Hello, this is Vince Quatrini from the law firm of QuatriniRafferty, here to talk today about Women’s History Month and one of the women in our law firm that has made a difference and makes a difference in the lives of women, children, and everyone every day. That person is Joyce Novotny-Prettiman.

Joyce has been a member of our firm for over 20 years. What I love about her history: she started out as a legal secretary, became a paralegal, goes on to college, goes on to law school, and then joins our firm as a young associate. In those 20 years, Joyce has been a leader in the bar association, she’s now past president, in what’s called Ned Nagle’s “Ends of Court” teaching young lawyers how to be good lawyers. She has been a recipient of what is called the Million Dollar Advocacy Forum, meaning that she has produced million dollar results in her area of expertise personal injury, and currently she’s been elected to our statewide group of county bar leaders. It’s a pretty prestigious position to be in.

Why? Because Joyce works at it every day. Her clients can tell you that, but what we enjoy telling you about Joyce is that when you’re sitting in front of her, you won’t realize all of the steps she has taken, all of the work in our community that she’s done to help our clients day in and day out in making a difference in their life. So, join me in saying bravo Joyce Novotny-Prettiman for all you’ve done for the community and for the law firm of QuatriniRafferty.

Hi, this is Joyce Novotny-Prettiman of QuatriniRafferty and I’d like to take a moment to share with you some of my thoughts on Women’s History Month. Just like my pictures of my friends and my family remind me every day how lucky I am to have them in my life, Women’s History Month can be an opportunity to be reminded of the amazing women who have been such an inspiration to so many people.

Those women may be famous women or they may be not so famous women. Some of the people that I’ve looked up to include both. For example, I am so inspired by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is the second female appointed as a Justice to the United States Supreme Court. She served for 27 years and we can talk about so many amazing decisions that she wrote, but one of the things that inspires me the most was that in 1956 when she entered school at Harvard Law School, she was only one of nine women in a class of 552 students. In my book, that’s pretty courageous!

The people that have inspired me also have been people that are close to me, like my grandmothers and my mom. My one grandmother was a nurse and she was so proud of her profession, but she also was a great homemaker. My grandmother who had six children, inspired me to realize that it is an absolute amazing accomplishment to have children and to make a home and raise a family that you’re proud of and close to your whole life.My mom was a small business owner in an auto parts store, and so she thrived in an environment that was very male dominated, but she did so with grace and dignity. I want you to know that you are going to inspire not only women and girls, but so many people with how you approach life. So, don’t miss your opportunity to be an inspiration and don’t miss your opportunity to share what inspires you with others you.