PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By: Cheryl G. Rice Egerton, McAfee, Armistead & Davis, P.C.
FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER– TOGETHER “Did you watch the Olympics?” the 5-year-old boy asked me, eyes wide and obviously awed by what he’d seen on television the night before. He talked about the swimming, the track, and the skateboarding, obviously excited and inspired. Yes, we watch the Olympics at my house. We stay up too late sometimes, rooting for our individual favorites and for team USA first and foremost. We also sometimes cheer for athletes representing other countries, especially those individuals we perceive as long-shots and/or who present rare opportunities for a small nation to experience success at the highest level. We marvel at the strength, speed, skill, and technique displayed by athletes of all types. Olympic athletes, so perfect in their skill and superhuman at times in their efforts, capture the imaginations of the young and the not-so-young. They are heroes to people across the globe. But the Olympics, and Olympians, are not without imperfection. This year we’ve watched as positive COVID-19 tests have forced numerous athletes to bow out of the competition and prevented trainers, officials, and others from filling their own roles in the games. Controversy has erupted as the person many believe could be the fastest woman in the world was disqualified from competing in Tokyo after testing positive for a banned substance. We’ve followed the roller coaster of Simone Biles’ struggles with the “twisties” that caused the perennially practically perfect American gymnast to pull out of the team final, followed by the all-around and three other individual event finals, only to then see her re-enter individual competition for the balance beam event, compete well and win bronze. Of interest to me was the story of the American sprinter, Noah Lyles. A high school athlete who went pro in lieu of heading to the University of Florida on a track scholarship after he placed fourth in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Lyles has won several golds in world championships meets and was widely regarded as a contender capable of taking more than one gold medal in Tokyo. After the games were delayed from 2020 to 2021, he failed to qualify for the 100 meters and ultimately took third in the 200 meters race. While his experience in many regards is seemingly similar to that of any number of the athletes competing this year in Tokyo, he was among the few who was willing to publicly share his personal struggles as a part of that experience. Lyle shed public tears of sadness and guilt over the fact that his brother, Josephus, also a world class sprinter who sparked Noah’s dream that the brothers would run in the Olympics together, could not join him in Tokyo. His openness about those feelings and about his long battle with anxiety and depression, especially during 2020 and leading up to the Olympics, and his choice to go on, and then off of, antidepressants as he tried to feel “right” while preparing for a chance at gold in Tokyo, was surprisingly and refreshingly vulnerable. This year we’ve seen a number of high-profile individuals willing to be candid about their personal challenges, even before Simone Biles and Noah Lyles took center stage for doing so: think Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, Ryan Reynolds, and Kit Harrington, among others. It’s widely recognized that in this pandemic time, a year-plus of mask wearing, limited social interaction, insecurity about the future, and distanced living have proven stressful for people in all walks of life, both young and old. This is no less true in our profession. The KBA wants to help its members thrive in the practice of law, September 2021
not just survive. To that end, we are bringing back the KBA’s wellness conference this September. Join us on September 24 at the City-County Building for a full day of wellness-centered activities, presentations, and CLE. The 2021 Theme for the conference is “Making Mental Health & Wellness Matter - Creating a Culture of Openness to Normalize Conversations About Health & Wellbeing” and it reflects the breadth of topics that will be covered. You may have noticed that some of the individuals who are most open about their mental health and wellness concerns today, including several of those I noted above, are members of the generations known as Millennials (born 1981 to 1996) and Generation Z (born 1997 or later). According to The Hartford’s 2021 Future of Benefits Study, 52% of GenZ/younger Millennials say they struggle with depression or anxiety most days compared to only 10% of the group known as Boomers. Interestingly, the same study finds that workloads and hours for everyone have increased overall during the pandemic but while Millennials are far and away the generation most interested in working remotely, members of GenZ are the least likely age group, next to Boomers, to want to do so. Keeping this in mind, I hope you’ll consider attending the wellness conference, and partake of offerings ranging from yoga and nutrition to avoiding burnout, coping with stress, meeting our professional duty of selfcare, and more. I particularly commend to you an afternoon panel CLE discussion to be led by Judge Kristi Davis, entitled “CrossGenerational Perspectives on Career Success & Work-Life Balance.” As we have more generations working in our profession than ever before, understanding what makes each other tick is key to building and maintaining a productive and successful law firm (or any other workplace full of lawyers). You will also soon receive the KBA’s Economics and Law Office Management Survey, which allows us to document demographic and financial information for practicing attorneys. The final results will also include the data from 2019 and, this year for the first time, there are several questions directed specifically to young lawyers. Please be sure to participate and earn your opportunity to win a $500 Amazon gift card. Whether you are a sole practitioner or a principal in a large firm, and regardless of the areas of law in which you practice or your experience level, this fully confidential survey will provide useful data on the economics of law practice and fiscal issues relevant to attorneys in East Tennessee. Getting back to the Olympics, the IOC also has recently recognized the global need for a focus on physical and mental wellness and the solidarity exemplified by the Olympic Games, especially in the wake of COVID-19. On the 20th of July 2021, the Session of the International Olympic Committee approved a change to the Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger” which was first adopted in 1894. The new Olympic motto now reads in Latin “Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter” or, in English, “Faster, Higher, Stronger - Together.” As International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said prior to the vote to modify the motto, “We can only go faster, we can only aim higher, we can only become stronger by standing together — in solidarity.” While, of course, he was referencing the Olympic Movement’s mission to make the world a better place through sport, his words speak to us all.
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