Eggers honored by N.C. Bar Association

The North Carolina Bar Association, through the efforts of the Young Lawyers Division, held its annual observance of Law Day on Friday in Raleigh.

From left, Dayton Cole, university attorney for ASU, presents the Liberty Bell Award of the N.C. Bar Association to area attorney Stacy Eggers Jr. Photo submitted

Stacy C. Eggers Jr., an institution in his native Watauga County and 1996 inductee of the NCBA General Practice Hall of Fame, received the Liberty Bell Award.

The Liberty Bell Award is one of the most prestigious awards given annually by the NCBA and is presented to one “who has strengthened the American System of freedom under law.”

The award is presented by the Young Lawyers Division which sponsors the association’s Law Week events, including student competitions in essay writing, photography, poster art and moot court.

Eggers and all of the student winners were recognized during an afternoon awards ceremony at the N.C. Museum of History in Daniels Auditorium. Dayton Cole, university attorney for Appalachian State University, nominated Eggers for this award and made the formal presentation on Friday.

Previous winners of the Liberty Bell Award were E. Maurice Braswell, Herbert L. Richardson, William Joslin, Henry Frye, Robert R. Browning, Lacy Thornburg, James B. Hunt Jr., William C. Friday, Sam J. Ervin III, Terry Sanford, Herbert H. Taylor Jr., James Dickson Phillips Jr., Wade E. Brown, Hiram H. Ward, Kathrine Everett, L. Richardson Preyer, J. Frank Huskins, McNeill Smith, Franklin T. Dupree Jr., Thad Eure, Joseph Branch, Dr. Robert E. Lee, William B. Aycock, Susie Sharp and Sam Ervin Jr.

Eggers was born in Boone on March 20, 1924, and has practiced law there since 1950 with the family firm that now goes by the name of Eggers, Eggers, Eggers and Eggers. He served three terms as a State Bar councilor for the 24th Judicial District in addition to serving as president of the district bar and the Watauga County Bar Association.

The 2008 Liberty Bell recipient has also devoted extensive time and effort to community service while serving as attorney for Watauga County and the towns of Seven Devils and Blowing Rock.

The national observance of Law Day was first proclaimed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Feb. 3, 1958, and is celebrated annually by the NCBA on the first Friday in May.

Funding for Law Day and Law Week events is provided by the Beverly C. Moore Justice Fund of the NCBA Foundation.