JEANNINE L. MCCOY, NHBA executive director, and Donna J. Parker, publications advertising and production coordinator and graphic designer for Bar publications, were honored at the NHBA Midyear Meeting for their extraordinary dedication and hard work on behalf of the association over the past 20 years. Parker came to work for the association on Nov. 29, 1982 and McCoy on Dec. 6, 1982.

At the Midyear Meeting reception, McCoy's 20 years of service to the Bar was celebrated with entertainment provided by former NHBA President Bruce W. Felmly, who led a group of present and former Bar leaders in a Jimmy Buffett-takeoff, along with other tributes. Reflecting on her tenure during the reception, McCoy commented, "The Bar's spirit of service, dedication to justice and professional bonds energize me every day."

McCoy rose through the ranks of the Bar staff and was named executive director in September 1993, succeeding Ellen Barial. In addition to overseeing the daily operations of the Bar Association, McCoy works with the Board of Governors and a number of Bar committees on leadership initiatives as well as strategic planning for the Bar Association. A native of Pembroke, McCoy lives in Portsmouth and recently received a graduate degree in management from the Antioch New England Graduate School. She also is a leader on the national scene, working with bar association executives from across the country. This year, she is the program chair of the National Association of Bar Executives, an ABA-affiliated group.

During McCoy's tenure, the Bar has received a number of awards for its innovative programs and services. In the past two years, she was instrumental in bringing the Casemaker Web Library to NH, and her enthusiasm encouraged a number of other New England states to also join the Casemaker consortium, thus enhancing the value of the service to NH Bar members.

Early in her Bar work, McCoy worked closely with NH Bar leaders as they spearheaded a national campaign to preserve federal funding for civil legal services.

McCoy also spurred the establishment of the NHBA Insurance Agency, well in advance of the court's announcement that it was considering an insurance disclosure rule. "Considering the court's recent action, and the more challenging environment for insurance, these developments make the value of an agency exclusively serving members especially important at this time," said NHBA President Marty Van Oot. "Jeannine has been a leader in every sense of the word, a friend to Bar leaders, and her commitment to helping to improve the practice of law in New Hampshire is genuine and total."

Donna Parker has principally worked on the Bar's publications during her tenure at the Bar, in the process mastering many transitions - from electric typewriters with memory to dedicated word-processors to personal computers to desktop publishing and, most recently, to transmitting finished pages to the printer via the Internet. She designed and implemented several format changes, including the conversion of the Law Weekly newsletter into the Bar News tabloid format, as well as serving as managing editor for the quarterly NH Bar Journal. In 1997, the Bar Journal won honorable mention in the NABE Communications Section "Special Publications" category; and in 1998, Bar News won first place in the competition for bar associations in its size category.

"Throughout many changes at the Bar Center, in the publishing and in the legal worlds, Donna has been a steady and calming influence," said Dan Wise, communications director. "Year in, year out, she makes sure that the Bar's publications - timely and cleanly-designed - are always a source of pride as well as an important resource for members."

The language on a plaque presented to Parker read: "The New Hampshire Bar Association honors Donna J. Parker for 20 Years of Exemplary Service to the legal profession. Her integrity, patience and careful eye have enriched the Bar Association's member publications, Law Weekly, Bar News and Bar Journal."

Parker lives in Concord with her husband, Dana, and two children, Joshua and Hannah.

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