of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, and
currently serves as Vice Chair on the system-wide University of North Carolina
Board of Governors.
“I would like to be able to tell you that my
experience and involvement with community service over the years has been very
difficult and required great personal sacrifice,” Bissette said in accepting
the award, “however, in reality, it has been an incredible experience for me
and for my family. How great is it to serve your community as its mayor and
have the opportunity to know its people and institutions like few others can?
“How great
is it to be involved in the delivery of opportunity through higher education to
students in North Carolina through service to unique institutions like Wake
Forest University, Western Carolina University and the UNC system?”, Bissette
continues. “How great is it to be involved with economic development in your
community through service to the chamber of commerce and other entities that
work to bring jobs and create opportunities for your neighbors and their
families?
“These
opportunities and the many other associations that I have been able to enjoy
over the years have enabled me to be a part of the fabric of my community and
my state and can only be described as ‘priceless.’ “
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