If the rows of people who lined the Lunenburg Courthouse, and the visible support from family and friends from near and far were any indication, Calvin Spencer has made quite a legacy in Lunenburg County, and will now carry his decades of service to the General District Court for the 10th Judicial Circuit.

The Friday afternoon investiture, a term meaning when incumbents are officially installed into their respective positions, became a way to reflect on how Lunenburg County, and Southside Virginia, played an enormous role in Spencer’s career as an attorney and a judge.

Robert Hawthorne Jr., attorney with Hawthorne & Hawthorne, P.C. and Joseph M. Teefey, circuit court judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit in Virginia, spoke about Spencer being an intelligent and hardworking asset in any role he found himself, which included everything from being awarded Salutatorian when graduating from Central High School, accepted into Phi Beta Kappa at Hampden-Sydney College, graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law and serving as a federal law clerk with a federal judge, the Hon. Henry C. Morgan Jr., United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia Norfolk Division.

Spencer, having every legal career opportunity available, chose to come home. He went to work with Harris, Matthews & Osborn, now Harris, Matthews & Crowder, in 2000. Spencer and Leslie M. Osborn worked together for one month before Osborn transitioned into a position as judge.

Spencer, as an attorney with Harris, Matthews & Crowder, is how many in the community who hadn’t known him already, came to know him. Spencer also served as attorney for The Town of Kenbridge.

The pride and respect demonstrated to Spencer through his immediate and extended family, through friends and former classmates, through attorneys and judges throughout Southside Virginia and beyond, was palpable in the courtroom Friday.

The Dispatch believes this well-deserved showing of support will follow Spencer into a long and successful career as a judge. We add our support and good wishes to Spencer as well.