Well, it's been a couple years. I've missed posting my stories about interesting Nashville people and hope you've missed reading them. Now it's time to get posting again!
I'm (re-)starting with a piece I wrote for Unite Magazine about a great guy who doesn't ever seem to take a break. He's an inspiration...
SAM FELKER
Attorney. Activist. Athlete.
As a high school
student in the 1970s, Sam Felker was mesmerized by the investigative
reporting of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two Washington Post
reporters who doggedly covered the Watergate scandal which eventually
led to President Nixon’s resignation. He was impressed with their
unrelenting research, their dedication and their tenacity to get to the
bottom of what was right. So this teenager from Brownsville, Tenn.,
about an hour northeast of Memphis, decided to pursue a career in
Journalism.
This inspiration led him to become editor of the
Mississippi State University school newspaper during a period of
notorious NCAA pay-to-play capers. He really enjoyed the active process
of investigating, researching and writing. It was his parents, though,
who said he should take that talent and put it to good use as an
attorney. And who was this good Southern gentleman to argue with his
mother?
So off he went to one of the top 10 law schools in the
nation at the University of Virginia, where he flourished, surrounded by
a melting pot of stimulating and intellectual people. It was here that
Felker realized that through litigation he could advocate for his
clients and get the best results for them, much like he’d done with
hard-hitting news stories before. “I enjoy solving complex problems” he
says, noting that being an attorney suits him perfectly.
During
law school, Felker served a summer clerkship at the Nashville law firm
Bass Berry & Sims, where he was later hired, eventually becoming a
partner. He’d never really been to Nashville before, but he fell in love
with what he calls a “sleepy but thriving city” and knew he wanted to
stay; he’s been here since.
CROSSING THE LINE
Outside the
firm, when the suit and tie come off, the bike shorts and swimming
goggles go on. Felker, you see, is also a competitive tri-athlete. He
has competed in the international Gay Games four times, beginning with
the competition in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1998. Much like competing
in athletics, he says, “the practice of law is a marathon, not a sprint.
Exercise releases stress, clears my head, and pays great dividends to
my health and to my life.”
Felker’s husband, Keith Little, is a
testament to this positive outlook. Little, who is a multiple Gold Medal
winner in javelin at both the Gay Games and the Out Games, recently got
news that he is cancer free after several months of intense treatments.
The two were married in 2007 in Provincetown when Massachusetts was the
only state with marriage equality. They’re now approaching their 20th
year together and still enjoy exercising, training and traveling
together, but now with an even greater appreciation. One summer soon, the two
plan to participate in their second AIDS LifeCycle, a week-long,
545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for
AIDS/HIV programs. They also intend to compete at the 2018 Gay Games in
Paris.
As with an actual marathon, it takes a lot of work to be
the first person to cross the finish line. And while Felker has yet to
do that wearing running shoes, he’s done it several times with his
wingtips on. As the first openly gay partner at a large Nashville law
firm, he paved the way for other LGBT attorneys to come out. He also
served as one of the first presidents of NAPP – now the Nashville LGBT
Chamber of Commerce – and helmed Nashville’s very first mayoral forum
for an LGBT audience.
Felker is also president of the Tennessee
Stonewall Bar Association, a group of nearly 100 LGBT lawyers and
allies. Although he sheepishly claims that he’s “not really suited for
being seen as a pioneer,” it’s a role he takes seriously and with a
great deal of pride. As a result, he was recruited by the Baker Donelson
law firm last year in large part due to his community activism. He is
responsible for the cultural competency and diversity at Baker Donelson
and even oversaw the firm’s booth at the 2014 Nashville Pride Festival,
perhaps the very first law firm to have such a presence.
On a
more national level, you can find Felker at the National LGBT Bar
Association’s annual Lavender Law recruitment event, where some 150 law
firms gather to actively recruit the nearly 500 law students in
attendance. “It’s a sign that firms and corporations understand the
importance of diversity in the workplace and the value of having LGBT
employees by taking steps to hire them,” Felker proclaims.
WE ALL WIN
“We’ve
come a long way,” Felker says, referring to LGBT acceptance and
equality, “but we still have a long way to go.” He points out that as
more high-level business people come out in their professions and their
lives, the better it is for everyone. He cites Apple CEO Tim Cook as a
perfect example of that.
Many, however, see Sam Felker as the
perfect example of an out, gay businessman who leads by example. Someone
who works every day to assure the rights of everyone and who lives life
to its fullest. A person with a healthy balance between work
responsibilities and personal enjoyment. And someone who is a winner at
both.
Reflecting on his rural childhood, Felker beams, “I was
brought up with a service attitude for helping other people. I find it
gratifying to help people with their legal issues.” And with overall
equality and justice for everyone. Sam Felker has done a great deal to
help move LGBT issues forward. Many thanks to his mother for encouraging
him to attend law school so he could do just that.
