Elizabeth B. Stengel

Evans Petree PC shareholder Elizabeth B. Stengel has been elected the first female president of the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel, a not-for-profit professional association of Tennessee attorneys with practices related to the construction industry.

Stengel is a construction and surety lawyer and the practice area leader for Evans Petree’s litigation practice group. Her practice involves representing owners, contractors, suppliers, design professionals and sureties in a variety of facets of the construction process, ranging from licensing and registration to risk management and dispute resolution, among other things.

Hometown: Memphis (born and raised)

Experience: I received my J.D. from the University of Memphis School of Law in 1987 and my license to practice law on April 25, 1988. I am admitted to practice law and have litigated various construction cases in the state courts of Tennessee and Mississippi and in the United States Federal Courts in the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Tennessee, the Eastern District of Virginia, the Northern District of Mississippi, and the United States Bankruptcy Courts. The highlight of my legal career was being admitted to the United States Supreme Court in 2005. Interestingly, the second high point of my legal career was serving on a jury in a matter in the Shelby County Criminal Court, Division VIII approximately 10 years ago. The insight to the inner workings and deliberations of a jury have since assisted me in my trial work.

What talent do you wish you had? I always wanted to play the piano or the keyboards on the same level as Herbie Hancock, a jazz legend and Grammy-winning musician. Unfortunately, it was not in the cards for me.

Who has had the greatest influence on you and why? There are two people in my life that have had a great deal of influence on me. First, my late father, Bill Bobbitt, who taught me that honesty and truthfulness are paramount in all things I do. He implanted the thought in me that “your word is your bond!” The second influential person in my life is the late Honorable Judge Charles O. MacPherson, Division II Circuit Court of Shelby County, Tennessee. Judge MacPherson told me to follow two rules when dealing with lawyers, clients, witnesses and those involved in the court system: “Treat others the same way you want to be treated and always be on time/never let a client wait for you.” I have lived by these rules since I started practicing law in 1988.

Tell us a little about the Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel and how you became involved. The Tennessee Association of Construction Counsel was founded in 2003 by a group of construction lawyers in Tennessee who recognized the need to bring together Tennessee attorneys with practices serving contractors, building material and equipment suppliers, architects, engineers, and building owners in order to share insight and experiences with others in the same areas of practice. TACC was created for the purpose of monitoring, gathering and sharing knowledge of legal matters of interest to the construction industry and mentoring and assisting in the education and professional development of attorneys practicing construction. More importantly, TACC provides for a forum for fraternal interaction and networking for attorneys serving the construction industry.

What unique legal issues do firms in the construction industry face? The issues that construction law firms face can be varied and complex. But the one thing that we do when assisting our clients is to find a way to resolve conflicts before they start. It’s what I refer to as “preventive maintenance.”

What are your goals as TACC president? My goal as president is to continue the commitment to emphasize diversity in the construction industry at all levels, including TACC. Diverse backgrounds bring different perspectives and new ideas. When you bring people who have different life experiences together, you have education, innovation and opportunity to learn. As a construction lawyer for 30 years, I have experienced and seen how the construction industry and those representing contractors have changed over the years. TACC has moved toward being more inclusive and continues to work towards this. In fact, TACC and the construction industry as a whole are realizing that if we bring people (regardless of sex, age, race, ethnicity) to work together to achieve diversity, we can make positive changes in what we do for others.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment? Waking up each day with a smile on my face and always remaining optimistic.

What do you most enjoy about your work? I believe the most enjoyable aspect about work is helping clients through tough situations and finding satisfactory solutions in resolving their problems.

If you could give one piece of advice to young people, what would it be? Follow your dream and never give up no matter how tough it is.

SRVS executive director Tyler Hampton has been elected to a three-year term on the Tennessee Community Organization board of directors. TNCO is a statewide trade association of disability services provider agencies whose supports help more than 8,000 Tennesseans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hampton has been executive director of SRVS since 2012.

Anthony Young, River City Capital Investment’s economic development director, has been chosen to participate in the 2018 Opportunity Fellows Program hosted by Opportunity Finance Network. The Opportunity Fellowship, a joint venture between OFN and Birmingham-based BBVA Compass, includes five months of training with industry experts and community leaders in facilitating organizational change that promotes greater diversity and inclusion in the pursuit of more equitable investment in communities. Young was one of 27 community development financial institution leaders selected to participate.

Jarod Riles to general superintendent of Lehman-Roberts Co.’s Northern Operations. In that role, Riles is responsible for the day-to-day management of construction operations, including paving, grading and milling. He joined Lehman-Roberts 19 years ago in an entry-level position, working his way up to equipment operator and paving foreman before being promoted to general superintendent.

Roy Rothenberger has joined Lehman-Roberts Co. as sales representative. In his new role, Rothenberger will be responsible for the sales, service and partnership-building involved with Lehman-Roberts' asphalt and crushed concrete customers.

Lehman-Roberts Co. recently was granted two 2017 Quality in Construction Awards from the National Asphalt Pavement Association for the resurfacing of Interstate 40 in Shelby County and for its work on U.S. 51 in Tipton County. The I-40 project was completed in partnership with Standard Construction and was finished ahead of schedule. The U.S. 51 job included the milling and paving of 48 crossovers and numerous business fronts along the span of the job.

New Memphis has added four new members to its board of trustees: Matt Henson, vice president of field human resource customer service at AutoZone Inc.; Jennifer Oswalt, president of the Downtown Memphis Commission; Liz Stokes, senior director, HR business partner, NA Fulfillment at Nike; and Karen Weddle-West, University of Memphis provost and director of diversity initiatives.

Inferno, a full-service advertising, marketing, design and public relations firm, has received several awards for its work in 2017. including one Mid-South Regional Emmy Award and three ADDY awards from the Memphis chapter of the American Advertising Federation. It won the Regional Emmy in the Magazine Segment category (“Ginjan Brothers” video for FedEx); a Gold ADDY in the Elements of Advertising: Illustration/Single category (“Leading with Heart” for AAF Memphis); and Silver ADDYs in Sales and Marketing: Direct Marketing, Specialty Advertising/Apparel (“Pipettes Suck” for Transnetyx) and Sales and Marketing: Collateral, Special Event Material/Card, Invitation, Announcement Campaign (“The AE Who Loved Me” for Joe and Isabelle McLaughlin).