Each year, before enjoying the firm’s Thanksgiving lunch, the attorneys and staff at Christian & Small take a few moments to recognize and honor that year’s recipient of the firm’s Terri Lowrey Spirit Award.
In 2011, Christian & Small lost a beloved family member and long-term employee – Terri Lynn Lowrey – after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer. To honor Terri’s life and the impact she made on those around her, the firm created the Terri Lowrey Spirit Award, which is given annually to an individual who embodies the spirit and qualities that we all admired in Terri – honesty, a giving nature, compassion, grace, determination, cheerfulness, perkiness, faithfulness, fun, loyalty, intelligence, and selflessness. The firm solicits nominations from attorneys and staff, and a committee determines the winner each year based on these nominations.
The first Terri Lowrey Spirit Award was presented to Lois Medders at the 2012 Thanksgiving luncheon, with Terri’s best friend Jane Edgerton receiving the award in 2013. Dana Lindsey was our 2014 recipient, and Jenny Stone received the award in 2015. In 2016 we recognized our late Partner Richard Ogle with our first posthumous award, Partner Duncan Manley was designated the 2017 recipient, IT Manager Sally Gonder received the award in 2018, and Tammy Love was named in 2019. We postponed 2020 due to Covid, and in 2021 the award was presented to Nick Buckner. 2022 recognized Anne Marie True as the recipient of the Terri Lowrey Spirit Award.
More than 19 nominations were submitted for the 2023 award and we are proud to announce that Penny Castleberry is the 2023 recipient of the Terri Lowrey Spirit Award.
Penny joined the firm in April and quickly made a big impact with her infectious spirit and attitude. The following nomination is representative of the nominations submitted for Penny.
Penny has a fun, kind, and selfless spirit. She has gone out of her way to plan fun interoffice events and has always brought a smile to everyone’s face. Whether it’s through her seasonal office décor, or conversations in the hallway, I always leave my interactions with her feeling brighter!
As part of the award, the firm donated in Penny’s name to the organization of her choice – The Wounded Warrior Project.
Congratulations to Penny on this well-deserved honor and we thank her for her commitment and service to the firm, our clients, and all our attorneys and staff.
About Christian & Small
Christian & Small LLP represents a diverse clientele throughout Alabama, the Southeast, and the nation with clients ranging from individuals and closely-held businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. By matching highly experienced lawyers with specific client needs, Christian & Small develops innovative, effective, and efficient solutions for clients. With offices in Birmingham, metro-Jackson, Mississippi, and the Alabama Gulf Coast, Christian & Small focuses on the areas of litigation and business, is a member of the International Society of Primerus Law Firms, and is a Mansfield Rule™ Participating Law Firm. Our corporate social responsibility program is focused on education, and diversity is one of Christian & Small’s core values.
No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.