2023 Kba Award Recipients

• Jurisdiction: Kansas,United States
• Citation: Vol. 92 No. 4 Pg. 31
• Publication year: 2023
• Pages: 31
• topic: Business of Law,Charity and Non-Profit Law,Public Sector Law

2023 KBA Award Recipients 92 J. Kan. Bar Assn 4, 31 (2023) Kansas Bar Journal August, 2023

July, 2023

2023 KBA Award Recipients

PHIL LEWIS MEDAL OF DISTINCTION

The Phil Lewis Medal of Distinction is reserved for individuals or organizations in Kansas who have performed outstanding and conspicuous service at the state, national, or international level in administration of justice, science, the arts, government, philosophy, law, or any other field offering relief or enrichment to others. The recipient need not be a member of the legal profession nor related to it, but the recipient's service may include responsibility and honor within the legal profession. The award is only given in those years when it is determined that there is a worthy recipient.

Fred J. Logan Jr. practices in the areas of corporate, real estate, and public law at Logan Logan & Watson, L.C., in Prairie Village, the firm founded by him and his brother, Scott, in 1986. He has served in numerous charitable and public organizations in Kansas, including the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees from 1992 to 1997. He served on the Kansas Board of Regents from 2011 to 2015 and twice provided testimony in the successful effort to maintain laws authorizing instate tuition rates for undocumented persons. He presently serves as chair of the Masonic Cancer Alliance Board of Advisors and in 2020 was awarded the University of Kansas Cancer Center's Director's Award. In 2023, the University of Kansas awarded Fred the first-ever Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Service, and he was granted admission to the Academy of Law Alumni Fellows, the highest honorary society at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual for continuous long-standing service on behalf of the legal profession or the public, rather than the successful accomplishment of a single task or service. Only one Distinguished Service Award may be given in any one year. However, the award is given only in those years when it is determined that there is a worthy recipient.

Chief Judge Glenn Braun has been chief judge of the 23rd Judicial District since 2016 and presides over cases in

Ellis, Rooks, Trego, and Gove counties. He was appointed a district judge in 2012. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1978 and the Washburn University School of Law in 1981. He was in private practice until 2012 and served as Ellis County Attorney from 1989 to 1997 and as a city of Hays prosecutor. Braun served as president of the Kansas Bar Association in 2010-2011 and as a commissioner of the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission from 2005 to 2012.

PROFESSIONALISM AWARD

The Professionalism Award recognizes an individual who has practiced law for 10 or more years who, by his or her conduct, honesty, integrity, and courtesy, best exemplifies, represents, and encourages other lawyers to follow the highest standards of the legal profession as identified by the KBA Hallmarks of the Profession.

John D. Gatz lives and practices law in Colby and is a graduate of Colby High School and Colby Community College. He earned a bachelor's degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University with high distinction and a law degree from the Washburn University School of Law. He started his private practice experience in Topeka but returned to western Kansas where he has been in private practice since 1982. He became active with the Kansas Bar Association's Ethics and Grievance Panel and chaired it from 2001 until 2013. He has been a member of the Board of Discipline of Attorneys since 2009 and is currently its chairperson. John and his wife of 47 years, Juanita, have three children and seven grandchildren. He has been involved in many community organizations and activities and volunteered as a coach for youth and American Legion baseball, but is pleased to now be a spectator cheering for his grandchildren.

PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY AWARD

The Pillars of the Community Award recognizes a Kansas lawyer with a minimum of 10 years of active, non-specialized, general legal practice in a predominately low-density population area of Kansas and substantial practice in small or solo law firms or local government service.

Eric Rosenblad graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1982 and has been admitted to practice law in the courts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Quapaw Nation, Cherokee Nation, and the federal courts including the U.S. Supreme Court. Since 1982 he has practiced with Kansas Legal Services serving the Southeast Kansas region in the Pittsburg office where he continues to provide pro bono services as an emeritus attorney. He has served on the Kansas Bar Association Board of Governors, the Kansas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees and in the American Bar Association House of Delegates.

CHRISTEL MARQUARDT TRAILBLAZER AWARD

The Christel Marquardt Trailblazer Award honors exceptional KBA members who break new ground, shatter glass ceilings, or pave new paths for others to follow. The award is bestowed upon a member who has made innovative contributions to improve the legal profession or our communities, exhibiting courage, leadership, professional excellence, and service to the profession in a manner that makes a substantial and positive impact on all those who follow in his or her footsteps. The Trailblazer Award will be given to a KBA member in years in which there is a worthy recipient.

In 1983, Lori Callahan, Barbara Rankin, and Cathy Reeder had the idea to create an organization to advance the interests of women in the legal profession and address the specific needs of women attorneys in Topeka and Shawnee County. After initial meetings inviting all known women attorneys in the Topeka area, they officially founded the Women Attorneys Association of Topeka in 1984. In its first year, 60 attorneys became dues-paying members of the organization with Reeder serving as its first president. Rankin served as president the next year, and Callahan president the next.

Lori Callahan moved to Australia in 1999 after a career...