CBA Record

Celebrating 50 Years of CBA Membership By Bonnie McGrath Editorial Board Member

At the annual CBA 50 Year Member Luncheon on October 27 are: (Top Row L to R):Terry Murphy, CBA Exec Director, Lawrence Jay Weiner, Jerome E. Cihak, John H. Bitner, Richard A. Miller, Richard L. Williams III, James P. Tatooles, Hon Leon Wool, Patricia Brown Holmes, CBA President, Larry L. Fleischer, Warren F. Grienenberger, Paul B. Uhlenhop, Robert M. Leone, Alfred F. Hofeld, Ralph Lustgarten, Steven Elrod, CBA Treasurer, Daniel Kotin, CBA 1st Vice President Seated L to R: Hon Alexander P. White, Hon Shelvin Singer, Hon Joel M. Flaum, Robert V. Johnson, Denis J. Owens, Charles W. Murdock, George N. Avgeris, Robert M. Karton, Malcolm S. Kamin, Melvin I. Katten, Donald Martin, Stanley P. Sklar, Bernard Hammer, Robert Arthur Romanoff, Thomas J. Boodell Jr , William P. O’Keefe, H. Reed Harris T he theme of “commitment” was rife throughout a recent luncheon in Corboy Hall that celebrated 67

The roomwas filled with CBAmembers who saw a need to belong. And put their free time, money and a 50-year commit- ment behind that need. “Role models,” CBA president Patricia Holmes called them in her introductory remarks, thanking them for their time and commitment during a brief toast. “You’ve been there for us.” But she also asked them for more: to get even more involved with the CBA going forward. Keynote speaker Charles W. Murdock lamented how several conditions had changed in the legal community in the last 50 years. And that while the present may be “dubious,” the past was “pretty good” for the honorees. Murdock lamented that

involvement with pro bono work or other volunteer activities like the annual Bar Show “Christmas Spirits” (lawyer perform- ers from the show entertained for a few minutes during the festivities), commit- ment was the name of the game. Depend- ability, genuine interest and the desire to be–and stay–involved came through loud and clear. A pronounced commitment to profes- sional responsibility, in general, and par- ticular legal issues, specifically, made the celebrants stand out. They also stood out for their commitment to outside hobbies, interests and sports–ranging from historic preservation to bungee jumping.

members of the CBA who have kept up their membership for the past 50 years. A milestone in the Chicago legal community, to be sure! But while the 50-year members were rightly honored for their commitment to dues-paying at the CBA, it was also clear that commitment was a large part of the life of each and every one of the members so honored. Whether it was 50 years–more or less–with the same spouse, the same firm, the same area of practice or the judiciary,

10 NOVEMBER 2015