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David Daggett and Family are featured in Forsyth Family magazine

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Page 1: Forsyth Family Article
Page 2: Forsyth Family Article

August Issue 2008 • 13

David DaggettBalancing Life’s AnchorsBy Carolyn S. Peterson

He Likes CallingWinston-Salem His Home

COV

ERSTO

RYWhenDavid Daggett speaks ofWinston-Salem, his chosen ‘home town,’ hesounds like a member of the Chamber of

Commerce. “I came to this city 26 years ago toattend WFU School of Law and I remember going

home on Christmas break in 1982 and telling myparents that I was going to live in Winston-Salem the rest

of my life. I was born in Iowa, moved to Detroit, Chicago,Indiana, for my undergraduate studies at Indiana State, thenback to Chicago. Winston-Salem is a unique combination,offering the ability to travel within the city quickly, access thearts, from the NCSA to the Winston-Salem Symphony, to thesporting events like the ACC and professional sports inCharlotte, then the recreational activities, close to the mountainsand beaches; it would be hard to find a place with everything thatWinston-Salem has to offer,” stated Daggett.

His time in Winston-Salem began as a student, and then as anattorney with Michael Lewis. “I began with Mike in 1985 rightout of school and became partner in 1987. When I began,Mike’s office was a general trial firm, handling criminal,domestic and injury cases. As the practice of law became moreconcentrated, we decided that in order to represent our clientsto the best of our abilities, we would need to concentrate oncases involving serious injury, disability, workerscompensation and eminent domain,” recalled Daggett. TheLewis & Daggett partnership works so well because asDaggett said, “Mike and I have different, yet complementary,

talents, skills and viewpoints. Between us, we are able to viewissues and cases from multiple perspectives which is an asset to

our firm and clients. Mike has been my mentor, friend andcolleague for over 23 years.”

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14 • forsythfamilymagazine.com

FOUR ANCHORS

Cathedral of Nature: Nurturing a Spiritual Relationship

For Daggett, life is about loyalty and commitment to four areas, oranchors in life, that he has chosen to funnel his energy into.The four anchors are spirituality, family, professionaland physical. Daggett believes that the extentto which one is able to combine thoseanchors, steward one’s time, andweave each one into all the aspectsof one’s life, only makes one’slife richer in each area. “WhenI am training, particularly onmy bike, I always considermyself to be in ‘Cathedral ofNature’ which for me onlyreinforces and reconnects thespiritual connection” saidDaggett. Maintaining theconnection to his spiritual beliefsand the time he spends with God,comes while on his weekly bike rides,as well as his time at church. “Combiningmy physical fitness regimen and spiritual timeonly makes each individual part richer,” stated Daggett.

Balancing the Scales of Justice and Family

As a husband to wife Cindy for over 10 years, and the father of three, aconcurrent use of time in all aspects of Daggett’s life is a must to keephis family and his commitments, made to others and to himself, a focus.

There is no doubt that most of us could use more time in our day. Ormaybe we have enough time, we just don’t use it as wisely as we could.That is where the subject of balance comes in for Daggett. “I think Ikeep my life in balance fairly well. Occasionally things go one way orthe other, but I realize it and get it back. I’ve never been one to need akick in the pants to get going, but sometimes I need a bit to reign me in.For me, keeping family a priority is essential. Because of the timeconstraints that I have, I often combine my activities to use my timewisely. For instance, when our family goes to visit my in-laws inRoanoke, Virginia, my wife drives the kids and I ride mybike to Roanoke and meet them there. Then we visitand she drives back with the kids and I rideback. We also like hiking. I’ll leave earlyand ride to Hanging Rock and then mywife and kids will meet me there andwe’ll have a family outing. OnSaturdays, I start out as soon as thesun rises and ride my 70 miles, whichtakes me 3 hours and 21 minutes,then I have the rest of the day to spendwith my family,” stated Daggett.

In the grand scheme of things, Daggett gotoff to a late start with marriage at 37, but heand his wife Cindy, a textile scientist and formermarketing executive, now stay at home mom,experienced life through travel and jobs in their 20’s and 30’s,and now time with their children takes precedence over other activities.One activity that Daggett and Cindy enjoy is teaching the 2 and 3 yearolds Sunday School at New Philadelphia Moravian Church in Winston-

Salem. “We began when our kids were in the class, but now it is greatjust to see the children in the class grow up. I love to stop by and havethe kids run up to me and give me a hug,” said Daggett.

Bringing Awareness to the Community: The Professional Anchor

Reaching the older youth in the Triad is also a bigpart of Daggett’s community involvement

and professional anchor. For the past18 years, Lewis & Daggett

Attorneys at Law has sponsored‘Safe and Sober Prom Night.’“The issue of drinking anddriving was one that we asa law firm had seen fromboth perspectives. Wehad represented both sidesin many cases and weknew it was a subject that

we could speak to withauthority. We decided to put

our money where our mouthswere and do something about raising

the awareness for young people aboutdrinking and driving,” commented Daggett. In

the 18 years of the program, the staff of Lewis andDaggett has taken the issue to heart and each uses their talents tointeract with local students. “Safe and Sober Prom Night has grown to34 high schools across the Triad, including more than 14,000 juniorsand seniors. Personally, I enjoy talking to students about the supportthey have from the community of teachers, coaches, parents, policeofficers, but also on the support they can give each other as peers.Over the years, I have spoken to hundreds of thousands of students onthemes including the legal system, drinking and driving, business and,most recently, internet safety. These are all subjects that a heightenedawareness of can made a difference in lives,” stated Daggett. Each yearthe ‘Safe and Sober Prom Night’ program offers a t-shirt design contestwithin the schools. A video production competition is also held andguest speakers, like Bob Anastas of Students Against Drunk Driving(SADD), are invited to share their stories of the dangers of alcohol,

drugs and driving. “I’ve had students come up tome after an assembly and say, ‘No one has

ever gotten through to me, but youmay have today.’ That means a

lot to me,” said Daggett.

The Fourth Anchor:Physical Fitness

There is a saying that‘you can’t be of benefitto others, if you don’ttake care of yourself.’

Daggett believes inphysical fitness, beyond the

norm. “I work out at the YMCAevery morning at 5 AM and I have

competed in 148 triathlons since I startedwith my first one on a dare in 1982. For most

people who compete in triathlons, they have one of the three stages thatthey are weaker in, whether that is swimming, biking, or running, but Iseem to have ‘less weaknesses’ than most, in that I am good at each

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August Issue 2008 • 15

stage. I do enjoy the biking portion the most. The most challengingrace is the Hawaii Ironman World Triathlon Championship, for which Ihave qualified and competed in five times, along with 12 other Ironmancompetitions,” stated Daggett. In his many triathlons, the Daggett clanhas been there to cheer Dad on and inspire him to the finish line.

Being a Type ‘A’ perfectionist, and disciplinedindividual has helped Daggett in athletics aswell as his chosen profession of attorney.“The discipline that I have in myphysical life has benefited meoverall with the mind-bodyconnection. Keeping both, themind and the body, strong onlystrengthens the connectionbetween the two. I have acompetitive spirit in athleticsand in my professional life. I lovethe interaction with people andhelping them during what is, for most,the worst time of their lives and givingthem counsel to get them through,”said Daggett.

BEHIND EVERY GOOD MAN…

Everyone knows that behind every good man is an even better woman.For Daggett that is wife, Cindy. After meeting on a blind date overlunch, Daggett soon realized that Cindy was ‘the one.’ “She is anincredible mom. Her dedication to the family keeps everything

together. Cindy keeps me informed on what is going on in the worldwith my pile of clippings from papers that I need to read. She had acareer in the textiles industry with several patents on cold weather gear,but she chose to stay at home with our children and has never lookedback” commented Daggett. Once when Cindy was asked about her

favorite trait of her husband’s she answered, “David is agood protector,” to which Daggett took a degree

of offense. “Cindy didn’t mention looks,humor, charm, nothing, but that I was

a good protector. But when Ipressed the subject, she said,‘When David is around, younever have to worry. He isthere protecting you.’” Whatmore could a wife, child,church or client need than a‘good protector’? David Daggett

is proud and honored to be knownas a ‘good protector’ for all the

‘anchors’ in his life.

Lewis & Daggett Attorneys at Law, P.A. islocated at 285 Executive Park Blvd. in Winston-Salem

and at 1429 B Westover Terrace in Greensboro. Their phone numbersare (W-S) 765-7777 and (GSO) 851-1000. David Daggett has a dailyblog where he shares his triathlon experiences along with life’sexperiences: www.daviddaggett.wordpress.com. The Safe and SoberProm Night web site is www.safeandsober.com. The firm’s web site iswww.lewisdaggett.com.

1-800-LAW-7777

www.lewisdaggett.com

www.safeandsober.com

In Greensboro:1429 BWestover TerraceGreensboro, NC 27408

336-851-1000

“Tell Them YouMean Business!”

( 5 2 9 )

Michael J. Lewis David D. Daggett

In Winston-Salem:285 Executive Park Blvd. (near Hanes Mall)

Winston-Salem, NC 27103

336-765-7777

No Attorney Fee Unless There Is A Recovery.

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