Kane County Bar Association hosts awards ceremony
ST. CHARLES, Illinois (June 13, 2014) - The Kane County Bar Association ("KCBA") held its Annual Membership and Awards Ceremony on June 5 at St. Charles Place Steakhouse in St. Charles.
During the ceremony, several awards were presented, highlighting a year of exceptional community service and leadership by active members in the organization as well as the installation of the new KCBA Board of Managers. Additionally, KCBA Members with more than twenty five years of service were recognized for their service in the legal profession.
Patrick Flaherty, a longtime KCBA Member, community champion, goodwill ambassador, and advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness, was awarded the Community Service Award. Pat's contribution to the community as a whole, simply knows no bounds. According to longtime friend and colleague Pat Kinnally, "we have many talented members in our association of lawyers who seek to lead us where we need to go. Pat Flaherty has taken it a few steps further. He just does what is our calling, namely, to try and help others." Mr. Flaherty is a lifelong member of Kane County and has over thirty-six years in the legal profession, including his firm, Kinnally, Flaherty, Krentz, Loran, Hodge & Masur, PC.
KCBA presented Catherine "Cat" Battista with the 2014 Outstanding New Lawyer Award. Cat was nominated for this year's award for going above and beyond her responsibilities as an attorney in the community as a whole. She has volunteered countless hours as the Bar Briefs Editor and has not only formed the Technology in Practice Committee, but has chaired two committees, simultaneously. Cat has demonstrated a high level of professional development to her career and has promoted a positive view of the legal profession by establishing herself as a person of integrity. Cat is a partner with Argento & Battista, LLC, in Elgin.
The winner of this year's KCBA Liberty Bell Award is Nancylee Brown. The Liberty Bell Award is nationally recognized because it is bestowed upon a non-attorney or community organization that has promoted a better understanding of the law, encouraged a greater respect for the law and the courts, who simulates a sense of civic responsibility, and who contributes to good government within the community. As Law Librarian at the Kane County Law Library and Self-Help Legal Center for 14 years, she embodied all of these principles.
"Unassuming, full of laughter and charm, Nancy has a way of putting those who are in high stress situations, at ease," said Kane County Law Library & Self Help Center Director, Halle Cox. "Though she has retired from the Kane County Law Library and Self-Help Legal Center, she will always be there in spirit, and Nancy's laughter will continue to echo in our 'not so quiet' law library."
The KCBA Installation of Officers traditionally marks the beginning of a new Board of Managers. Immediate Past President William Engerman passed the gavel to Dean M. Frieders. Newly sworn in directors Elizabeth Berrones and Alice Sackett Henrikson, joined fellow directors Carolyn Jansons, Scott Richmond, James Tabor, Daniel Whiston, Vice President Gregory Maksimuk, Secretary/Treasurer Lawrence Lobb, and General Counsel Joshua Rosenzweig, on the 2014-2015 Board of Managers, which was officiated by Chief Judge Judith Brawka.
The Kane County Bar Association provides educational, social and professional opportunities for attorneys in the 16th Judicial Circuit. Currently, there are about 1,100 KCBA members. The Kane County Bar Association offers many different programs for the public, including Ask a Lawyer Day, KCBA Cares, Lawyer in the Library, Lawyer in the Lobby, Lawyers in the Classroom and Legal Aid Resources. Visit www.kanecountybar.org for more information about the KCBA.