FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE       
September 11, 2006      
        
Contact Judith Berrett
Director of Member and Community Relations
206-727-8212; judithb@wsba.org

Washington State Court of Appeals Judge Joel M. Penoyar Receives 2006 WSBA Community Service Award

Seattle, Washington, September 11, 2006 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that Washington State Court of Appeals Judge Joel M. Penoyar will receive the WSBA Community Service Award. New this year, the Community Service Award honors lawyers and judges who have given generously of their time and talents in service to their communities, and recognizes exceptional non-law-related volunteer work and community service. 2005-2006 WSBA President S. Brooke Taylor will present the award to Judge Penoyar at the WSBA Annual Awards Dinner, to be held September 14, 2006, at the Madison Renaissance Hotel in Seattle.

A 1974 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Law, Judge Penoyar began his distinguished legal career in 1975, first as a general practitioner and then as city attorney in South Bend until 1988. From 1978 to 1988, he also served as district court judge and superior court commissioner for Pacific County. In 1988 he was elected to the superior court bench for Pacific and Wahkiakum counties and served until 2005, when he was appointed to the Court of Appeals, Division Two in Tacoma.

Judge Penoyar’s community service activities are as varied as they are numerous: He has been a soccer coach and president of the Willapa Harbor Youth Soccer League for 20 years; a scoutmaster for 18 years; a volunteer firefighter, training officer, and first responder for 15 years; an assistant track and basketball coach at South Bend High School for 10 years; and a member of the Willapa Harbor Lions and South Bend Kiwanis. He has also spoken at countless school assemblies, forums, and award ceremonies; he attends and speaks at District Reasonable Efforts Symposiums; and he aids and encourages students with their college dreams.

It is in recognition of Judge Penoyar’s tireless commitment to serving his community that the WSBA is proud to honor him with its first-ever Community Service Award.

About the WSBA
 
The WSBA is part of the judicial branch, exercising a governmental function authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state’s 29,800 lawyers. The WSBA both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association ¯ all without public funding.
 
As a regulatory agency, it administers the bar admission process, including the bar exam; provides record-keeping and licensing functions; and administers the lawyer-discipline system. As a professional association, the WSBA provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities.
 
The governance of the WSBA is vested in its 14-person Board of Governors. There are three governors from the seventh congressional district; one from each of the other eight districts; and three at-large members, one of whom represents the Young Lawyers Division. The 2006-2007 president is Ellen Conedera Dial, of Seattle, and the 2006-2007 president-elect is Stanley A. Bastian, of Wenatchee.
 
The Board meets regularly (every six weeks) at various locations around the state, and its meetings are open to the public. Much of the work of the Bar is carried out through 23 standing committees; 26 sections; and a Young Lawyers Division, with its many committees.

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