WINDSOR – Lawyers use it more than anyone else, so it’s no wonder they were the ones who stepped up with the upkeep.

Monday at the meeting of the Bertie County Board of Commissioners here, the North Carolina Bar Association Foundation Endowment Fund presented a check to the county for $1,000 to go towards stabilization and renovation of the county courthouse on Dundee Street.

“There have been some stabilization issues with (the courthouse) which is considered a historic building statewide,” said assistant county attorney Jonathan Huddleston. “And when Lloyd (county attorney Smith) found out about it he started looking around for some way the North Carolina Bar Association could help.”

Smith got in touch with Tom Hull, director of development for the NCBA Foundation, who saw a way to help out.

“The courthouse serves attorneys,” Huddleston continued, “and this is an opportunity for attorneys to give back.”

The NCBAF is a voluntary state-wide association of some 18,000 attorneys and law firms in all 100 North Carolina counties.

“This is the way that lawyers give back not just to their profession, but also to their communities,” said Hull.

The Foundation makes grants around the state for pro bono and education projects.

“These are opportunities that schools, civic organizations, and anyone that has a legal connection can apply for grants through our foundation,” Hull added.

Hull discussed the middle school ‘mock-trial’ program, where middle school students participate in oratory competitions around the state; and ‘Lawyers for Literacy’, where attorneys go into schools and spend time reading and being read to by students.

In citing the Bertie County connection, Hull pointed out that Lewiston Mayor Dale Vaughan is the mother of Kim Crouch, the assistant to NCBAF Liaison Allan Head.

“So Bertie County has a direct pipeline through Mrs. Vaughan to our executive director at the Bar,” Hull said with a smile. “We just wanted to make this symbolic presentation to the commission and to let your folks know that lawyers do good things.”

Commission chairman J. Wallace Perry thanked Hull and the NCBAF for their contribution. Perry indicated that certain wings of the courthouse were damaged during the recent floods that plagued the town of Windsor several years ago.

County attorney Smith, who gave a personal contribution to the stabilization project, was also praised for his support and for getting the NCBAF involved.