Bruce Strothers, Managing Counsel of The Coca-Cola Company, poses with his Mom, who flew in from Seattle for the event, and LCLD Founding Chair Rick Palmore. (Photo by Charles Belt)
Bruce E.L.M. Strothers of The Coca-Cola Company, a 2012 Fellow, has been named the recipent of the inaugural Rick Palmore LCLD Fellows Alumni Award.
The Award, named for LCLD Founder and Chair Emeritus Rick Palmore (inset, below), recognizes the "outstanding achievements, commitment, and leadership of an LCLD Fellows Alumnus who paved the way for and assisted with the advancement of his/her LCLD Fellows and Fellows Alumni, and diverse attorneys generally."
Rick Palmore, who recently retired as General Counsel of General Mills, is the Founding Chair Emeritus of LCLD. It was Palmore’s combination of vision and hard work that was responsible for the founding of the organization in 2009. He continues to inspire his fellow Members to push the frontiers of diversity and inclusion for the legal profession.
As Managing Counsel of the Minute Maid Business Unit of The Coca-Cola Company for several years, Strothers serves as lead counsel to the Minute Maid executive leadership team as well as to hundreds of employees in Sugar Land, Texas, and around the country.
His career at Coca-Cola glitters with accomplishments, including his current stewardship of a number of Minute Maid brands; before that, he handled legal affairs for Coca-Cola in both foreign and domestic markets, and in its complex sponsorship agreements with the NCAA, NBA, WNBA, NHL, FIFA World Cup, the PGA, and the Olympics.
But it was his service to others, along with "substantial and lasting contributions to the LCLD Fellows community," that earned him the recognition of his peers.
"In Bruce's world, it is not enough to mentor and lead from the sidelines," wrote one Alumnus in support of his nomination, echoing the comments of others. "Instead, Bruce advocates, sponsors, and sets diverse attorneys up for success. He gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and changed the course of my career."
"Bruce never says 'no' to LCLD."
Strothers has also been extraordinarily dedicated to LCLD and the continued success of the LCLD Fellows Program and Fellows Alumni. He has served on the Fellows Strategy and Innovation Committee since its inception, and has worked with LCLD and Coca-Cola leadership to foster collaboration and build relationships among Fellows and LCLD Members. He helped to organize Coca-Cola’s Leadership Lunch in November 2014, and has attended every LCLD Fellows Alumni Conference since graduating from the Fellows Program.
Named the National Head Start Program’s Alumni of the Year in 2011, Strothers rose from humble beginnings in Seattle to become a role model for attorneys around the country. As the first recipient of the Rick Palmore LCLD Fellows Alumni Award, he exemplifies the values that LCLD and its Founder, Rick Palmore, stand for.
Strothers echoes Palmore when he talks about the LCLD model of leadership and service to others. "The more you give, the more will eventually come back to you," Strothers says. "But even if whatever good you do, whatever empowerment you give, never comes back to you—it's still the right thing to do!"
To see an extended interview with Bruce E.L.M. Strothers, go here.
