The Shadow
From Sept. of 1990 till Feb. 1994, Tammy L. Phillips was employed by Wilson, Updike & Nicely in Covington as a legal assistant, and now William T. Wilson has hired her as his secretary.
Wilson, who has served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing the Alleghany Highlands, remarked, “I could not be happier to have Tammy return to my law firm.”
Phillips said, “I am very pleased to be working with Mr. Wilson again after being gone from the area for almost 25 years.”
A 1987 graduate of Alleghany High School, Phillips now lives in Eagle Rock after returning from working at out-of-state jobs in North Carolina and Tennessee.
She has a long resume of positions she has held, including working as a dental assistant, legal assistant for numerous firms in Roanoke and N.C., office and clinic assistant for the Roanoke Valley Equine Clinic in Daleville and as an assistant for Cundiff Heating & Air, Conditioning, Inc. in Roanoke.
After graduating from high school where she performed as a majorette, in 1989 she earned her Associates Degree in Business Administration at Dabney S. Lancaster Community College (renamed Mountain Gateway Community College on July 1, 2022).
Currently, she is taking classes in general studies at Mountain Gateway Community College.
Phillips recalled, “I worked in Roanoke for years before I moved out of state.
Her first move from Va. was to Charlotte, N.C. where she was employed by Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Matten, Inc. as an administrative assistant. Her duties were billing, coordinator, accounting, invoicing, typing, filing, mailing and other general administrative support activities.
She worked there from 2004-2006 before moving to Spring Hill, Tenn., not far from Nashville.
Phillips has learned to train horses, and she has become a versatile musician who plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar and keyboard.
At her home in Eagle Rock, she has 40 chickens. Asked if she sells eggs, she replied, “No. I give the eggs away.”
During her first employment with Wilson, Updike & Nicely, she served as a legal assistant for the personal injury law firm, working with clients and assisting the attorneys in their everyday duties.
After leaving the law firm in Feb. of 1994, she was hired by Watson & Stephenson of Covington as a legal assistant whose primary duty was to provide legal assistance for two attorneys.
While there, she assisted with real estate closings, wills, power of attorneys, pleadings and client billing. Additionally, she scheduled appointments, opened new client files and took care of office mail and bookkeeping.
During her employment with Wilson, Updike & Nicely, she assisted with research, real estate closings and in court.
Her duties also included assisting the attorneys in everyday work such as transcribing tapes for attorneys and drafting legal documents. She was also helpful in contacting personal injury clients to secure regular updates, and she organized medical records and kept track of medical expenses for all of the firm’s clients.
Wilson reminisced, “When my faithful secretary of over 10 years, Kathy Carson, retired in December 2022, it left me without staff for a couple of months, but now, with Tammy, we are back in business.”
Phillips expressed her satisfaction with having returned to her home, “To say that I am excited to be back in my hometown is an understatement.”
She continued, “Home is definitely where the heart is, and I am so happy to be back home and working for Mr. Wilson.”
“I love working in the legal field and look forward to helping all of those that we can,” she added.
Wilson concluded, “My hope is that a few personal injury cases will come our way, and we will be doing some wills, powers of attorney, advance medical directives, and that sort of thing along with some traffic cases.”
Known in the Alleghany Highlands for his community service work and support of charitable causes, Wilson is the founder and president of the Jackson River Preservation Association and a member of the Rotary Club.
