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Tonei Robins, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at Blackshear Elementary School, was the first place winner in the sixth annual oratorical contest sponsored by Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year's topic was "How Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Remains an Inspiration to Me Today." The contest was held January 15 at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church of Christ in downtown Houston. Robins instilled inspiration in those in the audience by comparing Dr. King to Moses, saying both were leaders who guided their people toward social justice, and by declaring that she was ready and able to pick up the baton and to continue to spread Dr. King's message. Second place winner was Edward Stewart, an 11-year-old fifth grader from Lockhart Elementary-Technology Academy and third place winner was Randell Reedy, a 12-year-old fifth grader at Thompson Elementary. Fourth, fifth and sixth graders from 10 Houston elementary schools competed by talking no more than five minutes on the selected topic. The speeches had to be written by the children themselves. Judges were the Hon. Vanessa D. Gilmore of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas; the Hon. Wanda Fowler of the 14th Court of Appeals; the Hon. George C. Hanks, Jr. of the 157th District Court; the Hon. Tracy Christopher of the 295th District Court; Yolanda Smith, executive director of the NAACP; Robin Reagler, executive director, Writers in the Schools; Kevin Hoffman, trustee, HISD Board of Education; and Houston Fire Chief Christopher Connealy. Pictured here with Gardere Wynne Sewell executive partner Claude R. Treece are, from left, Stewart, Robins and Reedy.

The Disability and Elder Law Attorneys Association sponsored a holiday party for resident single mothers who are making the transition from homelessness to main stream life at the Star of Hope Transitional Living Center. The party provided the mothers with an opportunity to share the holidays with their children, who are in foster care. Gifts were provided for all of the children, and a crafts table allowed the children to make personalized ornaments for the Star of Hope tree or for their families. A catered turkey dinner added to the festivities. Pictured here at the Center is Matthew L. Benson of Dunbar, Harder & Benson LLP, who played Santa for the occasion.

Jamey Seely, a member of the Corporate and Securities department at Thompson & Knight LLP, has been elected to the advisory board of the Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts. Seely has been a TALA volunteer and recently served as co-editor of TALA's handbook on officer and director liability.

Tom Hagemann, a partner in the white collar criminal defense/business litigation/antitrust section of Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. has been appointed a Commissioner of the Police Officers' Civil Service Commission by Mayor Lee Brown. As one of 15 appointed Commissioners, Hagemann will conduct evidentiary hearings regarding appeals by Houston police officers for alleged violations of departmental rules and regulations. The Commission was created in January to focus on mid-level violations.

Haynes and Boone partner Dean Schaner spoke at the South Montgomery County/Woodlands Chamber Law Update on "Navigating Through the Bermuda Triangle: A Workshop on Practical Ways to Manage FMLA/ADA and Workers' Compensation Issues" on February 14th.

Mary E. Wilson, a shareholder in The Woodlands office of Winstead Sechrest & Minick, has been named secretary of the Board of Directors of the Women's Energy Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to educational and professional development of women in the energy industry. Wilson's practice focuses on litigation and environmental law. She is chair-elect of the HBA Environmental Law Section.

Franklin D.R. Jones, Jr., a shareholder in the public finance section of Winstead Sechrest & Minick, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority, which oversees waste management and water pollution in Chambers, Galveston and Harris Counties.

Russel T. Holt of the west Houston law firm of Holt & Young has been elected president of the 500-member Greater Houston Chapter of the Community Associations Institute. Attorney Dick Gregg of Gregg & Gregg, P.C. in Clear Lake will serve on the board of directors. The Institute is a non-profit association created in 1973 to educate and represent the nation's 210,000 community associations, condominium associations, homeowner associations and cooperatives. The Greater Houston Chapter serves community associations in Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston and Montgomery Counties.

Melanie Gray, a partner in the firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, was profiled in the fall issue of the Syracuse University College of Law's biannual publication, Syndicus. Gray is a 1981 graduate of the law school. She was named one of ten "2001 Women on the Move" by Texas Executive Women. Gray specializes in commercial litigation and frequently writes and lectures on ethics and the law.

Eric Gould of O'Connor & Craig, P.C. has been admitted to membership in the Commercial Law League of America. The League, founded in 1895, is North America's premier organization of bankruptcy and commercial law attorneys and business professionals.

Charles Szalkowski, a senior partner at Baker Botts L.L.P., has been named chairman of the Board of Directors for DePelchin Children's Center. He served for many years as legal counsel for DePelchin, while serving in various positions on the Board of Directors. DePelchin Children's Center is a non-profit agency that has provided parent education, counseling and mental health services, foster care, adoption and residential treatment programs to the Houston area since 1892.

The Houston Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association has elected new officers. The are David T. Lopez, president; Trang Tran, vice president; Ron Reynolds, secretary; and Katrina Patrick, treasurer. NELA is the country's only professional organization that is exclusively comprised of lawyers who represent individual employees in cases involving discrimination, wrongful termination, employee benefits and other employment matters.

Baker Botts senior partner Daryl Bristow and his wife, Janet Gurwitch Bristow, will be among the honorees at the April 12th gala, "Unlocking the Secret," presented by the Houston Gulf Coast Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Guest speaker will be Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, host of the nightly cable show "The O'Reilly Factor" and a best-selling author. For information, contact Kathy Knott at 713-334-4400.

South Texas College of Law swept the field at the 2001 National Health Law Moot Court Competition sponsored by the American College of Legal Medicine at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. From a total of 31 law schools from across the nation, two South Texas teams advanced undefeated through the prelims, quarters and semi-finals to meet each other in the final round. After the hard fought final round, the team of Kirsten Barron, Patrick Cohoon and Chad Seely bested the team of Brent Mayr, Erin O'Driscoll and Kori Westbrook. Pictured here are, front row, Associate Dean T. Gerald Treece and South Texas Dean Frank T. Read; back row, from left, team coach Kellye R. Koehn, Cohoon, Barron, Seely and team coach Eleanor I. Hodges.