Timothy Tyree, Partner, Chair of Business Transactions Group, Hawley Troxell Ennis & Hawley LLP in Boise

Tim Tyree is a self-proclaimed California transplant. He grew up in Arcadia, a town near Pasadena, in Los Angeles County. He was president of the Surf Club in high school and lived in California during the Valley Girl days. “I’ve got lots of ‘for sure, for sure’ jokes,” he says.

Tyree got his undergrad degree in English at Boise State University. “Then I thought, now what am I going to do?” He took a year off and went to Aspen, Colo. and skied through the winter, living from paycheck to paycheck. And, even though he reveled in the life of a ski bum, “I realized it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So, I typed up my law school application in the Pitkin County Library and off I went,” says Tyree.

He received his Juris Doctor degree from Willamette University and went into practice working at Meuleman & Miller. “They needed somebody in real estate,” he says. “Alright, you’re going to do real estate. You figure it out.” He cut his teeth on Albertsons shopping center developments, moved to Hawley Troxell in 1999.

“We do a lot of shopping center development,” Tyree says. “You don’t know how to buy, sell, lease, finance, inquire? We’ll help you figure it out. We are a full-service business law firm. It allows me to work on bigger transactions.” Plus, he gets to use that English degree after all, he says. “I spend a lot of time reading and writing contracts.”

In addition, Tyree has been a heavy lifter in the community, including the American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Idaho Inc., City Club of Boise (serving as president in 2006), and Camp Rainbow Gold. At Camp Rainbow Gold he has been a tireless volunteer for 25 years. The camp serves about 300 children with cancer and their families annually.

After winning his own battle with cancer, Tyree volunteered first as a counselor. “Then I was hooked,” he says. “Over 25 years, I’ve held just about every volunteer position there. … The camp has given to me and I’ve tried to give back.” In fact, Tyree met his wife, Meg, at the camp in 2003 – she was a counselor, too.

These days, Tyree enjoys spending time with Meg, his son, Alex, 5, and their golden retriever Koa, who, Tyree says, has learned to stop chasing their cat, Piper. “My family is invaluable to me and I couldn’t do what I do without their support,” he says.

He is excited to be where he is in his career and is confident it will keep pace with the local and regional growth in business throughout the Treasure Valley. “It’s exciting to be a part of that.”

It is an extension of his personal philosophy. “I believe we all have an obligation to leave places better than we found them,” he says. “Whether the place is as small as our weekend campsite, as meaningful as the plight of the underserved, or as grand as the world we live in, if we all strive to leave things for the better, imagine the result.

“As an attorney, I help people solve problems day in and day out. In my personal life, I look for ways to make a difference – to leave things better than I found them.”

To view photos from the 2016 Leaders in Law networking reception and awards event Nov. 17, 2016, visit http://www.idahobusinessreview.smugmug.com/.