Teri Stafford and I started that morning with a really good breakfast provided by the Union Square Guest Quarters. It was a nice continental breakfast that included ham, fresh fruit, yogurt, sausage, biscuits, coffee, tea, and cereal. That morning our first visit was with Norwood Phillips. His office wasn’t far from the hotel, so we scooted right over after br
eakfast. He, too, is excited about the El Dorado Promise and hopes it will attract more young families. He expressed a strong desire for more young attorneys to relocate to El Dorado and mentioned several people retiring, which has created a need for new associates. So you heard it here on the blog, recent grads. El Dorado is the “Promise Land.” Seriously, for those still job hunting who would enjoy smaller town living, I think it’s worth inquiring about, given the opportunities available.
We got in the car and headed to Texarkana where our first stop was to meet with Don Capshaw. Before we left Texarkana I felt very concerned and insistent that we stop in and see Judge Harry Barnes, one of our alums who recently had open heart surgery. I just love Judge Barnes and I could not leave town without seeing him. We had to modify our schedule and it caused a little bit of stress for Teri who had so efficiently put together our schedule.
Nevertheless, we went to Judge Barnes’ office and we were able to visit with hi
m and two of his law clerks who are also our alums, Susan Hickey and John Crisp. It was a delightful visit. Judge Barnes is such a hoot, and so very interesting and engaging. It was good to see him doing well. Having done that, we finally left for Texarkana.
Because we left for Texarkana a little bit behind schedule, we had to reschedule our meeting with Don Capshaw so that he was our last visit of that day. We arrived in Texarkana, had lunch, regrouped, and after lunch headed out to see Damon Young. It was great to see Damon again. He’s so gracious, funny and warm. He gave me very good ideas about things we might do to reach out to alums. We appreciate his time and his continued support and hope that 
he’ll be able to join us for the dedication. (Just a note to all the alums who made time to see us, we very much appreciate your time. We know how busy you are and we know that time is money and it means a lot to us that you would visit with us and let us update you on all the things going on at the law school.)
After visiting with Damon we went over to see Don Capshaw. He and I visited last year about his daughter’s wedding, so we caught up on the details of that, which was really fun to hear about. He is still very active in sports, serving as a referee, so it’s hard for him to visit in the fall due to his schedule. But, we’re very much looking forward to hosting him here at the law school next spring and to sharing our clinical program with him in whic
h he has a great deal of interest.
After our visit with him, we headed back to Fayetteville. It was a long drive. We had a late start so we stopped in Mena, Arkansas at a little Mexican restaurant called Papa Poblanos and had dinner. On the way to Mena we tried to contact our former colleague Jake Looney who had served as Dean of the law school and is now a judge there, but we weren’t able to catch up with him. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see you , Jake. We are scheduled to go back to Texarkana, and our alum Nick Patton (a great guy and good friend) has graciously volunteered to host a party for us. Maybe as we drive down through Mena and we can see you on our way there the next time we pass that way.
Nancecy 