By Bridget Schuster,
Member Services Director
Preparations for the Breakfast With Champions always includes affixing various ribbons to nametags. These ribbons identify individuals as being current or past Board presidents (for both KCBA and KCBF), current Board Trustees, and other distinctions. One that particularly caught my attention this year was the Table Captain ribbons. We not only recognize current Table Captains with a bright orange ribbon. We also call out longtime Table Captains, with ribbons identifying them as having served as Table Captain for 10+ years and 5+ years.
As I sat in our conference room, nametags sitting at attention across the length of the conference table, I marveled at the commitment of some of these longtime Table Captains. How amazing to commit to filling a table year after year to support local access-to-justice efforts. I decided these steadfast KCBF supporters deserved a special call-out in addition to the annual ribbon. Here are some of the heroes who’ve put in more than a decade as Table Captains at the Breakfast With Champions, from their own words:
17 years – David Lawyer, Inslee, Best, Doezie & Ryder
Favorite Speaker: This year’s speaker, Steve Pemberton, was outstanding. Those at my table raved about his address. There was nothing “scolding” about his message, and his personal story is riveting. Steve is a gifted speaker, who can keep an audience at attention. Looking way back, I thoroughly enjoyed Paul Rusesabagina (2006), author of the book “Hotel Rwanda.” Simply to be in the presence of a person who showed so much courage in the face of such horror was awe inspiring. I am certain there are others in the pantheon that I am not placing right now, but those two stick out.
Why I Commit: Getting such a large number of people into their seats, fed, enlightened, and out the door in 90 minutes is consistently impressive. But my #1 reason for returning as a table captain is that I am annually inspired by the keynote speaker’s words. Whether the impacts are lasting or fleeting, I leave the venue with a renewed faith that we in the legal industry are doing important work, while preserving and protecting systems and institutions that (despite their flaws and weaknesses) are still the best in the world. In recent years, I also value this Breakfast as a reason to engage with fellow members of the bar, because those opportunities are fewer and fewer as time passes. In today’s world of “Zoom everything,” friendly face-to-face banter with colleagues is a refreshing detour from ordinary days.
13 years – David Zapolsky, Amazon
Favorite Speaker: There have been so many very good speakers over the years. The one that comes to mind relatively recently was Loretta Lynch.
Why I Commit: Amazon Legal participates every year because, as one of the leading employers of lawyers in King County, we have a responsibility to give back to our community. Often that takes the form of pro bono work, typically working with the programs that are funded by KCBF and KCBA. (My personal favorite pro bono practice is vacating old convictions working with The Records Project.) But it also means showing up to help KCBF continue to fund this important work. Every year I use my Table Captain status to invite in-house attorneys from Amazon and other companies to encourage more connection with the King County bar community. In-house legal departments can be very insular and more removed than law firms. The Breakfast is a great way of not only getting my in-house colleagues to support a great cause but to become more connected to the legal community.
15 years – Steve Rovig, Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson.jpg "Steve Rovig")
Favorite Speaker: That’s like asking a parent which is their favorite child. I’ve enjoyed (almost) all of the speakers.
Why I Commit: The Breakfast With Champions is near and dear to my heart. In fact, I was a member of the KCBF Board when it was created. I retired January 1, 2018, but while I was still practicing, I served as a table captain because it gave my guests an opportunity to support KCBA’s pro bono programs and the Bar’s scholarship program. Having attended BWC nearly every year since its inception, it makes me happy to be there to hear how many millions of dollars have been donated to support KCBA’s important programs over the decades!
14 years – Colleen Kinerk, Davidson, Kilpatric & Krislock
Favorite Speaker: Sherman Alexie. Let me provide a little context. The invitation had been extended to him many months before the Breakfast. In the month preceding the Breakfast, there had been a rash of suicides by young people at various reservations across the U.S. The ballroom seemed darker than usual. The lights were somewhat dim. Sherman Alexie took the stage and captivated the audience with the power of his words and his presence. The audience was locked into him. It was utterly silent. Not one person left the room until Alexie concluded his remarks, and then the entire audience stood.
Why I Commit: There are three primary reasons I served as a Table Cabin for many years. First, no one can say “NO” to Charlie Burdell, who recruited table captains for more years than I can count. Second, my involvement with KCBA and the Bar Foundation were among the most impactful experiences of my legal career. The funds raised were critical to the support of civil legal services and diversity. Third, the annual BWC was and remains incredibly fun. There is always so much energy, laughter, and buzz in the room as lawyers catch up with each other in person. That remains a rare opportunity these days in the wake of the pandemic and because so many lawyers regularly work remotely.
13 years – Hon. Charles Burdell (ret.), Judicial Dispute Resolution
Favorite Speaker: I have several favorite speakers. Gloria Steinem was the first of our speakers to draw a completely sold-out breakfast and her speech regarding inequality in American was inspiring. The real manager of the Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina, riveted the audience with his description of the genocide he witnessed. Senator Tom Daschel’s speech was fine, but the part I most remember was my introduction of him. His brother lived in Tacoma and we got several photos of him as a youngster and displayed them on the big screens with funny comments from his family. When Senator Daschel stepped up to the microphone, he looked at me with an odd look on his face and said: “That was the most recent introduction I’ve received, Charlie!”
Why I Commit: I somehow was always the member of the KCBF Board tasked with contacting lawyers to ask them to be a table captain. I couldn’t very well make that ask and not show up myself!! As the years went by, it became fun to call the lawyers and get them to step up again. Many times I’d call and ask to speak to a lawyer and when she/he answered they’d say something like “I know why you’re calling and I’ll be a table captain for my firm again!”
.jpg "Hon. John Ruhl")
13 years – Hon. John Ruhl (ret.), Arbitrator and Mediator
Favorite Speaker: My favorite Breakfast With Champions keynote speaker was Bob Edwards at the 2007 Breakfast. Mr. Edwards, who was a host of National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, gave us an inspiring account of the legal career of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, who has been accredited as being the “grandfather” of pro bono legal services. Mr. Edwards also strongly urged us to become involved in civil legal aid service and make donations to the King County Bar Foundation.
Why I Commit: I always have considered the Breakfast to be a very enjoyable social event. Being Table Captain each year gave me a fun opportunity to invite my law partners (and when I was a judge, to invite my fellow judges) to get together and catch up, and also receive positive reassurances that we as legal professionals have so many wonderful opportunities to work to help improve our community. I am an enthusiastic groupie of the KCBF, and so I also enjoyed being a table captain each year because I knew that KCBF uses its funds to support so many crucial pro bono legal service programs, and to provide vital scholarships for minority law students at Seattle’s two law schools.
13 years – Linda Ebberson, Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson
Favorite Speaker: How does one pick a favorite when they are all excellent?
Why I Commit: Charlie Burdell recruited (or shamed) me originally. I used to see him at the Washington Athletic Club frequently, before COVID. The annual Breakfast With Champions always leaves me charged up and inspired by the legal services the Foundation provides to the underserved in our community. I also greatly appreciate the program is efficiently run and completed on time, if not ahead of schedule.
12 years – Hon. Ronald Cox (ret.), JAMS ADR
Favorite Speaker: The late Professor Charles Ogletree of Harvard Law School was my favorite. He was a giant in the legal field, both as a professor at Harvard and beyond. The tributes to him in the Harvard Law Review by President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson explain why: harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-137/in-memoriam-professor-charles-j-ogletree-jr. In addition to hearing his speech at the Breakfast, I had the honor of interviewing him at the reception the evening before the Breakfast. In every way, he was an excellent choice to speak at the Breakfast With Champions.
Why I Commit: I am one of the original scholarship recipients for the program now administered by the Bar Foundation. Without that scholarship, I would not have come to the state of Washington to attend the University of Washington School of Law and would not have had the legal career that followed. In addition, I am a former President of the Bar Foundation. Serving as a table captain and encouraging colleagues to contribute to the Bar Foundation have been the natural results of that background. I am now retired and live in Port Ludlow, a two-hour commute from Seattle, so was not a table captain this year. But I sent in my contribution for the vital work the Bar Foundation continues to perform! I applaud the continued success of the Breakfasts over the many years it has been in effect.
12 years – Derek Crick, Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland
Favorite Speaker: There have been so many great speakers that it is hard to pick one. I appreciate the work KCBF has put into finding speakers who address critical issues and provide a message we can use in our lives, both work and personal.
Why I Commit: I am so appreciative of KCBF’s and KCBA’s work in our community that I want to continue to support. I love the opportunity to connect with friends and former colleagues. Sometimes the Breakfast is the only opportunity to see each other during the year.
.jpg "Karen Orehoski")
11 years – Karen Orehoski, Grube Orehoski
Favorite Speaker: The Breakfast With Champions planning committee consistently gets such diverse, inspirational, and interesting speakers that it is hard to choose just one. I will say that some recent standouts for me were Ari Shapiro, Dahlia Lithwick, and Eric Liu.
Why I Commit: I want to support the work of KCBF and KCBA, and I love exposing more lawyers to what these organizations do for the community. Coming together with friends and colleagues for the Breakfast is an easy way to support KCBF and KCBA. The Breakfast also serves to remind ourselves why we became lawyers and why it is so important as lawyers and community members to support the important work of KCBF and KCBA. Every year I start the morning off slightly grumpy about the start time of the Breakfast, and every year I walk out of the Breakfast inspired and grateful to work in the legal community in King County. Seeing lawyers, judges, students, and community leaders gather together for one cause is encouraging. It gives me hope — which is something I really need during these uncertain times.
Thank you to all of these enduring supporters. You make our legal community the vibrant, engaged, and dedicated group that it is … and worth getting up extra early for each May!
