March 24, 2016
MARSHALL NEWS MESSENGER (3/24/16) - Marshall attorney Michael Smith has been named the Sam B. Hall Civic Service Award on Tuesday at East Texas Baptist University.
Smith received the award during the sixth annual Sam B. Hall Dinner and Lecture at the university that honors the memory of the former Marshall attorney, judge, ETBU alum and congressman.
Hall served in the U.S. Army, as an U.S. Rep., an U.S. District Court Judge, a Marshall ISD trustee and the Harrison County Farm Bureau.
Smith worked under Hall as a clerk early on in his law career and on Tuesday spoke of Hall's love of the three most important things in his life.
"He was my mentor and there were three things that were very important to him: faith, family and country," Smith said of Hall on Tuesday. "He served his country as a congressman, a judge, in the military, as a member of the bar and here at the Marshall ISD."
Smith also spoke of Hall's family members who also served in similar capacities.
"There is a long tradition of serving the rule of law in that family," Smith said. "There is great importance in the rule of law. There is no stable government without respect for the rule of law."
Hall's grandson, Marshall attorney Chase Palmer, who also serves on the Marshall ISD board of trustees, thanked Smith on Tuesday for sharing his memories of Hall.
The university also partnered with Marshall ISD Education Foundation on Tuesday to award two $5,000 scholarships to two Marshall High School seniors who will be attending ETBU in the fall.
"ETBU and the Marshall ISD Education Foundation have created two $5,000 scholarships for kids at Marshall High School that will be attending ETBU," Palmer announced Tuesday. "Both of these places meant a lot to my grandad."
Marshall High School seniors Lucas Pritchett and Cristal Monzon-Hernandez received the scholarships.
Previous honorees of the annual Sam B. Hall Civic Service award are Madeleine Segal Hall, Ray and Mona Lawson of Marshall, Sue Jordan, Frank and Bonnie Strauss of Marshall, Sam Moseley of Marshall, and Glenn Bickerdike of Marshall.
(Used by permission www.marshallnewsmessenger.com. Story by MNM reporter Bridget Ortigo)