Phil Kirkpatrick on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Join Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes as we profile organizations, leaders, and volunteers who lead by example. With extraordinary acts of kindness and charitable giving that help countless lives daily, these organizations, leaders, and volunteers  embody, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Genma, Phil Kirkpatrick, and his girlfriend, Vicki Schmidt at the Rotary Club of Nashville

On Saturday, January 16, 2016, tune in to hear Phil Kirkpatrick, an Entertainment and Intellectual Property/Technology Litigation attorney with Adams and Reese, LLP, share about rebounding from a tragedy and how to live life with no regrets.

Phil will talk about the road to survivorship and thriving.

A survivor who wasn’t running but was standing at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon when the bombs went off. Along with the other surivors, he received an invitation to run the 2014 Marathon, an invitation he accepted because he knows it won’t be offered again.

Phil's story will leave you teary eyed but inspired to finish the race, whatever the "race" maybe in your life and how to make 2016, your best year yet!

Living Your Best Life, a radio show that empowers, inspires, and motivates us to live our BEST life, is heard on 760AM The Gospel in the Middle-TN area, Tune In,  military bases and on Ustream.TV worldwide from 9:00-10:00am CST.

More about Phil Kirkpatrick

Entertainment and Intellectual Property/Technology Litigation attorney Phil Kirkpatrick joined Adams and Reese in 2013 in the firm’s Nashville, Music Row and Memphis offices. Practicing his entire career in Tennessee, he has been a Federal Court litigator since 1979. Phil focuses on entertainment and intellectual property/technology litigation, products liability litigation, and commercial litigation.

In the music industry, Phil has represented artists, songwriters, producers, musicians, managers and major music groups including labels, publishers and merchandisers. He has also represented clients in numerous restrictive covenant matters, including non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret cases. He has also represented manufacturers, sellers and others in products liability cases, including fire and explosion cases, as well as power tool cases.

Phil’s clients have included the Estate of Harlan Howard, the Estate of Tupac Shakur, Hall of Fame songwriter and recording artist Dave Loggins, recording artist Aretha Franklin, Universal Music Group, Full Throttle Sloonshine, LLC, Stanley Black & Decker, Atmos Energy Corporation and Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. He has represented MCA Records in prosecuting claims for unauthorized use of sound recordings of artists Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells and copyright infringement of album cover artwork of Conway Twitty. He also has represented leading small appliance, natural gas meter, and natural gas distributor defendants in numerous multi-million dollar bodily injury fire loss cases.

Phil’s representative matters include:

• Represented Elizabeth Travis Management, Inc., against Randy Travis in manager v. artist litigation;
• Represented major label group in massive “Bridgeport” music infringement litigation;
• Represented exclusive merchandising agents for artists Chris Brown and Justin Bieber to obtain nationwide injunction and seizure orders to protect their name(s)and likeness(es) prohibiting bootleg merchandise from being sold at all venues throughout the U.S. in their respective nationwide tours;
• Represented Black & Decker to defense verdict in products liability case alleging “kickback” of portable circular power saw;
• Represented a large brake manufacturer plaintiff for Section 43(a) false designation and trademark infringement to jury verdict judgment, which was the first appellate reported case in State Court in Tennessee wherein a money judgment was awarded under the Federal Lanham Act.

Phil obtained both his undergraduate and law degrees from The University of Tennessee, graduating from law school in 1978, and earning his bachelor of science, with honors, in 1975.
In the community, Phil is an active voting member of the Country Music Association, and for six years he served as a Board of Trustees member and as General Counsel to Harding Academy, a K-8 Independent School in Nashville.  Phil also serves on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Art League in Nashville.

Phil is a former 7-midnight rock ‘n roll disc jockey, and was a drummer in an R & B band as well as a power trio band.

In his spare time, Phil enjoys his three kids, good music, great wine, swimming and running. Phil was injured by the first bomb at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, while about to take a photograph. He returned to Boston, and on April 21, 2014, ran the 118th Boston Marathon. He is an avid supporter of “Boston Strong — we will never forget,” and his article, "Why on Earth Would You Run Boston," is included in the articles/publications link on the right side of Phil's bio page.

Among the people Phil most admires are John Lennon and Owen Bradley because they both changed things.

Phil's headshot: Courtesy of Phil Kirkpatrick. Bio: Adam and Reese, LLC

Doing Good Celebrates Volunteers Doing Good in the Community

Doing Good™ is dedicated to promoting volunteerism – for all non-profits and areas of service. Its flagship project is Doing Good, a television show which features volunteers already making a difference in the community.

Doing Good was started by Megan McInnis with a mission to help improve the community of Nashville one volunteer at a time. “I believe in the impact one person can have on any community. I want Doing Good to celebrate the individuals who already volunteer, and I believe they can inspire and empower our neighbors to further impact our community.”

From The Nashville Ledger:

Megan McInnis launched her local nonprofit, Doing Good, in April 2011, and it quickly gained national attention. Its website, designed to promote volunteerism and connect people with nonprofits, won four national 2012 MarCom awards, the equivalent of winning an Oscar for the marketing and communication field. McInnis is a devoted matchmaker connecting volunteers and nonprofits, which is the reason she founded Doing Good.

“We needed something positive,” says McInnis, who plans to spotlight volunteers by promoting a Volunteer of the Month on the website. “When people volunteer, it needs to work for them,” she says. “It needs to fit their schedule and interests if there is something they want to get out of it. It is so important to find the right fit for the volunteers, because that is when they just blossom. “Each volunteer brings a unique set of skills and resources to that organization. They provide services and help stretch their budgets so it really becomes a win-win for the community.”

While in career transition and looking for a new challenge in corporate marketing, McInnis is focusing her efforts on Doing Good. She envisions a multi-platform program under the Doing Good umbrella, including Doing Good, a one-hour, weekly TV show featuring volunteers making a difference in the community. A six-minute demo of the show is on the website as she moves forward on funding.

While executive director for U.S. Green Building Council Middle Tennessee, she increased its volunteers 712 percent, membership by 25 percent and added to its numbers of partners, sponsorships and funded grants, all in her first year on the job.


Living Your Best Life is ecstatic to partner with Doing Good each month along with Mocha Market Magazine. 


Zetas Doing Good In the Community
Photo credit: Nashville Ledger

Home...Where Your Story Begins

For nearly a year, I worked tirelessly to finish a book trilogy. Along the way, I lost stem several times. In January, I was inspired to finish because of an interview with a respected surgeon turned author, Dr. Paul D. Parson. Paul D.Parson has written a series of books base on the Zulu beads given by Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boys Scouts, to the original Scout Masters. With historical events as the back drop, Parson  takes readers on a fictional journey to locate the Baden-Powell's beads. Paul shared with me he wrote the entire series before he released the first book. I was inspired after hearing his story and marketing strategies. So inspired, that I decided I would follow in his footsteps.

As a writer, my interest in authoring books was encouraged by many but Derrick Miles of Milestone Motivation Group was persistent in reminding to write books. Two years ago, I was a contributing author to Super-Human Performance. Derrick, known as the encourager, would say often, “Genma, you must put your stories in a book." I shared with him on several occasions about my desire to finish a book I had started that could be written as a series. After much encouragement from him (and many others) along with Paul's story, I said, “yes” to making it happen. For inspiration, I began reading through twenty-six years of journals that chronicled my every thought.

As I read my journals, I had forgotten how much they held. I put everything in my journals; the good, the bad, and the ugly. At times, I wondered out loud if my writings were from a woman going mad! Some years, I probably was. Many pages captured cherished moments from the lives of family and friends and my spiritual victories of hard fought battles. I rejoiced at seeing growth from one journal to another, laughed hysterically at trying to balance social commentary with social politics, lamented over the painful years of trying to raise teens, and was reminded how much has been accomplished over the years despite years of struggling. My journals were the perfect antidote to get me going. Along with years of blogging and writing for many publications, I had an abundance of material.

When I embarked on completing the series, I did not realize I would be pitted against will and might. Suddenly, it appeared as if the universe began to work against me all at once. Alex, the grand prince, became ill and spent weeks back and forth to hospitals. After getting him well, I was plagued with health issues from out of nowhere, while business accounts that were once solid were on shaky grounds. With illnesses taking front seat to life, invoicing got behind. Sending invoices is essential to getting paid. Very few folks voluntary pay a company.

What in the world was happening, I wondered often? The more I pushed through the more pressure mounted that sapped my energy daily. Pressure, anxiety, stress, and tension, entered my body, mind, and spirit. Not to mention, I had isolated myself to finish the book. Can wanting to finish a book bring strife in your life? I was seriously beginning to believe some evil force was hounding me. However, in spite of the hellish last several months, the final sentence was written.

How did it happen? My firm belief in praying daily was my foundation for staying strong. Add that to pure determination and inspiration found from a wooden sign also empowered me to complete what I had started. A wooden sign? Yes, prayer, determination, and my beautiful wooden sign!

At Christmastime, I bought a gift for myself from Mom’s Sign Company. Mom’s Sign Company is a Franklin, TN based company owned by Margaret Ziegler that specializes in hand painted wooden signs with heartfelt words for any occasion. I had ordered signs for gifts from Mom’s Sign Company before but never for myself. After browsing the site one night around midnight, I saw a sign that read “Home is where your story begins…” immediately my heart skipped a beat. I felt as if God was giving me the "okay" to share my heart and stories from the place that influenced me the most, home. My home, after years of starts and stops, had become an Oasis in my life.

After I received my sign, I nailed it to my wall above my office desk. This was the first time in a very long time that I actually bought a gift for ME! My office is where I work but it is also where I retreat to write for pleasure. Nailing my sign to the wall felt as if I planted the flag on the moon! I did not realize at the time how my sign would be such a powerful motivator over the next several months

When I entered into my writing zone, my words flowed freely for several weeks. But as weeks turned into months, unforeseen circumstances invaded my life. Illnesses hit my family, from my grandmother to my Grand Prince, like the plague of centuries ago and kept me distracted. There were many days spent wondering if Grand Prince Alex would be okay.  I would glance at my sign as I passed by my office door and read it boldly after praying for his recovery. When I became ill and wondered if I was going to see the next day, I repeated the words from my sign along with every prayer committed to memory. When I was discouraged, depressed, drained, and done, the words on my sign would inspire me to keep going. “Write a few words today,” it seemed to whisper. “Keep at it” it would remind me at times. “Do not give up,” it would yell often. And each day, no matter what, I added words to my story that started at home.

Last week, I met with several editors who looked at me as if they were seeing a ghost. I could read their thoughts, “She has been sick, when did she find time to finish?” I smiled to myself knowing that at home my secret weapon, my sign, helped me accomplish what many would have said was unthinkable. A believer in the power of words, my sign kept me motivated through tough times and was a constant reminder of the beauty of where your story begins.