HARRISBURG (June 9, 2008) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association has presented awards to Pennsylvania lawyers for outstanding leadership in the legal profession and longstanding membership in the association. The PBA Special Achievement Awards recognize those lawyers who have provided time and resources to improve the association and the legal profession. The President’s Awards, bestowed at the discretion of 2007-08 PBA President Andrew F. Susko, recognize extraordinary commitment to the association. The 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 Hershey, Pa., June 4-6.

Allegheny County
Jack G. Armstrong, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Ann L. Begler, Pittsburgh: Special Achievement Award – for work with alternative dispute resolution and effort in revising the rules of the PBA Lawyers Dispute Resolution Program
Frederick A. Boehm, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Judge Mary Jane Bowes, Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh: Special Achievement Award – for her many years of service as chair of the PBA Appellate Advocacy Committee
W. Walter Braham Jr., Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Thomas J. Ferris, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award
Chris F. Gillotti, Pittsburgh: Special Achievement Award – for his work as chair of the PBA Judicial Evaluation Commission during the historic judicial election and retention cycle
Kenneth J. Horoho, Pittsburgh: Special Achievement Award – for his work as co-chair of the PBA Legislative and Governmental Relations Committee and for leadership in preventing a state sales tax on legal services
Guy L. Warman, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Beaver County
Robert J. Masters, Beaver Falls: Fifty-Year Member Award

Bedford County
Richard W. Lins Jr., Bedford: Fifty-Year Member Award

Berks County

Donald K. Bobb, Wyomissing: Fifty-Year Member Award
Norman Edwin Dettra Jr., Reading: Fifty-Year Member Award
Frederick J. Giorgi, Temple: Fifty-Year Member Award
John A. Hoffert Jr., Reading: Fifty-Year Member Award
Adam B. Krafczek, Reading: Fifty-Year Member Award
Leon A. Miller, Reading: Fifty-Year Member Award

Bucks County
Frank N. Gallagher, Doylestown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Butler County
Robert J. Stock, Butler: Fifty-Year Member Award

Cambria County
John M. R. Ayres, Johnstown: Fifty-Year Member Award
Andrew J. Gleason, Johnstown: Fifty-Year Member Award
Reginald L. Pawlowski, Northern Cambria: Fifty-Year Member Award
Samuel G. Shahade, Johnstown: Fifty-Year Member Award
William G. Shahade, Johnstown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Chester County
Joseph E. Greene Jr., Paoli: Fifty-Year Member Award
William H. Mitman, West Chester: Fifty-Year Member Award

Crawford County
R. Charles Thomas, Meadville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Cumberland County
Albert J. Hajjar, Lemoyne: Fifty-Year Member Award
Roger B. Meilton, Mechanicsburg: Special Achievement Award – for outstanding efforts to establish the inaugural Pennsylvania Law Policy Forum
Andrea Mumma, Mechanicsburg: Special Achievement Award – for outstanding efforts leading to the creation of a desktop binder and compact disk, Legal Issues Affecting Military Personnel, Veterans, Retirees and Their Families
Charles H. Stone, New Cumberland: Fifty-Year Member Award

Dauphin County

Aji M. Abraham, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for coordinating the creation of an association fund that provides easier access to legal services by the deaf and hard of hearing community
Karen M. Balaban, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for cultivating development of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the association, during her three-year tenure as president
Laurel Hettinger Fedak, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for outstanding efforts leading to the creation of a desktop binder and compact disk, Legal Issues Affecting Military Personnel, Veterans, Retirees and Their Families
Samuel W. Milkes, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for his efforts to gain support to increase state funding for legal services benefitting low-income Pennsylvanians
Herbert R. Nurick, Harrisburg: Special Achievement Award – for work with alternative dispute resolution and effort in revising the rules of the PBA Lawyers Dispute Resolution Program
Barry M. Simpson, Harrisburg: President’s Award – for his leadership as executive director of the association
Kathryn L. Simpson, Harrisburg: President’s Award – for her efforts on the PBA Professional Liability Committee and authoring several amicus briefs on behalf of the association

Delaware County
Angelo A. Di Pasqua, Media: Fifty-Year Member Award
Harry F. Dunn Jr., Media: Fifty-Year Member Award
S. Jonathan Emerson, Media: Fifty-Year Member Award
John T. Macartney, Saint Davids: Fifty-Year Member Award
Joseph F. Mulcahy Jr., Media: Fifty-Year Member Award
Leonard A. Sloane, Media: Special Achievement Award – for his work as co-chair of the PBA Legislative and Governmental Relations Committee and for leadership in preventing a state sales tax on legal services

Erie County
Robert J. Kilgore, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

Harry D. Martin, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award
William C. Sennett, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lancaster County
Matthew J. Creme Jr., Lancaster: President’s Award – for providing counsel during the 2007 retention elections and for outstanding stewardship of the association’s finances during his tenure as treasurer
Alvin B. Lewis Jr., Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award
John M. Webb, Willow Street: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lehigh County
Richard C. Buss, Whitehall: Fifty-Year Member Award
Judge Maxwell E. Davison, Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award
William E. Schantz, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award
Robert G. Tallman, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Luzerne County
Henry A. Giuliani, Hazleton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lycoming County
William P. Carlucci, Williamsport: President’s Award – for efforts supporting the development of the PABAR-PAC, which supports the legislative efforts of the associaton
William E. Nichols, Williamsport: Fifty-Year Member Award

Montgomery County
H. Kenneth Butera, King of Prussia: Fifty-Year Member Award
Daniel C. Cohen, Melrose Park: Fifty-Year Member Award
Robert K. Duffy, Hatboro: Fifty-Year Member Award
Ronald H. Reynier, Pottstown: Fifty-Year Member Award
Daniel A. Rothman, Lansdale: Fifty-Year Member Award

Northampton County
Frank M. Skrapits, Northampton: Fifty-Year Member Award
Charles H. Spaziani, Easton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Philadelphia
E. Harris Baum: Fifty-Year Member Award
George M. Brantz: Fifty-Year Member Award
Bruce L. Castor: Fifty-Year Member Award
Frank Cervone: Special Achievement Award – for organizing the national judges’ forum on families and children in Philadelphia
Ned Hark: Special Achievement Award – for his efforts as chair of the PBA Family Law Section to build membership, expand pro bono efforts and increase outreach to local bar associations
David J. Kaufman: Fifty-Year Member Award
Judge Richard B. Klein, Superior Court of Pennsylvania: Special Achievement Award – for enthusiasm and interest in encouraging the use of plain English by the legal profession
Paul Matzko: Fifty-Year Member Award
Arthur N. Read: President’s Award – for his commitment to protect and further the civil and equal rights of all Pennsylvania citizens
Pennsylvania First Lady and U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Marjorie O. Rendell: President’s Award – for establishing the PennCORD (Pennsylvania Coalition for Representative Democracy) initiative and for seeking civics education for all Pennsylvania school children.
Dveeera Segal: Special Achievement Award – for her work as chair of the PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee
Judge Edmund B. Spaeth Jr.: Fifty-Year Member Award
Prince Altee Thomas: Special Recognition Award – for his work as chair of the PBA Minority Bar Committee, leadership for the 20^th Annual PBA Minority Attorney Conference and Minority Law Day programs and creation of the Professional Advancement Subcommittee.
Thomas G. Wilkinson, Jr.: President's Award -- for outstanding achievement and dedicated service as a PBA Zone One governor and officer of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and for sustained efforts to improve access to legal services in Pennsylvania

Schuylkill County
James R. Bowe, Tamaqua: Fifty-Year Member Award

Somerset County
James O. Courtney Jr., Somerset: Fifty-Year Member Award

Sullivan County
Robert Stone Ryan, Eagles Mere: Fifty-Year Member Award

Warren County
William M. Hill Jr., Warren: Fifty-Year Member Award

Washington County
Stephen I. Richman, Washington: Fifty-Year Member Award

Westmoreland County
William M. Gardner, Ligonier: Fifty-Year Member Award
B. Earnest Long, Greensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award
Senior Judge Charles E. Marker, Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas, Greensburg: 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 29,000 lawyers who are members of the association.