FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-Michael R. McBride with McBride, Roberts and Romrell of Idaho Falls will receive an Idaho State Bar Service Award on July 19 at the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. McBride is past president of the Idaho State Bar’s Workers Compensation Section’s Kid’s Chance Scholarship Program. He helped establish the ‘Head Smart’ campaign, a children’s bicycle helmet ‘giveaway’ and helped form the ‘Get Government’ Scholarship, awarded to high school seniors based upon their academic and service related efforts.

Service Awards are given each year to lawyers and non-lawyers for exemplary service to the Idaho State Bar and/or Idaho Law Foundation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-David P. Gardner of Pocatello will receive an Idaho State Bar Service Award on July 19 at the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. Gardner is a partner at Hawley Troxell. He is a former chairperson of the Idaho State Bar Workers Compensation Section, a former president of the Sixth District Bar Association, a volunteer for the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and a member of the Access to Justice Idaho Campaign leadership committee.

Service Awards are given each year to lawyers and non-lawyers for exemplary service to the Idaho State Bar and/or Idaho Law Foundation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-The Honorable N. Randy Smith of Pocatello will receive the Idaho State Bar’s highest judiciary honor – the Distinguished Jurist Award – July 18 during the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. Judge Smith was appointed as a Sixth Judicial District Judge by Idaho Governor Phil Batt in 1995. He served as the District Court’s Administrative Judge from 2004 to 2007. In 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Judge Smith to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Judge Smith served on the Idaho State Bar’s Lawyer Assistance Program Committee, Character and Fitness Committee, and Bar Exam Preparation Committee. In 2002, he received the Bar’s Service Award. He is a member of the Ninth Circuit’s ADR Committee, Bankruptcy Committee, and is a former member of the Executive Committee. For the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, Judge Smith has served as past conference chairperson, past program chairperson, and past executive committee member. He is a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System. Judge Smith received his undergraduate degree and law degree from Brigham Young University. He plans to retire in August 2018.

The Distinguished Jurist Award recognizes excellence, integrity and independence by a member of the judiciary. Individuals are selected for their competence, fairness, goodwill and professionalism.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-Randall C. Budge of Pocatello will receive the Idaho State Bar’s highest honor – the Distinguished Lawyer Award – July 18 during the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. Budge is a partner with the law firm Racine Olson. He received his law degree from the University of Idaho College of Law. His practice’s main focus is estate and succession planning, business, real estate, and water law. In 2008, Budge received the Idaho State Bar’s Professionalism Award. He is an active member of the Idaho State Bar’s Business & Corporate Law Section and Real Property Section. Budge’s public service includes 48 years on the National Ski Patrol, including eight years on its National Board and a term as Assistant National Director. He previously served the maximum eight years allowed on the Idaho Fish and Game Commission including a period as Chairperson.

The Distinguished Lawyer Award is given to an attorney (or attorneys) each year who has distinguished the profession through exemplary conduct and many years of dedicated service to the profession and to Idaho citizens.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-Idaho Court of Appeals Judge Jessica M. Lorello of Boise will receive an Idaho State Bar Service Award on July 19 at the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. Judge Lorello is the co-chair and founding member of Attorneys for Civic Education whose mission supports civic education programs including high school mock trial competitions, We the People, and Youth in Government. The immediate past vice-chairperson of the Idaho State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, Judge Lorello provided pro bono legal services for cases related to the Violence Against Women Act as a private attorney. She also volunteered at the Boise Senior Center free legal clinic.

Service Awards are given each year to lawyers and non-lawyers for exemplary service to the Idaho State Bar and/or Idaho Law Foundation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-Chelsea E. Kidney with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office will receive an Idaho State Bar Service Award on July 19 at the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. Kidney is the immediate past chairperson for the Taxation, Probate & Trust Law Section of the Idaho State Bar. During her tenure as chairperson, the Section provided free learning opportunities to its members and financial assistance to an array of causes including the Access to Justice Idaho Campaign, the Idaho Academy of Leadership for Lawyers, the University of Idaho College of Law, and Concordia University School of Law.

Service Awards are given each year to lawyers and non-lawyers for exemplary service to the Idaho State Bar and/or Idaho Law Foundation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-Retired attorney Larry C. Hunter of Eagle will receive an Idaho State Bar Service Award on July 19 at the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. A former Idaho State Bar Commissioner and President, Hunter serves as the American Bar Association (ABA) State Delegate and is an appointed delegate to the ABA’s Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs. He regularly grades the Idaho State Bar Exam and is an active presenter to young, low income families through the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program’s Soundstart initiative.

Service Awards are given each year to lawyers and non-lawyers for exemplary service to the Idaho State Bar and/or Idaho Law Foundation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-Concordia University School of Law Associate Professor Tenielle Fordyce-Ruff of Boise will receive an Idaho State Bar Service Award on July 19 at the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. Professor Fordyce-Ruff is a regular contributor to the Idaho State Bar’s Official Publication, The Advocate, and serves on its Editorial Advisory Board.

Service Awards are given each year to lawyers and non-lawyers for exemplary service to the Idaho State Bar and/or Idaho Law Foundation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-Joshua C. Bode of Boise will receive an Idaho State Bar Service Award on July 19 at the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting in Sun Valley. A non-lawyer, Bode helps organize veteran’s legal clinics throughout the state and focuses on providing continuing legal education programs to attorneys pertaining to veteran issues. He is the Veterans Justice Outreach Coordinator for the Boise VA Medical Center and an active volunteer with the Idaho Military Legal Alliance.

Service Awards are given each year to lawyers and non-lawyers for exemplary service to the Idaho State Bar and/or Idaho Law Foundation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 16, 2018-Meridian native, Catherine “Catie” Freeman, will receive the Idaho State Bar Outstanding Young Lawyer Award in Sun Valley on July 19 during the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting. Freeman is a deputy prosecutor for the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office Civil Division. A former chairperson of the Idaho State Bar’s Young Lawyers Section, Freeman is also active with the Bar’s Professionalism & Ethics Section and serves on its Ethical Happy Hour CLE committee. She chaired the Fourth District Bar Association’s Law Day Committee for two years and organized their annual “Ask-a-Lawyer” Day. Freeman is a member of Idaho Women Lawyers, Inc. and the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association. She is a director for the University of Idaho Alumni Association representing the West Idaho Region/Ada County. In her free time she volunteers for Recreation Unlimited as a ski instructor at Bogus Basin.

The Outstanding Young Lawyer Award recognizes young lawyers who have provided service to the profession, the Idaho State Bar, the Idaho Law Foundation, and to the community, and who exhibits professional excellence.

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