Archive for the ‘ Community participation ’ Category

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9
May

Thomas Henson Jr. Chairs NC Tour de Cure

The Tour de Cure is the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) annual fundraising cycling event. The Tour—held in 44 states nationwide—is a ride, not a race. During the two-day event, cyclists can ride 10 miles or 150 miles. The object is to ride, to come together with like-minded people, not to “endure.”

Now, for the third year in a row, HensonFuerst attorney Thomas Henson Jr. is serving as chair of the North Carolina’s Tour de Cure, which will take place June 2 and 3 in Cary, North Carolina.

“Thomas’s leadership and professionalism are key to the success of our event,” said Katie-Rose Darby, an associate manager of the American Diabetes Association. “He puts his words into action, and we’re inspired to surpass our goals.”

The ADA is expecting approximately 700 participants in the North Carolina Tour this year, up from 525 cyclists last year. In addition to chairing the Tour, Henson will be leading the HensonFuerst Cycling Team in the event. The team comprises 40 members of all skill levels—beginners, recreational riders, and advanced athletes. The team has raised more than $70,000 during the last four Tours, and was named one of the national Tour de Cure Top 100 Fundraisers for the past two years. This year, team members are setting the bar high and working hard to keep their fundraising title for a third year in a row.

“The biggest challenge as chair of the Tour is growing the event to the proportion it deserves,” said Henson, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 9. “I want our community to understand the importance of this event. The Tour helps combat diabetes by raising funds to find a cure for the disease, providing education to those living with diabetes, and teaching ways to prevent and treat for diabetes. I’m not just doing the Tour de Cure for myself. I’m doing this for everyone who has been affected by diabetes. Together, we will find a cure.”

Henson, who rides his bike between 70 and 100 miles per week, says the hardest part about riding in the Tour is managing his blood sugar levels and insulin regulation during the six-hour athletic endeavor.

Anyone interested in joining the HensonFuerst Cycling Team can contact Henson at ThomasHenson@lawmed.com for more information. To support the HensonFuerst Cycling Team with a donation, click here:  HensonFuerst donation

There also are volunteer opportunities available for the Tour. Contact Katie-Rose Darby for more information at kdarby@diabetes.org.

About the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure

The Tour de Cure is the nation’s largest event to raise money to fight diabetes. Thousands of riders and teams have participated in the event since its inception in 1991. Last year, more than 55,000 cyclists raised almost $18 million to support the ADA’s mission to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

The HensonFuerst Health Initiative

The Tour de Cure is one of many projects and events to which the members of HensonFuerst devote their time. To recognize the importance of giving back to the community, the personal injury law firm established the HensonFuerst Health Initiative, a comprehensive plan that encompasses all of the law firm’s community and service efforts. The initiative encourages both community and firm members to prevent injuries, improve health and fitness, and aid organizations committed to bettering health and well-being.

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12
Mar

Lights…Camera…NC Students Take Action for Bicycle Safety

It is one of our favorite times of the year:  Time for our annual “My PSA Contest!” for North Carolina high school and middle school students.

Each year, HensonFuerst Attorneys holds a bicycle safety public service announcement (PSA) video contest for local middle and high school students. The goal is to prevent serious accidents and injuries, and to help young people understand the importance of using proper riding skills, obeying traffic rules, and understanding helmet safety. The contest gives students a chance to make a difference and be creative while keeping everyone on the road safe and accident‐free.

“We’ve been helping victims of traumatic brain injuries for more than 20 years and understand the life‐altering consequences associated with these types of injuries,” said avid cyclist and attorney Thomas Henson Jr. “We want this contest to bring more awareness to safe cycling and accident prevention.”

How the Contest Works

The contest has two age categories: grades 6 to 8 and grades 9 to 12. Students must enter video PSAs, which should address the importance of bicycle safety. PSAs will be judged on students’ abilities to analyze the topic and produce a quality video. Entries must be submitted no later than Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

Prizes will be given to the students who produce the first‐place entries in each age category. The winning students can choose between an Apple MacBook with movie‐making software or a $1,500 gift card. The winning students’ schools also will receive monetary donations. Of the two winning entries, one will be selected to air on local television.

To see a complete list of rules, enter a PSA, and vote for your favorite videos, visit www.LawMed.com/contest/.

According to Sarah O’Brien, Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager at the Institute for Transportation Research & Education at North Carolina State University:

“Approximately five percent of all bicycle fatalities in North Carolina involve a cyclist under the age of 16. Through a 2011 public involvement process we conducted, people from across the state made it clear they feel North Carolina has a priority to raise awareness about bicycle and pedestrian safety through educational messages. The PSA contest conducted annually by HensonFuerst is a great tool to not only get the ‘rules of the road’ out to our citizens, but to also provide a valuable learning experience to our youth.”

How the Contest Began

Four years ago, the firm represented the husband of a local cyclist who was killed by a motorist while riding her bike. Members of the firm pledged all of the attorney fees from the case to fund bike safety awareness programs, such as the PSA contest and a series of cycling safety videos.

Past Winners on the Road to Success

We recently caught up with winners from 2011. Here’s what they told us:

Kyle Messina, who won first place in the highschool category last year with his friend and fellow filmmaker Frank Brechbiel:  “Since the contest, I’ve shot multiple films—one being a music video for the band Onward, Soldiers—which was screened at the Cucalorus Film Festival. The contest definitely helped us gain experience in film.”

Makaila Roberts, who won first place in the middle school category last year:  “I still love making videos. With my prize, I bought a green screen set, a video camera, and movie‐making software. Thank you so much for this opportunity! It really boosted my confidence and helped me move forward in my future career.”

We’re proud of all the students who submit videos–they are talented and passionate about their safety messages…and we’re looking forward to seeing the 2012 entries! Don’t forget: The deadline is April 18, 2012. For  complete rules, information, and videos from previous years, visit www.lawmed.com.

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26
Oct

Halloween Booze It & Lose It 2011

“Booze It & Lose It” is a safety campaign run by the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP). It becomes active during high-alcohol holiday seasons. Halloween fits that description.

Starting Friday, October 28 through Monday, October 31, North Carolina will have checkpoints and stepped-up patrols in an effort to remove impaired drivers from the roads. How much of a force will be rallied? Well, in 2010, the 3-day Halloween Booze It & Lose It campaign, the 2388 checkpoints and patrols racked up more than 19,000 traffic and criminal violations. This included 774 DWIs, 405 drug violations, and 5547 speeding/reckless driving tickets.

The on-going goal of Booze It & Lose It is to make sure that drunk drivers (those who “booze it”) lose their driving privileges. In North Carolina, the first conviction for driving while impaired (DWI) requires mandatory revocation of your driver’s license for one year, and you will also pay a fine and spend up to 2 years in jail. If you get a second conviction within three years of the first, you lose your license for four years and you will also face jail time. With a third conviction (when at least one of the prior convictions was within the last 5 years), your drivers license is permanently revoked.

To read more about the facts of DWI in North Carolina and the Booze It & Lose It campaign, click here:  Save a life…Drive sober.

This Halloween weekend, party responsibly…and please don’t drink and drive. If you get stopped for DWI, it won’t matter how good your costume is, there will be no treats waiting for you in jail.

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23
Oct

HensonFuerst Participates in 2011 NCAJ Food Drive

Every year, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) holds a food drive to help the community. This far-reaching food drive will benefit people in central and eastern North Carolina, including Wake, Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash, and Wilson Counties. The NCAJ Dare to Care:  Feed Those in Need Food Drive will run from Monday, November 7 through Friday, November 11, and HensonFuerst Attorneys will be doing their part to help.

If you would like to donate to this very worthy cause, here are the details:

WHEN: Officially, the food drive starts Monday, November 7 through Friday, November 11. But we have put the boxes in place already, so you can start donating between 8am to 5pm, from now through November 11.

WHERE: Both our main offices:

  • RALEIGH: 2501 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 390; Raleigh, NC 27607.
  • ROCKY MOUNT: 2317 Sunset Ave; Rocky Mount, NC 27804.

TO DONATE FUNDS: We will gladly accept cash donations. You can drop off checks at our Raleigh or Rocky Mount offices, but give them to the receptionists instead of dropping them in the donation box. Please make checks payable to “Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.”

The NCAJ is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association dedicated to protecting people’s rights through professional and community legal education, championing individual rights, and protecting the safety of North Carolina’s families. For more information, you can visit their website at www.ncaj.com.

If you have specific questions about the food drive, please contact the drive coordinator, April McKee, at amckee@lawmed.com.

Thank you!

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14
Sep

HensonFuerst Proud to Support the ALS Association

ALS is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), a neurologic disorder that causes the degeneration of nerves that control voluntary muscle movement. It is a vicious disease that slowly erodes a person’s ability to function.

HensonFuerst Attorneys has long been a proud supporter of the mission of the Jim “Catfish” Hunter chapter of the ALS Association. In July, our firm sponsored the 6th Annual Outreach Professionals Conference for people who run ALS support groups across the state.

In the latest issue of The Catfish Care Spotlight, the ALS Association’s care services publication, two of the attendees wrote about their experience. They are so eloquent that we wanted to share their thoughts with you:

Our Experience at the Outreach Professionals Conference

By Roz MacGuire and Annette Beam, Outreach Professionals for the Unifour Resource and Caregiver Support Groups

The Facilitator’s Conference held on July 30 was an answer to so many issues/questions for those of us working with PALS and CALS through our support groups across the state. The presentation on Respiratory Issues and ALS by Theresa Johnston-Crews, RN and Connie Paladenach, RT was very well thought out. Even a non-medical person (like me) could grasp the respiratory teaching and the hands-on equipment demonstration was very helpful. It was a relief to hear others ask questions that have plagued my mind for months. These ladies really made us feel like part of the WFUBH ALS Team!

The problem solving segment of the conference was also critical in helping us identify and handle some key issues around helping those living with ALS.

Another great advantage of this meeting was the opportunity to meet all the new chapter staff, get updated on fund raising successes (yea!!) and meet with the other Outreach Professionals. Meeting a Board member, Ed Miles, showed us the deep commitment of this important group of ALS activists. I am personally so grateful to be able to put a face to a name and have great contacts “in all the right places”!

Each year at the Conference, we take time to reflect on the lives of PALS who passed away over the last year. It is always sobering. It’s hard to believe that our little Unifour group lost 4 members. Obviously, all the Outreach Professionals have been as deeply connected to their patients as have we.

Thanks again to HensonFuerst. We were delighted to be given time to relax and discuss our concerns with others who share a loving commitment to this special group of people.

We are thrilled to support this amazing organization.

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6
Sep

6th Annual Outreach Professional’s Conference for ALS

conference dinner

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a thief. It robs its victims of the ability to move arms and legs, to eat without choking, to breathe. Eventually, this insidious disease robs them of life, and steals the future from their families.

One of our founding partners, Bob Fuerst, is on the board of directors of the Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter of the ALS Association. His dedication to this very worthwhile cause rallies us all to support the activities of the ALS Association.

For the third year, HensonFuerst Attorneys is proud to have supported the annual Outreach Professional’s Conference. Sue Humphries, Director of Care Services for the local chapter of the ALS Association, filled us in on what happened at this year’s event:

We had a wonderful conference and the evaluations continued to be complementary of the education we provide. This year’s main topic addressed Artificial Ventilation as a choice for ALS patients, presented by Theresa Johnston-Crews, RN, BSN, MBA, and Connie Paladenech, RRT, RCP. Our social workers around the state find we are dealing with this choice more often than we used to, so the information was timely and valuable.

Thank you to all the tireless people who run the Jim “Catfish” Hunter Chapter. You make lives better.

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6
Sep

Congratulations Again, Terrell Grice!

The 2010 winner of our “My PSA Contest!” was Terrell Grice of Fayetteville. We received the following update from Terrell’s high school video teacher (Patricia Barnard, of Douglas Byrd High School):

Terrell Grice has graduated and is now attending Full Sail University in Florida after receiving a generous scholarship based on his video work. He won first place in the NC SkillsUSA Contest called “TV production skills.” He also competed at the SkillsUSA National Conference in June 2011 in Kansas City, Missouri, representing all of North Carolina. He completed a full length movie, which showcased this summer at Douglas Byrd High School, and was attended by our school board members and our School Superintendent, Dr. Till.

Terrell’s prize of an Apple MacBook computer with Final Cut Pro software allowed him to achieve his dreams by extending classroom learning into the workplace. Thank you, HensonFuerst, for supporting the TV and video programs across the state of North Carolina.

We say: Thank YOU, Patricia. We love to hear that HensonFuerst’s MY PSA CONTEST! has such a profound impact on North Carolina students. While we are delighted to help nurture Terrell’s considerable talent, we also recognize that his success—and the success of all North Carolina youth—is due to the dedication and creativity of teachers like you.

Thanks for the update! We look forward to seeing what artistry comes from the students’ imaginations in 2012.

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21
Jul

Attorney David Henson Honored by The American Association for Justice

David Henson

HensonFuerst Attorneys is proud to announce that David Henson, our own managing partner, was honored by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) during the 65th Annual AAJ Conference in New York on July 10, 2011. He was given the prestigious Heavy Lifting Award to recognize his commitment to the organization and his continuing efforts to recruit new members to the AAJ’s Leaders Forum.

“I am honored and flattered to receive this award,” said Henson. “It means a great deal to be recognized in this way, and I’m proud to be part of such a respected organization devoted to ensuring the rights of others.”

The AAJ’s Heavy Lifting Award was first given in 2008 as a way to recognize the extraordinary efforts of AAJ members. The recipients have gone above and beyond the call of duty to benefit numerous AAJ programs, campaigns, and causes.

The AAJ created the Leaders Forum in 2000 to ensure that every person has access to justice. This group of firms helps the AAJ protect the civil justice system by increasing financial resources for public relations, legislative advocacy, and public education efforts on Capitol Hill and in the court of public opinion.

Gibson Vance, President of the AAJ, said:

“David has given both his time and resources to the American Association for justice. He is truly a champion of justice and, as president of the AAJ, I owe him a lot for all of his service to help promote the civil justice system.”

As a tireless advocate for civil justice, David’s work has benefitted not only the AAJ and civil lawyers everywhere, but also those who hope to see fairness in the legal system should they ever find themselves in need a a lawyer.

On behalf of the entire HensonFuerst team and our clients, we also want to say thank you to David Henson. His actions have a direct impact on the legal system, and he is an inspiration to lawyers and, indeed, anyone who wants to make a difference in the world.

Congratulations, David!

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13
May

United Community Ministries Celebrates Success Stories

Tomorrow night—Saturday, May 14, 2011—16 people will graduate from one of the toughest programs few people will ever have the ability to attend:  the Whole Life Program, run by United Community Ministries.

The Whole Life Program is a unique therapeutic and training program designed to help homeless men and women to get off the streets, get substance abuse treatment and support (if necessary), get help for mental illness (if necessary), get job training, and eventually get independent and into permanent housing. Calling this program “unique” is not an exaggeration. United Community Ministries gets requests to from agencies in other states not only because of the program’s success rate, but because they are willing to take in any individual…no questions asked.

According to Chris Battle, Executive Director of United Community Ministries:

“When a person who is homeless is given a real chance, they do their darnedest to make it. We believe that, with the right guidance and the right training, anyone can succeed. We set up the program to give the residents the best chance possible.”

The program began by reconfiguring the way homeless shelters work. Most programs give individuals a place to sleep, but require them to leave the building between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm. This puts them back into the same environment that fosters substance abuse or exacerbates symptoms of mental illness. United Community Ministries decided to take advantage of those 8 hours, and created the Whole Life Program.

The program has the structure of a peer-to-peer mentoring relationship. Individuals enter the shelter as a “freshman” and are given a “senior” resident who mentors them and helps them to learn a trade and assists them in keeping their minds clear of drugs and/or alcohol. They learn to be empowered as individuals and as employees through United Community Ministries’ three business services: landscaping, janitorial, and moving. During the course of about 9 months to a year, residents gain experience, references, and referrals that allow them to take their skills into other jobs. All while staying clean and in recovery. Successful residents transition from the shelter to some form of permanent housing.

And United Community Ministries does this with very little funding. Federal and state funding goes mainly to support family-based shelters, not shelters or programs for the homeless population served by the Whole Life Program. They rely on donations from individuals, churches, and companies. Our managing partner, David Henson, puts it best when he says: “Chris Battle knows how to stretch a dollar and do more with a donation than anyone one else I know.”

Tomorrow’s graduation is for 16 Whole Life seniors who have completed the program and are moving on to the next stage of independence. This is the third graduation ceremony: The first had only 2 graduates, and the second had 10. More than 100 people will be in attendance, including representatives from HensonFuerst Attorneys. We are happy to help support this event, United Community Ministries, and Mr. Chris Battle.

“The graduation is our chance to celebrate successes. The people in our program and the graduates are the real faces of homelessness–they are the faces of individuals yearning to get their lives back on track, people who want to be active again,” says Chris Battle. “We give them that chance. In our community, they grow to be team leaders with a sense of accomplishment and self-respect.”

That’s about the best thing any of us can hope for, regardless of where our life path has taken us.

If you would like to learn more about United Community Ministries, or to volunteer or donate to this worthy cause, visit their website at http://www.UnitedCommunityMinistries.org/.

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12
May

Winners of the 2011 HensonFuerst “My PSA Contest!” Announced

You watched the entries… you voted… and now HensonFuerst Attorneys are proud to announce the winners of this year’s Bicycle Safety PSA Contest.

Each year, we challenge students from eastern North Carolina students to use their imaginations and create a 30-second video about the importance of bicycle safety. In previous years, we limited the contest to high school students, but this year, for the first time, we added a second age category–middle school students. We’re glad we did: We got to see more instances of creativity, and it gave us an additional chance to encourage that creativity.

We congratulate EVERY student who entered the contest. They are all talented, and have bright futures ahead of them. (To see all the entries, click here: PSA CONTEST ENTRIES)

And the winners are:

Middle School

  • 1st Place:  Makaila R.  (video #2), 6th grade student
  • 2nd Place:  Andrew K.,  8th grade student
  • 3rd Place:  Nic B., 8th grade student

High School

  • 1st Place:  Frank B., 12th grade student
  • 2nd Place:  Rachel B., 11th grade student
  • 3rd Place:  Mark A., 11th grade student

The 1st-place winners receive their choice of an Apple MacBook with Apple Final Cut Express HD OR a $1,500 gift card to a well-known electronics store. The winning students’ schools receive a $500 donation. But it doesn’t end there: The winning PSAs will be aired on television, the HensonFuerst Web site, and the My PSA Contest Web site.

HensonFuerst Attorneys is dedicated to health, safety, and community service. To learn more about our activities in those areas, click here: the HensonFuerst Health Initiative

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