By CLARA CARTRETTE

State Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. received another prestigious honor last week when the N.C. Bar Association inducted him into the General Practice Hall of Fame.

The honor was bestowed on Soles during the bar association’s annual meeting at Atlantic Beach. He was one of six attorneys throughout the state chosen for the honor “in recognition of a lifetime of exemplary service and high ethical and professional standards as a general practitioner of the law and for serving as a role model for all lawyers in North Carolina.”

Last year, the N.C. General Assembly named Soles a “state institution,” as he is the longest consecutively elected legislator in North Carolina. He was honored the same day the Senate and House recognized his parents, Robert and Myrtle Soles on their 75th wedding anniversary, and his hometown, Tabor City, for its centennial.

Whiteville attorney Carlton F. Williamson welcomed guests at the Hall of Fame dinner, held at the Dunes Club.

Presenting Soles was one of his law partners, William W. Phipps. The Hall of Fame plaque was presented by bar association president Michael A. Colombo, whose father Vince Colombo was a teacher and coach at Williams Township School in the 1950s.

Soles graduated from Tabor City High School in 1952 and Wake Forest University in 1956. He then enlisted in the Army Reserve, serving from 1957-67 and achieving the rank of captain. Following his enlistment he enrolled in law school at UNC-Chapel Hill and received his law degree in 1959. He returned to Tabor City to begin his law practice and is the founding and senior partner of the law firm, Soles, Phipps, Ray & Prince.

He served as attorney for Tabor City and Columbus County before beginning his distinguished legislative career in 1969 by winning the first of four terms in the N.C. House of Representatives. He was elected to the Senate in 1977 and has served 15 consecutive terms, a political career that spans 38 years and will again be on the Senate ballot in November.

Soles was deputy president pro tempore of the Senate from 1993-97, and has served as the Senate majority chairman since 1997. He has chaired the Committee on Local Government, Committee on State Government and the Judiciary Committee. He now serves as chair of the Senate Commerce and vice chair of Judiciary I and Appropriations of the Department of Transportation.

A Rotarian since 1959, he is a past president of the Tabor City Rotary Club, the Tabor City Chamber of Commerce and has served on the executive committees of the Columbus County and Tabor City Committees of 100. He is the founding president of Southeastern Community College Foundation, is a former trustee of the Consolidated University of North Carolina and UNC-Wilmington. He is a lifetime member of Tabor City Baptist Church.

Soles was founding chairman of First Investors Savings Bank and now serves as a member of the board of directors of First Citizens BancShares Inc., and First Citizens Bank. He has been active in economic development in Southeastern North Carolina and is a director of LandBank, a development related company in the Myrtle Beach area.

He has served as president of the Columbus County Bar and secretary and president of the Thirteenth Judicial Bar Association. He is a member of the N.C. Bar Association, N.C. State Bar, American Bar Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is admitted to practice in the N.C. Supreme Court, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and U.S. District Court.

Soles is described in his Hall of Fame biography as “a true student of the law who has used his skills, which were honed and sharpened as a legislator, to represent his clients’ interest. His dedication, work ethic and ability to resolve complex problems and negotiate settlements are unmatched. He has a unique ability to be spontaneous but he never speaks before he thinks of what he intends to say. R.C. is one of the few remaining ‘gentleman lawyers’ who is always there to assist and advise young attorneys and never seeks to take unfair advantage of his fellow practitioner.”

In addition to his commitments to the legislature, his law firm and community, Soles says one of his most important roles is assisting with the care of his parents. Mr. Rob is 94 and Ms. Myrtle will celebrate her 96th birthday on Tuesday, June 20.