Tommy was educated at Wake Forest University where he earned his B.A. degree in 1958, and after two years of service in the United States Navy earned his J.D. degree in 1963. While at Wake Forest he was inducted into Phi Delta Phi. He has been licensed to practice law in all North Carolina Courts since 1963, and has since been admitted to practice law in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Tommy is an experienced civil litigator, having primarily represented insurance companies throughout eastern North Carolina. Tommy is also an arbitrator in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and a Certified Superior Court Mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. In 2013, Tommy was inducted into the North Carolina Bar Association’s General Practice Hall of Fame.
A civic leader, Tommy has served as president of the Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce, Lenoir County Economic Development Commission, Lenoir County Committee of 100, United Way, and Kinston Country Club, Inc. He has also served as chairman of the Lenoir County Board of Elections, Lenoir County Democratic Party, the Board of Deacons of First Baptist Church of Kinston, and as a member of the East Carolina Council, Boy Scouts of America.
Tommy is married with two children and two grandchildren.