U. S. District Court Judge Irene Berger, lower left, with students from Shady Spring High School and lawyers, who participated in the We, the People program.
U. S. District Court Judge Irene Berger, lower left, with students from Shady Spring High School and lawyers, who participated in the We, the People program.

WE, THE PEOPLE PROGRAM
The We, the People program is a national competition during which high school students learn about constitutional principles and then make presentations before citizen panels and are judged on their knowledge and speaking skills. In February, regional events were held here in WV, including one in Beckley at the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse, where local lawyers served as judges and Federal District Court Judge Berger spoke to the students and presented awards to individual students and  the overall team winner, Shady Spring High School. The statewide competition will be concluded in the near future with one school representing West Virginia at the final event in Washington, DC in April. The WV Bar Foundation has provided financial support to this beneficial endeavor.

CITIZEN AND LAWYER OF THE YEAR
Since 1996, the West Virginia Bar Foundation has provided annual awards to honor two West Virginians who have performed outstanding community service. One award, the Lawyer Citizen of the Year Award is presented to a West Virginia lawyer. The second award, the Public Citizen of the Year Award, is presented to a non-lawyer West Virginia citizen. The deadline for nominations for the 2010 awards is MARCH 5. The forms for nominations are located on the Bar Foundation’s website—wvbarfoundation.org—- under Awards on the toolbar.

BUSINESS VOLUNTEERISM AWARDS
The West Virginia Business Volunteer Council (BVC) announces the first annual Business Volunteerism Awards.  Nominations are now being accepted through March 31. The awards recognize West Virginia businesses, labor organizations, professional associations, and nonprofit organizations that incorporated volunteer service into their policies and practices in 2009. You are encouraged to nominate an outstanding business or organization that displayed enduring commitment for the betterment of West Virginia through volunteerism in 2009. Recipients of the Business Volunteerism Awards will receive recognition from First Lady Gayle Manchin and the BVC at the annual Business Volunteerism Reception held in Charleston at the Governor’s Mansion during National Volunteer Week on Monday, April 19, 2010. Nomination forms are available on Volunteer West Virginia’s web site, www.volunteerwv.org.