HARRISBURG (May 12, 2015) - The Pennsylvania Bar Association has presented awards that recognize outstanding leadership in the legal profession and extraordinary service and longstanding membership in the association.

PBA Special Achievement Awards recognize those lawyers and individuals who have provided time and resources to improve the association and the legal profession. The President's Awards, bestowed at the discretion of 2014-15 PBA President Francis X. O'Connor, recognize extraordinary commitment to the association. PBA Fifty-Year Member Awards recognize lawyers who have been association members for five decades.

The awards were presented on May 8 during the association's Annual Meeting at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel, Philadelphia.

Allegheny County

G. William Bissell, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Henry Gusky, Blumling & Gusky LLP, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

PBA Secretary Anne N. John, Mt. Lebanon, John & John Attorneys at Law of Uniontown: PBA Special Achievement Award - for serving as a leader of the PBA Planning Committee, which developed the PBA strategic plan

Paul G. Kachulis, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Senior Judge Frank J. Lucchino, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

John W. McGonigle, Federated Investors Inc., Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Robert T. Messner, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

William A. Meyer Jr., Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Edward G. O'Connor, Allison Park: Fifty-Year Member Award

Retired Judge Ila Jeanne Sensenich, U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania: Fifty-Year Member Award

H.W. Turner, K&L Gates, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Daniel J. Weis, Weis & Weis, Allison Park: Fifty-Year Member Award

Harry J. Zimmer, Zimmer Kunz PLLC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Berks County

Walter M. Diener Jr., Kozloff Stoudt PC, Wyomissing: Fifty-Year Member Award

Bucks County

Retired Judge Kenneth G. Biehn, Bucks County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Grace M. Deon, Eastburn and Gray PC, Doylestown: PBA Special Achievement Award - for outstanding planning of annual PBA Exceptional Children Conferences that serve as networking opportunities for parents, lawyers and school representatives

Richard J. Habgood, Conturso and Habgood, Morrisville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Stephen J. Jacobson, Jacobson & John LLP, Doylestown: PBA Special Achievement Award - for outstanding planning of annual PBA Exceptional Children Conferences that serve as networking opportunities for parents, lawyers and school representatives

Sandra A. Romaszewski, Fox Rothschild LLP, Warrington: PBA Special Achievement Award - for dedication to the "Wills for Heroes" program that provides free estate planning documents to first responders, military veterans and their spouses and significant others

Butler County

Lee A. Montgomery, Montgomery Crissman Montgomery Kubit LLP, Butler: Fifty-Year Member Award

Cambria County

Robert Davis Gleason, Gleason, Barbin, and Markovitz LLP, Johnstown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Carbon County

James A. Wimmer, Law Offices of Philip & Wimmer, Palmerton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Chester County

Larry Elliot Jones, Jones & Jones, West Grove: Fifty-Year Member Award

Stanley J. Lieberman, Exton Law, Exton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Past PBA President Albert P. Massey Jr., Lentz, Cantor & Massey LTD., Malvern: Fifty-Year Member Award

David C. Patten, West Chester: Fifty-Year Member Award

Retired Judge Charles B. Smith, Chester County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Crawford County

Charles J. Swick, Shafer Law Firm, Meadville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Cumberland County

Retired Judge Edgar B. Bayley Jr., Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Dauphin County

Arnold B. Kogan, Goldberg Katzman PC, Harrisburg: PBA Special Achievement Award - for service as chair, secretary and treasurer of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and development and advancement of PBA legislative policies regarding land record modernization and blight remediation

Gabriele Miller-Wagner, administrative assistant, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Harrisburg: PBA President's Award - for support of the "Lawyers Saluting Veterans" program, which provides free estate planning documents to military veterans and their spouses and significant others

Peter J. Ressler Jr., Mette Evans & Woodside PC., Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Claudia M. Williams, The Human Zone, Harrisburg: PBA Special Achievement Award - for dedication to the "Wills for Heroes" program that provides free estate planning documents to first responders, military veterans and their spouses and significant others

Charles B. Zwally, Mette Evans & Woodside PC., Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Delaware County

John J. Donohue, Newtown Square: Fifty-Year Member Award

George J. Miller, Bryn Mawr: Fifty-Year Member Award

R. Noel Turner, Glen Mills, Fifty-Year Member Award

Elk County

George L. Daghir, Daghir & Daghir, Saint Marys: Fifty-Year Member Award

Erie County

Frank L. Kroto Jr., Quinn Buseck Lemmhuis Toohey & Kroto Inc., Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

James D. McDonald Jr., The McDonald Group LLP, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

Steven E. "Tim" Riley, Conner Riley Friedman & Weichler, Erie: PBA Special Achievement Award - for 16 years of service, including four years as chair, to the PBA Judicial Evaluation Committee that evaluates and rates judicial candidates to better inform citizens of the candidates' qualifications to fill open seats on benches of the appellate courts

Fayette County

Senior Judge Conrad B. Capuzzi, Fayette County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lackawanna County

Michael J. McDonald, McDonald & MacGregor LLC, Scranton: PBA Special Achievement Award - for serving as co-chair of the PBA Membership Development Committee that held a retreat to focus on ways to recruit and retain PBA members

Lancaster County

John R. Gibel, Gibbel Kraybill & Hess LLP, Lititz: Fifty-Year Member Award

Carl R. Hallgren, Morgan, Hallgren, Crosswell & Kane PC, Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award

PBA Vice President Sharon R. Lopez, Triquetra Law, Lancaster: PBA Special Achievement Award - for serving as co-chair of the PBA Membership Development Committee that held a retreat to focus on methods to recruit and retain PBA members

Lawrence County

Thomas S. Mansell, New Castle: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lebanon County

William M. Brandt, Mount Gretna: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lehigh County

William H. Eckensberger Jr., Norris McLaughlin & Marcus PA, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Judge James Knoll Gardner, U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania: Fifty-Year Member Award

Luzerne County

William R. Keller, Pittston: Fifty-Year Member Award

PBA Treasurer David E. Schwager, Chariton Schwager & Malak, Wilkes-Barre: PBA Special Achievement Award - for serving as a leader of the PBA Planning Committee, which developed the PBA strategic plan

Lycoming County

Julianne E. Steinbacher, Steinbacher & Stahl, Williamsport: PBA Special Achievement Award - for service as chair of the PBA Quality of Life/Balance Committee that created continuing legal education programs focusing on quality of life issues affecting lawyers in the areas of professionalism and technology

McKean County

Stanley E. Pecora Jr., Pecora & Duke, Bradford: Fifty-Year Member Award

Monroe County

President Judge Margherita P. Worthington, Monroe County Court of Common Pleas, Stoudsburg: PBA President's Award - for the outstanding commitment to and leadership of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges and exceptional efforts to modernize the court

Montgomery County

Andrew B. Cantor, Elkins Park: Fifty-Year Member Award

Daniel J. Clifford, Weber Gallagher, Norristown: PBA Special Achievement Award - for spearheading the video project, "The Judicial Interview of the Child," which provides judges, lawyers and the public with information relating to the child interview process in custody cases

Senior Judge S. Gerald Corso, Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Senior Judge Calvin S. Drayer Jr., Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

James J. Heffernen, Plymouth Meeting: Fifty-Year Member Award

Stanford S. Hunn, Stanford S. Hunn Associates: Montgomeryville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Robert A. Korn, Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein PC, Blue Bell: Fifty-Year Member Award

Past PBA President C. Dale McClain, C. Dale McClain LTD, Haverford: Fifty-Year Member Award

Kenneth P. Milner, Kraut Harris PC, Blue Bell: PBA President's Award - for longstanding leadership of and service to the PBA Solo and Small Firm Section and for his efforts to increase the association's membership

Senior Judge William T. Nicholas, Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Francis Recchuiti, Vangrossi & Recchuiti, Norristown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lisa A. Shearman, Hamburg Rubin Mullin Maxwell & Lupin PC, Lansdale: PBA Special Achievement Award - for dedication to the "Wills for Heroes" program that provides free estate planning documents to first responders, military veterans and their spouses and significant others

James A. Strazzella, Wynnewood: Fifty-Year Member Award

David K. Trevaskis, pro bono coordinator, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Glenside: PBA President's Award - for support of the "Lawyers Saluting Veterans" program, which provides free estate planning documents to military veterans and their spouses and significant others

Van Weiss, King of Prussia: Fifty-Year Member Award

Northampton County

Donald B. Corriere, Corriere & Andres LLC, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Frank J. Danyi Jr., Maloney Danyi O'Donnell & Tranter, Easton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Jerome B. Frank, King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul LLC, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Allan B. Goodman, Goodman & Shaw, PC, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard J. Haber, Law Offices of Richard J. Haber, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Joseph J. O'Keefe Jr., O'Keefe & Wilkinson, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Perry County

Elizabeth P. Quigley, New Bloomfield: Fifty-Year Member Award

Philadelphia County

Sheldon M. Bonovitz, Duane Morris LLP, Fifty-Year Member Award

Carolyn Capobianco, executive assistant, Ballard Spahr: PBA Special Achievement Award - for dedication to the "Wills for Heroes" program that provides free estate planning documents to first responders, military veterans and their spouses and significant others

Stephen A. Cozen, Cozen O'Connor: Fifty-Year Member Award

Senior Judge Steven R. Geroff, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Henry A. Gladstone, Cozen O'Connor: Fifty-Year Member Award

Harold Jacobs: Fifty-Year Member Award

Joseph H. Jacovini, Dilsworth Paxson LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award

Retired Judge Richard B. Klein, Dispute Resolution Institute: Fifty-Year Member Award

Austin J. McGreal: Fifty-Year Member Award

Daniel J.T. McKenna, Ballard Spahr LLP, Philadelphia: PBA Special Achievement Award - for dedication to the "Wills for Heroes" program that provides free estate planning documents to first responders, military veterans and their spouses and significant others

Albert Ominsky, Ominsky & Ominsky PC: Fifty-Year Member Award

Rodman M. Rosenberger, Barber, Sharpe & Rosenberger: Fifty-Year Member Award

William G. Schwartz, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award

Edwin Seave: Fifty-Year Member Award

Harry A. Short Jr., McCormick & Priore PC, Philadelphia: Fifty-Year Member Award

Alan David Silverman, Gold, Silverman, Goldenberg & Binder: Fifty-Year Member Award

Charles W. Smith: Fifty-Year Member Award

Burton K. Stein, Cozen O'Connor: Fifty-Year Member Award

J. Roger Williams Jr., Dilworth Paxson LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award

Schuylkill County

Stanley J. Burke, Port Carbon: Fifty-Year Member Award

Somerset County

David S. Dickey, Bell & Dickey, Berlin: Fifty-Year Member Award

Washington County

Retired Judge John F. Bell, Washington County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Wayne County

Alfred J. Howell, Howell, Howell, & Krause, Honesdale: Fifty-Year Member Award

Westmoreland County

Retired Judge Daniel J. Ackerman, Washington County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Jack L Bergstein, Monessen: Fifty-Year Member Award

George A. Conti Jr., Greensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard F. Flickinger, Ligonier Law, Ligonier: Fifty-Year Member Award

Senior Judge William J. Ober, Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

David L. Robinson, Law Office of David L. Robinson, Greensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

James R. Silvis, O'Connell & Silvis, Greensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

York County

William B. Anstine Jr., Anstine & Sparler, York: Fifty-Year Member Award

PBA President-elect Sara A. Austin, Austin Law Firm LLC, York: PBA Special Achievement Award - for serving as a leader of the PBA Planning Committee, which developed the PBA strategic plan

Donald W. Dorr, Bucher, Wise & Dorr, Hanover: Fifty-Year Member Award

Out of State

Alvin N. Chanin, New York, New York: Fifty-Year Member Award

Edward I. Dobin, Tequesta, Florida: Fifty-Year Member Award

Fred F. Fiedling, Mclean, Virginia: Fifty-Year Member Award

James G. Hirsh, Saint Paul, Minnesota: Fifty-Year Member Award

Michael A. Macchiaroli, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, D.C.: Fifty-Year Member Award

Mansfield C. Neal Jr., Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts: Fifty-Year Member Award

Henry E. Shaw Jr., Delaware, Ohio: Fifty-Year Member Award

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.