Leading Attorneys
TRAVIS D. HENRY
PARTNER | thenry@bhklegal.com
Travis D. Henry concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate, secured lending and litigation. He represents numerous investors, developers, lenders and participants in real estate, secured lending and other business transactions. Travis handles various types of litigation including boundary line disputes, corporate dissolutions, estates, creditor collections, subdivision restriction enforcement and actions to quiet title. In addition, Travis is a licensed title insurance agent with Old Republic Title Insurance Company.
Education
- THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS CECIL C. HUMPHREYS SCHOOL OF LAW - Juris Doctor, 2005
- AUBURN UNIVERSITY - B.A., History, 2001
Activities & Affiliations
- Tennessee Bar Association
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee
- Georgia
BRYSON M. KIRKSEY
PARTNER | bkirksey@bhklegal.com
Bryson M. (“Bryce”) Kirksey’s practice involves many transactional matters, including tax planning for individuals and companies, estate planning (drafting wills and trusts), probate, business formation and planning, and forming and advising tax-exempt organizations.
Education
- GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY - Masters of Laws in Taxation, 2009
- SAMFORD UNIVERSITY - Juris Doctor, 2008
- CARSON NEWMAN - B.A., Accounting, 2005
Activities & Affiliations
- American Association of Attorneys- CPAs
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Bradley County Bar Association
- Estate Planning Council of Chattanooga
- Tennessee Society of CPAs
- Southern Heritage Bank, Board of Directors
- Accredited Estate Planner (AEP®)
- The AEP® designation is awarded by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils to recognized estate planning professionals who meet special requirements of education, experience, knowledge, professional reputation, and character. (http://www.naepc.org/)
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee
Our team is an assembly of imaginative and energetic people with a passion for service.
Cleveland Office
NIKI SIMS
CLOSING AGENT | nsims@bhklegal.com
Niki moved to Cleveland in the fall of 1990 to attend Cleveland State and after a brief move to the North Georgia area, she couldn’t wait to return to Cleveland and make it her permanent home. Her working career has included 5 years in retail and 5 years in banking, which led to her current job as a closing agent. Niki first came to work at Varnell, Burns & Sharp, P.C. on April 1, 2001. She left BHK in the Summer of 2015 and after a short time away, returned home in the Fall of 2016.
BARBARA BAXTER
CLOSING AGENT | bbaxter@bhklegal.com
Cleveland native and businesswoman, Barbara Baxter, brings with her 37 years of local banking experience, as well as her involvement in numerous civic and non-profit organizations in the Cleveland/Bradley County area. She is married to her husband, Randy, of 36 years and is a member of Valley Head United Methodist Church where she serves as Treasurer.
MADISON ROWDEN
CLOSING COORDINATOR | mrowden@bhklegal.com
Madison went to Bryan College in Dayton, TN on a Volleyball scholarship where she then graduated with a B.S. in Exercise Health Science. She met her husband in college where they later got married. They now have two beautiful children Ivy and Everett, who are their world. She love cooking and spending time with friends and family. Her and her family love traveling when they can and love anything outdoors. Madison previously worked in the health insurance industry but wanted to make a career change. She started her career at BHK in August of 2020. Go Vols
JENNIFER PATTEN
CLOSING COORDINATOR | jpatten@bhklegal.com
Jennifer moved from Peachtree City, GA in the spring of 2023. She has been working in the title industry for 20 years. She is a mother of 2, Zachary and Elizabeth and married her high school sweetheart, Chris, in 1998. She enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, baking and gardening.
PAIGE MCCONNAUGHY
CLOSING COORDINATOR | pmcconnaughy@bhklegal.com
Paige graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a Bachelor’s in Political Science. After graduation she started working in the legal field. She joined the BHK team when she moved to Tennessee in the Spring of 2022. Paige enjoys traveling, scuba diving, and spending time with family.
KIM SCHNECK
REAL ESTATE LEGAL ASSISTANT | kschneck@bhklegal.com
Kim began working as a real estate legal assistant shortly after graduating in 1998 from Cleveland State Community College with an Associate of Applied Science Legal Assistant degree. She has worked for several title companies and has continued her legal assistant studies along the way at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Kim lives in Cleveland, Tennessee and enjoys time with her family.
HANNAH STEWART
POST CLOSING PROCESSOR | hstewart@bhklegal.com
Hannah was born in McMinn County and graduated in 2008. She attended Cleveland State Community College where she studied Social Work. She now resides in Cleveland with her two boys Kaleb and Lucas. Hannah started her career at BHK in February 2020. She enjoys running her kids to all their after school activities, camping trips and gardening.
KATHY ERVIN
POST CLOSING AGENT | kervin@bhklegal.com
Kathy began working for Buns, Henry & Kirksey, P.C. in 1992 when it was known as Varnell, Burns & Sharp. Kathy brings more than ten years of banking experience in the lending field. She is married to Andy Ervin and they have two grown children. Casey and Haley who have both given them adorable grandchildren. Kathy loves to play golf, hike and spend time with her family.
AMANDA WALDRON
LEGAL ASSISTANT | awaldron@bhklegal.com
Amanda Waldron joined Burns, Henry & Kirksey, P.C. in December of 2018. She started working with a local law firm shortly after graduating from Walker Valley High School in May 2009. Her career path has given her eight years of legal experience. She is the proud mother of a little boy. Her faith, family, and trips to the beach are the most important things to her!
ARABELLA HAMMOND
GUEST EXPERIENCE TEAM | ahammond@bhklegal.com
Arabella was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was raised in Guatemala on the IMB Missions Field. She attended Walker Valley High School and is a part-time student at Lee University. She has a deep love for Art, Theology, Missions, and Apologetics, and loves to learn about and incorporate them into traveling. In addition to that, she enjoys anything active. She loves lifting weights, extreme sports, and getting as close to cardio as she can be without actually running. In the future she simply hopes to be a light for the Lord in anything she does.
DENISE HARRIS
LEGAL ASSISTANT | dharris@bhklegal.com
Denise is an accomplished administrator offering 25+ years of executive partnering and office administration. She brings with her a strong skill set including strategic workflow and project management. Her core competencies include excellent analytical and organizational skills with an emphasis on high level communication along with strong leadership skills in facilitating cross-function collaboration, project management, conference/event planning, as well as strong computer/technology skills. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from Lee University and her Masters and D. Min from Seminary.
RYAN DOUGLAS
CLOSING AGENT | rdouglas@bhklegal.com
Ryan was born and raised in Cleveland. He graduated from Walker Valley High School, then East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. He married his wife Ashely in 2015, and they now have one child, Mason. They are very involved with their Church and love cheering on the Vols and Braves any chance they get.
JENNAH MCELHENEY
TITLE ORDER COORDINATOR | jmcelheney@bhklegal.com
Jennah relocated to Cleveland in 2019, where she embraced new opportunities and earned her MBA in 2020 from Reinhardt University. Aside from her career pursuits, she is deeply involved at Public Church by actively serving in Publics Kids and participating in her community group. In her free time, Jennah enjoys music, strength training, hiking and spending time with her nieces and nephews.
CHASITY CRISP
CLOSING COORDINATOR | ccrisp@bhklegal.com
Chasity is a long time Cleveland resident. She is a graduate of Tennessee Wesleyan University and brings 25 years of banking experience in the lending field. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys spending quality time with family, traveling to new places and reading a good book.
Chattanooga Office
PAM HARVEY
CLOSING AGENT | pharvey@bhklegal.com
Pam is a Chattanooga native and received a degree in Office Administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has worked in the title/real estate industry for over 40 years. She enjoys music, reading, traveling and the beach. Pam and her Husband, Bill, have two grown sons and five grandchildren.
CHRISTINA MALONE
CLOSING AGENT | cmalone@bhklegal.com
Christina Malone graduated from Lee University in 1997 with a Music Education degree. She was the Choral Director / General Music teacher at Ooltewah High School for two years before accepting a job as Director of Worship at Christ UMC where she has worked for over 26 years. Christina lives in Chattanooga and after raising two children to adulthood, she decided to join us at BHK as one of our Closing Agents for the Chattanooga office. Christina has a love for people and an interest in personal finance which makes this work a comfortable fit. Her hobbies include spending time with her family, spending time outdoors, and music.
LEE ANN LIVELY
TITLE COORDINATOR | llively@bhklegal.com
Lee Ann was raised in Chattanooga, TN and moved to Ringgold, GA in 2000 where she started working for a realtor in Chattanooga. In 2002 she began working at a title company downtown and has worked in many capacities in the title business ever since. She is so happy to have joined BHK with some wonderful friends by her side in December 2023. She has 2 adult children with wonderful spouses and 2 granddaughters that she adores. She enjoys spending time with her family, watching Tennessee Vols football and occasional trips to the beach.
DEBBIE KELLEY
POST CLOSING PROCESSOR | dkelley@bhklegal.com
Debbie is a Chattanooga native. She has over 40 years of experience in the title and mortgage industry. She has one grown son. She enjoys gardening and traveling. She also enjoys shopping and finding all the bargains.
ANGELIKA WATKINS
REAL ESTATE LEGAL ASSISTANT | awatkins@bhklegal.com
Angelika moved to Chattanooga, TN in 1989 from Huntsville Alabama. She was raised in the Military and was the wife of a Military soldier. Her working career started off with three years of banking in Chattanooga, TN. She started her Title Career in 1992 where she learned various positions and landed as a real estate legal assistant preparing commitments and legal documents. She started her journey with BHK in December of 2023. Her knowledge and dedication bring so much value to our team. She enjoys being a mother of two and grandmother of 5.