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Citizen Lawyer Awards Presented

The North Carolina Bar Association recognized the 11th class of Citizen Lawyer Award winners on Thursday, June 21, at the NCBA Annual Meeting in Wilmington. The awards were presented at the Annual Meeting Awards Dinner by Pamela Duffy, co-chair of the Local Bar Outreach Committee which selected the recipients.

The 2018 Citizen Lawyer Award winners are are:

  • Dustin T. Greene, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Winston-Salem
  • Nicholas Long Jr., Old Republic National Title, Raleigh
  • Robert B. Norris, Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, Charlotte
  • Sylvia K. Novinsky, NC Pro Bono Resource Center, Raleigh
  • Linda R. Oldham, Crockett Oldham Pope & Donadio, Southern Pines
  • Donald C. Prentiss, Hornthal Riley Ellis & Maland, Elizabeth City
  • T.J. Solomon II, Gray Layton Kersh Solomon Furr & Smith, Gastonia
  • Donald R. Vaughan, Donald R. Vaughan & Associates, Greensboro
  • Carlton F. Williamson, Williamson Walton & Scott, Whiteville

Dustin T. Greene practices with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton in Winston-Salem. He is a founding board member and former secretary of the Northwest Piedmont Purple Heart Foundation. An Eagle Scout, Greene has served on the Boy Scouts of America Old Hickory Council Executive Board, the Twin City Stage Board of Directors, and as a Twin City Youth Soccer Association coach. He is an advocate for Legal Aid of North Carolina and has devoted some 600 hours to pro bono legal service over the past five years. Greene is a graduate of Appalachian State University and Wake Forest University School of Law.

Nicholas Long Jr. of Raleigh serves as North Carolina State Counsel for Old Republic National Title Co., and is a past chair of the NCBA Real Property Section. Like his father and two sons, Long is an Eagle Scout. He currently represents the Occoneechee Boy Scout Council as the Council Commissioner, one of the Key Three – three key executives on the Occoneechee Boy Scout Council including 9,600 Scouts and 14,600 volunteers – and one of the six voting delegates to the National Convention. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC School of Law.

Robert B. Norris practices with Shumaker Loop & Kendrick in Charlotte. He was a founding partner of the Wishart Norris firm in Burlington, where he co-founded the Foundation Serving Alamance County (now Alamance Foundation), and co-founded and served as president of the Alamance Coalition Against Drug Abuse. In Charlotte, Norris has served as director of the Lynnwood Foundation, serving Duke Mansion and Lee Institute, and NPower Charlotte Region (now Apparo) which provides technology solutions to non-profit organizations. A graduate of Davidson College and Harvard Law School, he also holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sylvia Novinksy is the inaugural director of the NC Pro Bono Resource Center at the NC Equal Access to Justice Commission in Raleigh. While serving as assistant dean for public service programs at the UNC School of Law, she founded the UNC Law Pro Bono Program to encourage student and alumni pro bono participation. Now, Novinsky is a leader in the effort to develop pro bono projects in partnership with legal aid and community organizations as well as provide support for existing pro bono activities. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Washington College of Law at American University.

Linda R. Oldham practices with Crockett Oldham Pope & Donadio in Southern Pines. She has provided volunteer leadership to Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina (board and executive committee chair), North Carolina Jaycees (state vice president), U.S. Jaycees International Senate, Aberdeen First Baptist Church, Aberdeen Lions Club, Moore4Jesus, Sandhills Baptist Association, Moore County Schools, Crystal Lake “SUPPORT” Inc., Moore County Teen Court, Sandhills Business and Professional Women’s Club and Sandhills Interfaith Hospitality. Oldham is a graduate of Sandhills Community College, Saint Andrews Presbyterian College, Campbell Law School, and also holds a master’s degree in English Education from UNC-Pembroke.

Donald C. Prentiss practices with Hornthal Riley Ellis & Maland in Elizabeth City. He has served on the Albemarle Economic Development Commission and Elizabeth City Area Committee of 100, Food Bank of the Albemarle Board of Directors (chair), The Elizabeth City Foundation (chair), and on the board of directors of Albemarle Area United Way, Elizabeth City Chamber of Commerce and Elizabeth City Boys & Girls Clubs. A former State Bar councilor, he also served on the Legal Services of N.C. and the Client Security Fund boards. Prentiss is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Wake Forest University School of Law.

T.J. Solomon II practices with Gray Layton Kersh Solomon Furr & Smith in Gastonia. Solomon is a past president of the Gastonia East Rotary Club, the Aids Council of Gaston County and the Gaston County Bar Association (Judicial District 27-A). He has served on the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Gaston County, the Little Theater of Gaston County, the Heart Society of Gaston County and B.R.E.A.D., and helped establish the Hon. Ralph G. Gingles Jr. Foundation Scholarship and is an advisor member. Solomon is a graduate of Coe College and the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Donald R. Vaughan operates Donald R. Vaughan & Associates in Greensboro. He served from 2009-13 in the N.C. Senate, where he helped lead the effort to pass “Susie’s Law.” Vaughan is a previous and current member of the North Carolina State Banking Commission, and previously served on the North Carolina Courts Commission. He is a former legislative clerk to U.S. Sen. Robert Morgan and former town attorney for Pleasant Garden. Vaughan is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University School of Law, and holds a master’s degree in public administration from American University.

Carlton F. Williamson practices with Williamson Walton & Scott in Whiteville. He is a founding member of the Columbus Regional Healthcare System Foundation Board of Directors, director of the Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences at Whiteville, and provided pro bono counsel to the restoration Whiteville’s historic train depot, Vineland Station. An Eagle Scout and father of an Eagle Scout, Williamson is a longtime member of the Executive Board of the Cape Fear Council of Boy Scouts of America. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University School of Law.