“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” – Maya Angelou
“Blood makes you related. Loyalty makes you family.” – Chris Diaz
There is no greater gift to a law school and no greater testament to the quality of its students, faculty, and staff, than a strong, loyal alumni network. I will be forever grateful for our supportive and engaged alumni, led by our dedicated Alumni Association and Board of Visitors, who pay it forward every day.
On May 24, our Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association (CMLAA) hosted the Cleveland-Marshall Alumni Association Annual Recognition Luncheon, the largest law school alumni event in Ohio, and one of the largest in the country. Each May, 600-1,000 alumni and community supporters attend the luncheon. This year, we honored two outstanding leaders, Matthew Crawford '94, Chairman/CEO, Park-Ohio Holdings Corp., and Judge Benita Pearson '95, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Tim Collins ‘85, CMLAA President, gave the President’s Award to Allison Taller Reich ’09. Professor Browne Lewis received the Wilson G. Stapleton Award for Faculty Excellence. We were very grateful that President Harlan Sands took the time to join us just days before he became the new President of Cleveland State University. The ARL was, once again, superbly organized by James Sammon ’94 and Michael O’Neil ’94.
That same day, our Board of Visitors met to discuss C|M|LAW’s strategic goals and objectives for the 2018-19 academic year. Brent Buckley '82 serves as Chair and Kelly Tompkins '81 serves as Vice-Chair.
At last week’s CMLAA Annual Meeting, outgoing President Tim Collins '85 passed the gavel to new President Judge Michelle Paris '84. Joining Judge Paris were her husband David Paris ‘78, daughter Dana Paris ‘13, brother Joseph Corsaro ‘82, nephew Joseph Corsaro ‘10, nephew Chris Holecek ‘88, his wife Tanja Holecek ’89, and nephew Mike Gardineer ’21 who is starting C|M|LAW this fall. What a great legacy family!
Judge Melody Stewart ‘88 administered the oath of office to the new CMLAA officers and Board members. Special recognition was given to Stan Stein ’62 by Steve Wasserman ‘78 for Stan’s outstanding service and longtime dedication to the Alumni Association. Over 20 distinguished judges, all alumni, also attended.
Judge Paris announced the newly created Marilyn Tobocman ’83 Equal Access to Justice Award created by Sharon Sobol Jordan, her daughter, and the Tobocman family, to be granted to a student or recent graduate for a fellowship in public interest, social justice, civil rights, advocacy, and/or non-profit work.
Tim Collins noted, “students, whether prospective or current, or graduates, are the raison d’etre of the CMLAA, and every opportunity we have to engage with students and graduates is a positive experience for the CMLAA.”
Judge Paris said, “My journey has been a combination of grit…and gratitude. I am very grateful for the night program that allowed me to work and go to school. In the night program I was surrounded by people with grit - working, studying, trying to cross the finish line. I am also grateful to some really great professors that challenged me and gave me confidence in my ability to think….. I and my fellow board members have one thing in common. We care about the law school and its students, and we love the sense of camaraderie and belonging to a group that is committed to giving back.”
Thanks to all our alumni for giving back and paying it forward.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
My best,
Lee
My views in all my Monday Morning Messages are my personal views alone and do not reflect the views of our Law School or our University.