HARRISBURG (April 9, 2015) - Organizers of "Wills for Heroes," a program providing free wills and other estate planning documents for Pennsylvania's emergency responders, military veterans and their significant others, recently presented its Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Verdina Y. Showell Award to Daniel J.T. McKenna of Ballard Spahr LLP, Philadelphia.

The award recognizes outstanding community service and commitment to the Wills for Heroes program and is named in memory of Verdina Y. Showell, a lawyer with Exelon Business Services Company LLC who was an early proponent of the Wills for Heroes program in Pennsylvania.

The award was presented during a ceremony at the PECO building in Philadelphia.

"We are thrilled that Dan is the recipient of the 2014 Verdina Showell Award," said Lisa Shearman, co-chair of the Wills for Heroes program in Pennsylvania. "Without the efforts of Dan and Verdina, the Wills For Heroes program may have not gotten off the ground in Pennsylvania and certainly would not be as successful as it is today. Dan's enthusiasm and dedication to our first responders and this program remain unmatched."

The program was initially brought to Pennsylvania by McKenna, who serves on the board of the national Wills for Heroes Foundation, the nonprofit organization responsible for encouraging national expansion of the program.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division adopted Wills for Heroes in 2008 as one of its major community service projects. To date, the program has provided wills and other estate planning documents to more than 5,000 first responders, military veterans and their significant others.

Despite the inherently dangerous nature of their jobs, an overwhelmingly large number of emergency responders - approximately 80 - 90% - do not have wills. This figure is based on experiential data from state and national first responder organizations.

Wills for Heroes events are being held in Pennsylvania communities upon request of leaders from local police, fire and emergency medical personnel organizations, military veteran organizations and county bar associations. On a scheduled day, a team of lawyers bring computer laptops to a meeting location and spend at least an hour with each participant who pre-registers to attend the event.

A participant sits with a lawyer to review a questionnaire that the participant has filled out in advance. Answers are entered into a computer-based program. The lawyer reviews the resulting document with the participant to ensure its accuracy. After any necessary corrections are made, the will is printed, signed and notarized.

Upon request, lawyer volunteers also work with each participant to prepare an advance medical directive, often called a "living will," which specifies what actions should be taken for the participant's health in the event that he or she can no longer make decisions due to illness or incapacity.

In addition, lawyers prepare a durable power of attorney, a document that gives another person legal authority to act on behalf of the participant if the participant becomes incapacitated.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 27,000 lawyers who are members of the association.