We have some great people here at Wright Beamer, and our first priority is always to provide our clients with exceptional legal services. But personal connections are important to us too. We value our relationships with our clients and with each other. So this week, in a fun twist on our “Now You Know It” theme, I’d like to share with you some things you might not know about the attorneys and staff in our office:

Home life: We are family people. Evan is most recently married (last December), and Duane has been married the longest (44 years!). We collectively have 14 children (with two more on the way), 13 grandchildren, one horse, and a handful of “fur kids,” mostly dogs.

Travel: We love to travel to far away and interesting places. Some of our favorites include Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, San Juan, Grand Turk, St. Thomas, Puerto Vallarta, Ireland, Prague, Riviera Maya, and the mountains of Spain, where Lee and her husband, Tim, walked the historic Camino de Santiago last spring.

Sports: When it comes to sports, we are all over the map. Julie and I bleed maize and blue, while Duane cheers for Michigan State, Dirk likes the Buckeyes, and Heather is for the Fighting Irish. Evan likes the Mid-American conference teams, Lauren is an Alabama fan, and Donna, Deb and Lee like to cheer on the Tigers.

Hobbies: In our spare time we are involved in a diverse number of activities. We volunteer in our church ministries, garden, and work on DIY projects at home. We like to attend live theater performances, ride motorcycles, play with our kids and grandkids, scrapbook, golf, run, teach, hike, read, knit, and cook. I am personally looking forward to the day when I can take off my “family chauffeur” hat and find out what this “spare” time is all about.

Little known facts about our crew:

• Dirk wore a leg brace for four years in elementary school and, in retrospect, found it to be a formative experience.
• Lee is one of five children, four of whom practice law. The fifth is a geologist.
• Donna won’t be caught walking on sewer grates and is not at all a fan of bananas.
• Duane is a former Farmington Hills police officer and was once certified in court as an “Expert Tracker” as a result of hours spent tracking through the snow after a suspect.
• Evan is a fan of alternative rock and Ska music. He has attended several music festivals and destination events around the country.
• Julie once caught the attention of Jeff Daniels during the Thanksgiving Day parade. Mr. Daniels jumped off the float, ran over and gave her a big Thanksgiving Day hug!
• Heather was a ten-year 4-H member, showing dairy cattle at her local county fair.
• Deb coached a high school equestrian team to the state finals in 2012.
• Lauren attended a gifted and talented program for math in elementary school and went on to attend a magnet middle school. She is expecting her first child, a daughter, who will be the first grandchild for her parents!
• A friend of mine connected me with box seats to Siegfried and Roy’s renowned magic show at the Mirage Las Vegas back in 1997. I was lucky enough to sit with and talk to the Cincinnati Zoo director who was the consulting advisor for Siegfried and Roy’s famous white tiger refuge and conservation program.

I had a lot of fun learning a little more about my colleagues this week. And in my quick research poll of our office, I asked them to tell me something that they love about Wright Beamer. Not surprisingly, the answers resoundingly centered on the people here.

“I love how much we enjoy and support each other.” – Lee
“I like that the attorneys and staff at Wright Beamer genuinely care about our clients and their needs.” – Dirk
“We have great people here!” – Donna
“I appreciate the affirming, supportive and caring atmosphere here at WB.” – Duane
“Attorneys and staff are focused on working together to serve our clients’ needs.” – Evan
“I like that most of our clients have been clients for years and years. These longstanding relationships drew me to the firm eight years ago and are something I still love today.” – Julie
“Wright Beamer colleagues are very loyal, always willing to help each other and support the surrounding community.” – Heather

Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay cosmetics, once said, “People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.” I think Ms. Ash was right, and in my admittedly biased opinion, the attorneys, staff and clients at Wright Beamer measure up pretty well.