slideshow

Submitted

Griffin Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Robert M. Crawford will be among the recipients of the 14th Annual Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service, scheduled to be presented Feb. 26, 2013, at a. special ceremony. Since 1998, these awards have been presented to honor lawyers and judges in Georgia who have made significant contributions to their communities and demonstrate the positive contributions of members of the Bar beyond their legal or official work.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest recognition given by the State Bar of Georgia and the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, co-sponsors of the Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service. This yea, it will be awarded to an outstanding community and public servant: former U.S. Sen. David H. Gambrell of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell Berkowitz, PC, Atlanta. This award is reserved for a lawyer or judge who, in addition to meeting the criteria for receiving the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service, has demonstrated an extraordinarily long and distinguished commitment to volunteer participation in the community throughout his or her legal career.

Awards are given to selected attorneys in the judicial districts of Georgia from which nominations were received. This year’s recipients are Hon. Joe C. Bishop, Dawson; J. Michael Cranford, Macon; Hon. Asha F. Jackson, Decatur; Hon. Kimberly Esmond Adams, Peter Anderson and Audra A. Dial all of Atlanta; Hon. Robert M. Crawford, Thomaston; Maziar Mazloom, Marietta; Dexter M. Wimbish, Madison; Peter A. Gleichman, Woodstock; and Laura C. Nehf, Athens.

These honorees have served a wide range of community organizations, government- sponsored activities, and humanitarian efforts outside of their professional practices and judicial duties. Their fields of service include: youth athletics and mentoring programs, literacy programs, social services, church and religious activities, politics, promotion and support for legal aid programs, community development, education, sports, recreation, and the arts. These awards recognize the commitment of Georgia lawyers to volunteerism, encourage all lawyers to become involved in community service, improve the quality of lawyers’ lives through the satisfaction they derive from helping others, and raise the public image of lawyers. All honorees are members of the State Bar of Georgia.

The awards presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the State Bar of Georgia, 104 Marietta St. NW, Third Floor, Atlanta, and a reception will follow. Awards will be presented by Supreme Court of Georgia Justice Robert Benham. Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein will bring special remarks and Bill Liss, financial and legal editor with WXIA Television News in Atlanta will join in the ceremony. The selection committee is chaired by Janet 0. Watts of Watts & Waits, Fayetteville. The program is free and open to the public.