HARRISBURG (May 17, 2012) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association has presented awards to Pennsylvania lawyers for outstanding leadership in the legal profession and longstanding membership in the association. PBA Special Achievement Awards recognize those lawyers who have provided time and resources to improve the association and the legal profession. PBA Fifty-Year Member Awards recognize lawyers who have been association members for five decades. The awards were presented during the association’s Annual Meeting in Lancaster, May 9 – 11.

Allegheny County
Barton Z. Cowan, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Girard N. Evashavik, Evashavik, Dilucente & Tetlow, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Henry W. Fulton Jr., McKees Rocks : Fifty-Year Member Award
M. Victoria Geddis, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Leo P. Hajdukiewicz, Monroeville: Fifty-Year Member Award
Thomas Hollander, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Richard W. Kelly Sr., Kelly Law, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
William B. Mallin, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Blair Steele McMillin, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
David A. Miller, David A. Miller Law Offices, Pittsburgh: Special Achievement Award – for his effort to establish the new PBA Collaborative Law Committee that addresses current issues regarding the collaborative law dispute resolution process; educates attorneys and the public about the collaborative law dispute resolution process; recommends standards of practice for attorneys using the collaborative law dispute resolution process; and monitors, proposes, and/or supports legislation or rules of court that further the development of the collaborative law dispute resolution process.
Harvey E. Robins, Brennan, Robins & Daley PC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Samuel Y. Stroh, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Thomas J. Ward, Bethel Park: Fifty-Year Member Award

Berks County
Edwin H. Kershener, Mogel Speidel Bobb & Kershner, Reading: Fifty-Year Award
Jack A. Linton, Linton, Distasio, Edwards and Miller P.C., Reading: Fifty-Year Member Award
Clinton J. Najarian, Stevens & Lee, Reading: Fifty-Year Member Award

Blair County
James Routch, Altoona Regional Health System, Hollidaysburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Bradford County
James R. Carroll Jr., Athens: Special Achievement Award – for providing legal assistance at Red Cross shelters and at Federal Emergency Management Agency and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency relief sites to victims of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee flooding last fall
W. Marshall Dawsey, Griffin Dawsey DePaola & Jones PC, Towanda: Fifty-Year Member Award

Cambria County
Hon. Caram Joseph Abood, Abood Russell Pappas & Rozich, Johnstown: Fifty-Year Member Award
William F. Patterson, Johnstown: Fifty-Year Member Award
Blair V. Pawlowski, Pawlowski Tulowitzki & Bilonick, Ebensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award
Lewis H. Ripley Jr., Ebensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Chester County
Howard R. Moore Jr., Dowingtown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Clearfield County
Carl A. Belin Jr., Clearfield: Fifty-Year Member Award

Columbia County
Cleveland C. Hummel, Bloomsburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Crawford County
John Fuller, Conneautville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Dauphin County
Linda C. Barrett, Governor’s Office of General Counsel, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for organizing the Office of General Counsel’s response that provided lawyers offering legal assistance at Federal Emergency Management Agency and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency disaster sites to victims of flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee last fall
Frederick D. Giles, Hummelstown: Fifty-Year Member Award
Steven E. Grubb, Goldberg Katzman PC, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for participating in the PBA Pro Bono Office’s virtual law clinic and answering legal questions from victims of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee flooding last fall and for representing a flood victim at a hearing in Columbia County
Franklin L. Kury, Malady & Wooten LLP, Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award
Arthur A. Kusic, Arthur A. Kusic PC, Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award
Lewis J. Levin, Pennsylvania Securities Commission, Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award
James B. Pannebaker, Pannebaker & Mohr PC, Middletown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Erie County
Kenneth G. Vasil, Elderkin Law Firm, Erie: Special Achievement Award – for his service as vice chairman of the PBA Judicial Campaign Advertising Committee that promotes accurate, fair and dignified judicial campaign advertising among candidates seeking election to the Commonwealth’s appellate courts by monitoring and reviewing the complaints as they relate to the principles of Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the PBA’s Judicial Campaign Advertising Pledge

Huntingdon County
Judge Newton C. Taylor, Huntingdon: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lackawanna County
Paul R. Mazzoni, Mazzoni, Karam, Petorak & Vavano, Scranton: Fifty-Year Member Award
John E. V. Pieski, Scranton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lancaster County
Judge Paul K. Allison, Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award
Joseph J. Lombardo, Nikolaus & Hohenadel LLP, Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award
Senior Judge Michael J. Perezous, Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lehigh County
Edmund G. Hauff, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award
Peter P. Perry, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Luzerne County
Richard M. Goldberg, Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn PC, Kingston: Special Achievement Award – for his service as chairman of the PBA Judicial Campaign Advertising Committee that promotes accurate, fair and dignified judicial campaign advertising among candidates seeking election to the Commonwealth’s appellate courts by monitoring and reviewing the complaints as they relate to the principles of Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the PBA’s Judicial Campaign Advertising Pledge

Lycoming County
Joseph L. Rider, Law Office of Joseph L. Rider, Williamsport: Fifty-Year Member Award
Paul W. Wertman, Muncy: Fifty-Year Member Award

Mercer County
Senior Judge Michael J. Wherry, Mercer County Court of Common Pleas, Mercer: Fifty-Year Member Award

Montgomery County
Robert B. Durham Jr., Haverford: Fifty-Year Member Award
John F. Gaffney, Ambler: Fifty-Year Member Award
E. Nego Pile, Heckert, Bikin & Pile LLP, Harleysville: Special Achievement Award – for service to the PBA Minority Bar Committee’s Community Outreach Subcommittee, which held “You and the Law” legal education programs at several churches located in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
William H. Pugh IV, Kane, Pugh, Knoell, Troy & Kramer LLP, Norristown: Fifty-Year Member Award
David V. Randall, Wyndmoor: Fifty-Year Member Award
Allen K. Tomlinson, Tomlinson & Gerhart Law, East Greenville: Fifty-Year Member Award
Morris L. Weisberg, Merion Station: Fifty-Year Member Award

Northumberland County
Robert E. Diehl Jr., Sunbury: Fifty-Year Member Award

Philadelphia County
Norris E. Benns Jr., Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania: Special Achievement Award – for service to the PBA Minority Bar Committee’s Community Outreach Subcommittee, which held “You and the Law” legal education programs at several churches located in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
Robert S. Cohen, The Axelrod Firm PC: Fifty-Year Member Award
Robert F. Cushman, Pepper Hamilton LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award
Leonard Dubin, Blank Rome LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award
Kim Kocher, White and Williams LLP: Special Achievement Award – for her work as chair of the PBA Amicus Curiae Brief Committee
Charles G. Kopp, Cozen O’Connor: Fifty-Year Member Award
Albert Momjian, Schnader Attorneys at Law: Fifty-Year Member Award
Jettie D. Newkirk, Law Office of Jettie D. Newkirk: Special Achievement Award – for service to the PBA Minority Bar Committee’s Community Outreach Subcommittee, which held “You and the Law” legal education programs at several churches located in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
Lionel A. Prince, Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer Toddy P.C: Fifty-Year Member Award
Richard M. Rosenbleeth: Fifty-Year Member Award
Harold P. Starr: Fifty-Year Member Award
Michael L. Temin, Fox Rothschild LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award
Prince Altee Thomas, Fox Rothschild: Special Achievement Award – for service to the PBA Minority Bar Committee’s Community Outreach Subcommittee, which held “You and the Law” legal education programs at several churches located in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
Kadijah L. Turay-Sengova: Special Achievement Award – for service to the PBA Minority Bar Committee’s Community Outreach Subcommittee, which held “You and the Law” legal education programs at several churches located in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
Robert E. Wachs: Fifty-Year Member Award
Senior District Court Judge William H. Yohn Jr., U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania: Fifty-Year Member Award

Schuylkill County
Joseph Peter Semasek, McAdoo: Fifty-Year Member Award

Washington County
Jack H. France, France Lint & Associates P.C., Charleroi: Fifty-Year Member Award

Westmoreland County
Dominic Ciarimboli, Greensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award
Morrison F. Lewis Jr., Greensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

York County
William F. Hoffmeyer, Hoffmeyer & Semmelman LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award
James A. Holtzer, York: Fifty-Year Member Award
Paul C. McCleary Jr., York: Fifty-Year Member Award
Robert M. Strickler, Griffith Strickler Lerman Solymos & Calkins, York: 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 28,000 lawyers who are members of the association.