From left, TSDAR Historian Felicia Hicks, TSDAR First Vice Regent Emily Robinson, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark, TSDAR Regent Cecile S. Wimberley, TSDAR Organizing Secretary Merry Anne Pierson and TSDAR Registrar Sarah Roach.
From left, Ardena Garth, Justice Cornelia Clark, Regent Linda Moss Mines and Lynda Minks Hood
From left, Justice Cornelia Clark TSDAR Regent Cecile S. Wimberley and Adrena Garth
From left, Susan Rogers Thomas, Justice Cornelia Clark, Ardena Garth and Cecile Wimberley
The Chattanooga DAR Regents Council joined together to host their annual Luncheon at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club as a kick-off to the holiday celebrations. The five Chattanooga Chapters were represented by their regents and membership: Chickamauga Chapter, Regent Susan Harris; Judge David Campbell Chapter, Regent Marie Wingate; Nancy Ward Chapter, Regent Linda Crawford; Chief John Ross Chapter, Regent Linda Moss Mines and Moccasin Bend Chapter, Regent Jan Miller Elliot. The Council operates under the direction of Council Chair Natalie Blackwell, Nancy Ward Chapter.
Tennessee Society Daughters of the American Revolution Regent Cecile S. Wimberly was in attendance and brought greetings to the crowded audience. Other special guests joining the celebration included former National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Vice-President General and Honorary State Regent Susan Rogers Thomas, TSDAR First Vice-President Emily Robinson, TSDAR Organizing Secretary Merry Ann Pierson, TSDAR Registrar Sarah Roach and TSDAR Historian Felicia Hicks.
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark was the featured speaker and traced Tennessee’s role in the passage of the 19th Amendment [Women’s Suffrage] and Tennessee’s pivotal role in ‘The War of the Roses’. Justice Clark was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in September 2005 and was elected to full eight-year terms in 2006 and 2014. She served as Chief Justice 2010-2013, becoming the second woman in Tennessee history to serve in that role.
Justice Clark earned her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in 1971 and her Master of Arts in Teaching from Harvard University in 1972. Before attending law school, she taught high school history and U. S. Government for four years. In 1979, Justice Clark received her juris doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she served as a member of the editorial board for the Vanderbilt Law Review.
Justice Clark is a native of Franklin, where her family has lived for eight generations. She has served as a Board member of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County. Her numerous awards include the Pioneer Award, Vision 2020, the Liberty Bell Award, the Heritage Foundation’s Patrons Award, the Appellate Judge of the Year from the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Justice Martha Craig Daughtrey Award, 2018.
The Moccasin Bend Chapter, NSDAR, honored Ardena Garth with the ‘Outstanding Women in American History’, the first African American female public defender in Tennessee’s Hamilton County. When the State of Tennessee created the office of public defenders 22 years ago, it was an appointed position by the governor and she was the only applicant with both defense and prosecutorial experience.
When the office became an elected one in order to assure local accountability, Ms. Garth ran for office and won, becoming Tennessee’s first elected black female public defender, being reelected multiple times. Ms. Garth, the first black valedictorian at Ooltewah High School, attended the University of Kansas Law School but spent her summers working for a local criminal defense attorney who helped open doors for her when she returned to Tennessee after getting her law degree. She served more than 18 years as a public defender for the 11th Judicial District.
As public defender, Ms. Garth was audacious in her beliefs and passionate about justice, advocating that if people are going to lose their life or liberty, everyone should be treated equally, including those who cannot afford a lawyer and where there are instances of mental illness. As president of Chattanooga Endeavors, Inc., an organization dedicated to creating true second chances for men, women, and their loved ones to overcome the stigma of incarceration, to regain purpose in their lives, and to build a better tomorrow for all, Ms. Garth remains dedicated to her quest for equal justice.
The Tennessee Society Daughters of the American Revolution’s first chapter organized on Dec. 18, 1892 and, as membership across Tennessee has grown, commitment to education, historical preservation and patriotism remain the major objectives of the society. Membership is open to any woman, 18 or older, who is a lineal descendant of a man or woman who served in the American Revolution or rendered patriotic service. The Chattanooga Chapters work with prospective members in documenting their lineage.