The Tennessee Justice Center will honor nine leaders in the legal profession as inaugural inductees into TJC’s Hall of Fame for their contributions in establishing and supporting the organization over its 20-year history. The honorees will be officially recognized at TJC’s 20th Anniversary dinner on Nov. 12 at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville.
The nine inductees are:
Margaret Behm, Nashville - treasurer of TJC’s first board of directors;
Mike Cody, Memphis - former Tennessee Attorney General and early board member of TJC who promoted the organization’s credibility throughout the state;
Riney Dodd, Nashville - president of TJC’s first board of directors;
Harlan Dodson, Nashville - drafted the incorporating papers and was one of the main incorporators of the TJC;
Harris Gilbert, Nashville – past Tennessee Bar Association president who organized bar leaders to establish TJC;
David Herbert, Nashville - helped secure funding for TJC as former Tennessee Bar Foundation chair;
Lowry Kline, Chattanooga - helped secure funding for TJC as former Tennessee Bar Foundation chair;
Howard Vogel, Knoxville - past Tennessee Bar Association president who organized bar leaders to establish TJC, and;
Ashley Wiltshire, Nashville – former executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee who led other legal services directors to sacrifice their own funding so that the Tennessee Bar Foundation could fund TJC.
"We are thrilled to induct these visionary leaders into our Hall of Fame for their collective generosity and efforts to create the Tennessee Justice Center,” said Michele Johnson, TJC’s executive director. “This group brought TJC to life 20 years ago when Congress impaired the American ideal of equal justice under law by restricting the funding of legal services programs across the country. Their vision has ensured access to justice for thousands of our neighbors across Tennessee.”
The Tennessee Justice Center is a non-profit public interest law and advocacy firm serving families in Tennessee. It gives priority to policy issues and civil cases in which the most basic necessities of life are at stake and where advocacy can benefit needy families statewide. TJC works to empower its clients by holding government accountable for its policies and actions.
TJC was established in 1996 and is at 301 Charlotte Ave. in Nashville. For additional information about the Tennessee Justice Center and its services, call 615.255-0331.