With all due respect to those who say they are self-made and self-sufficient in what they do for a living, I am not one of them. For more than 30 years, I have served in many capacities in the legal field — as an attorney, guardian for children, magistrate and now judge — and I know I couldn’t have done any of it without the assistance of so many good people.
I have friends who ask me, “How in the world does anybody put up with you?”
Back in the Kirby & Kirby days when I began practicing law with my brother Joe and our dad Tom, I would have been totally lost without the hard work and guidance from Linda McKinney and Bernice Robbins, who were way more than secretaries, even though that was the term back then. Later, Sharon Eisenhut and Brenda Williams came aboard, as did Sonya Griffith and Mavis Dimmitt. I can’t thank all of them enough.
For more than 20 of those years I was also a part-time magistrate in both Springboro and Franklin courts, showing up once a week to rule on cases that were neatly arranged in front of me. Thank you, Kelly, Linda, Sharon, Jimmy, J.C, and Stephanie in Springboro, and Sherry, Joyce, Darleene, Dodie, Norma, Sabrina and Nikki in Franklin. Great people, every one of them.
In recent years I’ve worked in the Warren County Domestic Relations Court, first for Judge Tim Oliver and now for the past 16 months as judge. For a long, long time, that court has stood for three essential qualities: fairness, efficiency, and respect. My goal is to keep it that way, and our experienced staff goes a long way to assure it.
Eloisa Kisaberth and Pam Jackson have served the Court for more than 25 years in various positions, now as assignment commissioners. Diana Flint is an outstanding court administrator, taking over for Rhonda Denny, who retired. And Carrie Oliver, Mary Ellen Steele, Deborah Grubb and Rachel Runge are judicial assistants who each have their area of specialty so we can meet all the demands we face. Thank you, everybody.
So as we celebrate Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday, either with a note or a gift or an afternoon off, I wanted to take a second to recognize every single person I have worked with and has meant so much to me over the years. All of you rock.
But before I close this, I have to single out one person in particular.
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I HAVE WORKED WITH Lisa Evans for going on 25 years now, first at Kirby Law for over 20 years and now most recently as my bailiff at the court. I’m pretty sure I could write half a sentence on just about any topic and she could fill in the rest of it with the exact words I wanted to say.
By last count, she has taken 2.5 million phone messages for me, prepared 1.9 million legal documents that bear my signature, and sent me 7.3 million hand-written post-it notes asking me how I preferred to handle a particular issue. I’m sure there was a million times along the way she wanted to strangle me.
My friends would say, “I can see why.”
“Lisa, can you see if Mr. Jones can come in this afternoon?” “Lisa, can we have the trial notebooks ready tomorrow afternoon?” “Lisa, Chloe left her cheer shoes in my car, can you run them up to the school before 2:30?”
Every single time, her response was the same: “Sure, no problem.”
Loyalty goes way beyond just showing up for work. Integrity means more than just doing what has been asked. For all these years, in all kinds of challenging cases and difficult situations, Lisa has proven herself as someone who says all the time, in essence, “I’ve got your back.” And she has.
I appreciate her so much.
It’s like Al Green sang way back in 1971, “We all need somebody to lean on.”
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IF I AM EVER tempted to get full of myself (my friends would say, “Why would you ever?”), I am reminded of a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post.
If the turtle were to brag about his climb to the top, he would need to remember one very important thing: he did not get there alone.
I didn’t, either. Not by a long shot. I’m lucky to have been surrounded by so many great people for such a long time. I am forever grateful.
I have to be. They make me look good.
And my friends would say that is the toughest job of all.
Thanks, everyone. Thank you, Lisa.
(Photo By Scenics By Sarah, Co. LLC)
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