The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) is a national organization that I am honored to belong to. The ABOTA has at least one chapter in almost every state and has a very active chapter here in South Carolina! Attorney Luther Battiste served as President of the South Carolina Chapter and went on to become President of National ABOTA. He and his wife Judy are good friends of mine, and he is one of the most well-respected attorneys in our state. During his term, Luther and his wife created a reading program AT BAT – which stands for ABOTA Teaches: Balance, Advocacy & Tolerance. In this program ABOTA lawyers get to go into schools and read to children. I had the pleasure of doing so on July 12, 2023, at Brennen Elementary School here in Columbia. It was an absolutely delightful experience and the book I chose to read was Accordingly: Abuelo and Opa Make Music by Michael Genhart. Joining me for this reading session was my 28-year veteran legal assistant Jamie Brown who has made my life much easier for many years. She and I work well together, and it was quite a treat for us to see these young, precious, future leaders of South Carolina. I will gladly do it again whenever asked and if you ever get invited to read to a group of school children, I suggest you take the opportunity. It was quite rewarding and made my week.