HARRISBURG (Sept. 18, 2006) � Cambria County attorney George Gvozdich Jr. has received an Everyday Leader Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA).

�George invests significant energies into bettering his community and his profession,� said PBA President Kenneth J. Horoho Jr., who presented the award to Gvozdich. �His devotion to service has made and continues to make a positive difference in his native Johnstown and well beyond.�

Gvozdich is a current board member and recent past president of Laurel Legal Services, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents. For 13 years, he served on the board of Southern Alleghenys Legal Aid Inc.

Gvozdich is currently serving on the board of directors for the Cambria division of the American Heart Association. From 1999 to early 2005, Gvozdich was a member of the board of directors for the Johnstown Industrial Development Corporation. He also has served on the boards of the Cambria County Student Hockey League and Richland Hockey Boosters and served as an officer for the local Kiwanis and Rotary clubs.

Involved in the legal community, Gvozdich has been an officer of the Cambria County Bar Association for numerous terms. In recent years, Gvozdich has served as the association�s secretary. He was the association�s 1997-98 president and was the 1985 president of the association�s young lawyers division. At the state level, Gvozdich is currently completing a three-year term on the PBA Board of Governors and previously served as a member of the PBA House of Delegates. He also is a member on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation.

Gvozdich also has been active on the athletic field. He has coached ice hockey at Richland High School, as well as area little league baseball and boys and girls soccer teams.

�The Everyday Leader Award is given to individuals who go above and beyond, sharing their time and talent to help and support others,� said Horoho. �These unsung heroes work hard each and every day performing good works, not for personal gain or recognition, but for the right reasons � to improve the places they call home and to better Pennsylvania�s legal system. George Gvozdich Jr. is one of these �everyday leaders� and is deserving of this award in gratitude for his contributions to Cambria County and the surrounding area.�

Gvozdich is a sole practitioner with law offices in Ebensburg. He is the solicitor for the Cambria County Domestic Relations Office and is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. He also is a bar examiner for the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, a position that involves writing essay questions and grading answers on the Pennsylvania Bar Examination. Gvozdich is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. He and his wife, Diane, reside in Johnstown with their two children.

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association exists to promote justice, professional excellence and respect of the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 29,000 lawyers who are members of the association.