Ginny Kilgore Honored
with Public Service Award
Catherine V. "Ginny" Kilgore ('75) grew up
in a single-parent home aware that her widowed mother faced certain challenges
as she supported all four of her children through public school and college.
Not the least of those difficulties, however, occurred outside the home.
"I was inspired by my mother," Kilgore said. "She ran across
some discrimination in the workplace during those years, and I never forgot
that. She challenged us to think and form opinions about events occurring
in our country during those times in the '60s, as we sat around the table
at the evening meal."
Following bachelor's and master's degrees in education and a few years
teaching, Kilgore enrolled at the UM Law School. Upon graduation, she
entered private law practice in Oxford for two years, then joined North
Mississippi Rural Legal Services in 1978.
Since then, Kilgore has compiled an outstanding record of public service.
For her dedication, she has received the Law School's 2002 Public Service
Award. The presentation was made at a dinner in her honor.
"Ginny Kilgore is a public servant in the truest sense," said
Dean Samuel Davis. "Her selection continues the tradition of this
award in recognizing those who have labored in the trenches, with little
or no compensation but with great professional and personal satisfaction
in helping to bring justice and equality to those who need it most."
"This award means a great deal to me," Kilgore said, pointing
to others so honored. "The work of those who received the award before
me has been so important; I feel very honored."
From NMRLS staff attorney, she moved to managing attorney, senior attorney,
then director of the Council on Aging project. Since 1990, she has worked
in the Administrative Law Unit and Resource Development, and directed
the Elder Law Project. She's responsible for delivering legal services
to the disabled and elderly in the 39 north Mississippi counties served
by NMRLS.
She also serves as an adjunct professor in the Law School's Civil Law
Clinic. She held a similar post a few years ago in the school's Elder
Law Clinic.
Kilgore says she's found her niche. "I've always thought it was important
to do work to help people; I really enjoy it. The issues I've dealt with
through the years have been on the side of helping people maintain the
basics of life: home, health care, jobs, and family."
Among her other awards, Kilgore was recognized by the Mississippi Bar
Association with its 2000 Legal Services Lawyer of the Year Award.
Previous recipients of the Law School Public Service Award are Constance
Slaughter-Harvey ('70), 2001; Luther Ott ('73), 2000; and Bobby DeLaughter,
('77), 1999.