HARRISBURG (Sept. 5, 2006) � Centre County attorney Leslie Dutchcot has received an Everyday Leader Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA).

�Since arriving to Centre County just three years ago, Leslie has been a model for volunteerism and leadership benefiting her profession and the community,� said PBA President Kenneth J. Horoho Jr., who presented the award to Dutchcot. �Leslie worked long and hard as the recent chair of the Centre County Bar Association�s Young Lawyers Division, setting up food bank drives to benefit neighbors in need and leading events that encouraged other young lawyers to be actively involved in shaping the legal profession.�

Dutchcot is a member of the Wilkinson-Campbell Inns of Court. She serves on the board of the State College Young Professionals and volunteers for Centre County PAWS. In 2005, Dutchcot was named State College Jaycees� Lawyer of the Year. Dutchcot completed the 2004-05 Leadership Centre County program and is a member of the Nittany Valley Running Club.

�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. Leslie Dutchcot is one of these �everyday leaders� and is deserving of this award in gratitude for her contributions to State College and the Centre County area.

Dutchcot, with the law firm of Goodall & Yurchak P.C., is a former law clerk to Judge Ronald E. Vican, court of common pleas of Monroe County, and assistant district attorney, also in Monroe County. She earned degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and the Duquesne University School of Law.

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.