Bowden Honored With McMillan Award

The State Bar has honored R. Steve Bowden with the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award. Bowden founded R. Steve Bowden & Associates in Greensboro, where he focused on serving personal injury clients for more than 40 years. He has been a member of NCAJ since 1979.

Excerpted from the State Bar website:

Bowden earned an athletic scholarship to Wake Forest University, where he majored in speech communications and played football on the school’s first ACC Championship team. After graduation, Bowden taught and coached before moving into sales, becoming the first Black agent for Horace Mann Insurance in North Carolina. He graduated from Campbell University’s Norman A. Wiggins School of Law as a member of its charter class in 1979.

Beyond his practice, Bowden has served on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, the Campbell University Board of Trustees and the Advisory Board for Elon University School of Law, where he helped guide the school from its inception. His leadership roles span organizations such as the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, Action Greensboro, and the George Simkins Jr. Citizens Political Action Committee, where he works to ensure fair and principled judicial endorsements. A life member of the NAACP and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Bowden has provided uncompensated legal counsel to the fraternity and currently serves as legal counsel for the Omega Life Membership Foundation.

His contributions have earned him numerous honors, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the Campbell University Presidential Medallion, and community service awards from the NAACP and the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers.