Gov. Brad Henry made the case for asking for contributions to the Legal Aid Campaign during a reception he and first lady Kim Henry hosted along with Mayor Kathy Taylor and Bill Lobeck at their home.

The governor encouraged everyone to keep asking friends and colleagues for contributions so those people will have a chance to be part of the campaign.

"If they don't want to give, they'll just say no and they won't be ad you asked. But, if you don't ask, they'll always wonder why you didn't ask and they may be mad."

The reception honored some 100 major supporters of Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc.  Gov. and Mrs. Henry are the statewide co-chairmen for the 2009 Campaign for Justice, Legal Aid's annual fund drive. The goal is $600,000.

Doug Dodd was the evening's emcee.
Guests included George Kaiser; Oklahoma City University Law School Dean Lawrence Hellman; University of Tulsa Law School Dean Janet Levit; Judge Tom Brett; Judge Jane Wiseman and eight members of the Tulsa Team including Dodd, his wife Elaine, Nancy Feldman, her husband Ray, Gerry Jackson, Budge Lewis, his wife Mary Ann, Fred Cornish, his wife Lee, Jim Love, Eric Shelin, and John Woodward and his wife, Carolyn.  Also, Nancy and Hank Harbaugh, Schaad Titus, Steve Holden; Don Bingham; Andrea, Jason and Jerry Doyle; Michael Cooke; Kevin and De Anna Coutant; Erica Dorwart; Robert Sartin; Richard and Nellene Eldridge; Tony Haynie; Gerald Jackson; Frank Ladner; Jim and Kim Love; Richard and Natasha Mitchell; Amy Santee; Susan Shepherd; Dwight Smith; Matt Stiner; Pleas Thompson; Adrienne Watt; David Zemel; and Reps. Lucky Lamons,
Jabar Shumate and Jeannie McDaniel.

Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma is a nonprofit law firm that provides free civil legal assistance to eligible low-income individuals and their families, and to elderly people.  Legal Aid attorneys and their staff work through Legal Aid's 21 law offices and satellite offices, serving eligible clients in all 77 counties of Oklahoma. Legal Aid Services prioritizes cases involving issues that affect basic necessities of life, such as safety, food, shelter and a source of income, or those cases that have an emergency nature, such as a imminent hearing or an impending eviction.

by: DANNA SUE WALKER World Staff Writer
Thursday, July 23, 2009