Barbara Merritt, the firm's office manager and primary real estate assistant, has been with the firm since 1982. Barbara is a lifelong resident of Orange County. She grew up on a family farm and has very deep roots in Orange County. Barbara is the mother of three children and the proud grandmother of four grandchildren: Charles, Owen, Kate and Jason. Barbara lives with her husband of forty four years, Tommy, who is a real estate developer and jack-of-all-trades.

 

Kathy Lawrence is John's paralegal and joined the firm in 1992. Kathy is a genuine coalminer's daughter who grew up in a large family in Pennsylvania. She is a North Carolina State Bar Certified Paralegal and has extensive training in litigation. She is also a member of The North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers, Legal Assistants Division. Kathy is a triathlete and placed first in her age group in the  2007 N.C. Endurance Triathlon Series.   She also serves as treasurer of the Sportsplex Tri Club in Hillsborough.  Kathy's passion for exercise led her to become an ACE-certified personal trainer.   In the past she regularly appeared in church drama as both an actress and director and was a member of Plumb Line Players, Inc., a community theatre troupe.   She has been married for twenty-four years to her husband, Gary. Their talented daughter, Leah, copyrighted her first cartoon in 2000 and attends college at North Carolina State majoring in Art.

Sandy Borland Rimmer joined our firm as legal secretary in December, 2005.  Sandy hails from a large family in Cedar Grove, Orange County and married into another one.  Married 20 years to Darryl, a Chapel Hill firefighter, Sandy is the mother of two boys, Zachary, age 13 and Garret, age 8.  Sandy loves working in the yard and enjoys home decorating.  She is very involved in the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association as a volunteer for baseball.  Sandy formerly worked in a law firm in Hillsborough for three years prior to working in daycare and as a substitute teacher and volunteer with the Orange County schools.  Above all, Sandy loves children, accordingly, she gets along well with John.

 

Retired January, 2006:  Patsy Wells, joined our team as legal secretary in 1998. Patsy has been married to her husband Luther for forty-three years. A mother and grandmother, Patsy is an extraordinarily talented person whose family has resided in Orange County for several generations. Patsy is a gifted farmer, baker, craftsperson, and seamstress. She also plays piano in her church. In short, she is the exemplary country woman. However, her talents do not end there. A 1958 graduate of Mars Hill College, Patsy is also an excellent writer whose prose is both insightful and humorous.