I’m very pleased to share the following announcement from LowCountry Legal Aid, Inc.:
LowCountry Legal Aid, Inc. (“LCLA”) would like to announce the winners of its annual service awards. LCLA is proud to announce that Sue Berkowitz, Esquire has won the Clifford R. Oviatt Legal Award for the Advancement of Social Justice, which honors a lawyer who supports social justice issues through legal representation, volunteer community service, financial support and the promotion of social justice ideas in daily life. Sue Berkowitz is an attorney and director of South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, based in Columbia. South Carolina Appleseed fights for low income South Carolinians to overcome social, economic and legal injustice.
Ms. Berkowitz has been a consistent voice working on behalf of low-income South Carolinians for over 20 years. She has focused her practice in the areas of health, welfare, hunger and consumer issues. She has worked on the passage of numerous pieces of legislation, including the Small Loan Act of 1995, the Family Independence Act of 1995, the High Cost and Consumer Home Loan Act of 2003, the eligibility increase for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (2007), SC Identity Theft Act (2008), Payday Lending Act (2009) and Unemployment Modernization (2010). Berkowitz works with a number of state agencies on policy issues that impact the low income community, including changes to consumer and mortgage lending laws, the Family Independence Program, Medicaid, Unemployment Insurance, and Food Stamp rules. She has authored defenses to a foreclosure chapter for a manual produced by the South Carolina Bar as well as numerous manuals for SC Appleseed. She was awarded the Order of Palmetto, the SC Commission on Women’s Woman of Achievement Award, USC School of Law Order of the Coif and the NAACP President’s Award for her work on predatory lending and poverty issues. Berkowitz is a fervent watchdog on consumer, health and hunger issues.
Past winners of the Oviatt Award include attorneys Dick Oviatt, posthumously, William L. Bethea, Jr. and W. Brantley Harvey, Jr.
Mr. David W. Ames has won the Marilyn Stein Bellet Award for the Advancement of Social Justice, which honors a person who supports social justice through volunteer community service, financial support and the promotion of social justice ideas in daily life. Mr. Ames, a Hilton Head Island resident since 1973, is a planner and developer who consulted in both public and private sector community planning throughout the Southeast, Mexico and the Caribbean. The size, scale and complexity of the projects have varied from small, single use projects to major resort developments, as well as town, county and regional plans. He currently serves as chairman of The Children’s Center Board of Trustees and is chairman emeritus of Hope Haven of the Lowcountry. Mr. Ames has served on several boards and community service projects in the past, including the board of South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, Beaufort County Aviation Board, Hilton Head College Center, Leadership Hilton Head, Sea Pines Academy, Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce, Leadership South Carolina, South Carolina Nature Conservancy, Community Development Corporation, and the Mayor’s Task Force on the island’s future.
Past winners of the Bellet Award include Marilyn Stein Bellet, posthumously, Thomas C. Barnwell, Jr., and Jerold H. Rosenblum, posthumously.
Barbara Swift has won the William T. Althoff Award for Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. Ms. Swift has served on the LCLA Board for some time with enthusiasm and hard work, and has furthered the LCLA goal of providing free advice, education and legal representation to low income families in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton Counties.
Swift, a Hilton Head Island resident since 1996, currently serves as president of Wellesley in South Carolina and Coastal Georgia, secretary/treasurer of Nadeshiko Kai, New York and co-president of the League of Women Voters of Hilton Head Island, an organization which she served in various capacities on and off for 15 years. In past years, Barbara has volunteered for numerous local organizations, including the World Affairs Council of Hilton Head, Al-Anon, Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Junior League, Planned Parenthood and United Way of the Lowcountry. She recently came off the board of LowCountry Legal Aid after nine years of dedicated service.
Past winners of the Althoff Award include William T. Althoff, posthumously, Kenneth R. Nagle, and Edward “Ted” Noakes.
The award recipents will be honored at LowCountry Legal Aid’s 4th Annual Celebration of Justice January 22, 2011 at Belfair Plantation Country Club in Bluffton, South Carolina. The evening will include innovative food, live jazz music by Lavon Stevens, a fundraising silent and live auction and an awards presentation to honor the above individuals. Silent auction items include golf foursomes, a wine tasting for 10 from Corks, a week at Eagle Lake Lodge, and more. Silent auction items are still being accepted and tickets, which are $100, are still available by contacting the Legal Aid office at 815-1570 or lcla@hargray.com. LowCountry Legal Aid is a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation and assistance to low income families in the lowcountry.
SC Access To Justice Weblog 