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Bar Honors Standouts
The St. Petersburg Bar Association celebrated Law Day with a May 13 luncheon to honor Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George W. Greer, former St. Petersburg Times Publisher Andrew Barnes and St. Petersburg City Attorney John C. Wolfe.
For the first time in its history, the association honored the same judge for two consecutive years with its Judicial Appreciation Award. The reason for doing so, said attorney John Biesinger III, was Greer's grace and professionalism while facing an unprecedented attack during his handling of the Terri Schiavo end-of-life case.
The honor was one of several recently given to Greer, who faced death threats, hate mail and criticism from his own Baptist minister in the past year for following what he and his colleagues call the "rule of law." The Clearwater Bar, Hillsborough Bar and Miami-Dade Bar honored Greer earlier in the month.
The luncheon's keynote speaker, Greg Kehoe, a former Department of Justice prosecutor and Tampa trial attorney who spent the past year investigating war crimes by Saddam Hussein and his regime in Iraq, praised Greer.
"You make all of us proud in the bar," Kehoe said.
Barnes, who retired from the Times last year but remains chairman of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, received the Liberty Bell award for community service. "He is known in our community to be a person who exemplifies the highest respect for individuals integrity, ethics and compassion toward mankind in all walks of life," Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Thomas McGrady said of Barnes.
The Professionalism Award, sponsored by the association and Gulf Coast Business Review, was given to Wolfe, a longtime city attorney. (See story on Page 4.)
Jeannine Smith Williams, an assistant city attorney who presented the award to Wolfe, said she hopes to one day attain the level of professionalism that Wolfe represents. And she wasn't paid to say so.
New association officers include Lee Rightmyer, president-elect; Camille Iurillo, secretary; Jeannine Smith Williams, treasurer; and new executive committee members - Patrice A. Pucci, Thomas M. Ramsberger and James D. Thaler Jr.
- Janet Leiser
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