Attorney David James receives the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the North Central Conservancy Trust (NCCT).

David served on the NCCT Board of Directors for six consecutive years, from May 2016-May 2022, and as President for 2 of those years. During his tenure on the Board, he was instrumental in strengthening the partnership between NCCT, the City of Stevens Point and the Green Circle Trail Organization that led to NCCT’s acquisition of the 5 acre property adjacent to this park along with the island just offshore. Without David’s assistance, it is unlikely that NCCT would be the current owner of the property and it’s possible that it could have been sold to a private party and developed. Instead, it is now a community space that is open to the public, serving as an extension of Bukolt Park, and NCCT is making strides to enhance the ecological qualities of the landscape. The property has also helped boost NCCT’s profile in the community, serving as an awareness builder for the organization and a physical place where NCCT members and the public can go and enjoy a property protected by the land trust.

Another huge contribution from David is the time and legal expertise he volunteered while serving as a member of a statewide task force made up of about 20 people from around Wisconsin; attorneys, land trust staff and volunteers, gathering waters folks and others; who created the Wisconsin Model Grant of Conservation Easement, that is now used by land trusts throughout the state, serving as a guide for drafting conservation easement agreements. NCCT has used the model to draft its last 3 conservation easements and has been very pleased with the quality and purpose it serves.

David was also an advocate for investing in resources like staff, the office, and properties that are open to the public as preserves, in order to help NCCT grow.He also applied his legal knowledge and skills to help with conservation easement transactions and to help NCCT become organizationally stronger.Dave did all of this as a volunteer, to support the NCCT mission, our local environment, and our community.

Congratulations to David James on this well desverved award!

We have one retirement for the month of September. Deb worked at AOB for 27 years! What an amazing accomplishment! We appreciate her hard work and dedication. We will miss her around the office. Congratulations to Deb!

Attorneys Alissa Thompson and Heather Huebner took part in the Leadership Portage County Class of 2022-2023 Retreat. The two day event took the group on a tour of Portage County, with stops at the Korean War Memorial, Rising Star Mill and more great places. To learn more about Leadership Portage County please click here. https://portagecountybiz.com/lpc/

Attorney Brian Formella was the guest speaker at the SPAHRA meeting on Wednesday. His presentation focused on recent significant State and Federal employment related cases. To learn more about SPAHRA please click here. https://spahra.wildapricot.org/

Attorneys Jason Sausser and Donna Ginzl attended the 41st Annual State Bar of Wisconsin Family Law Workshop. This three day conference took place in Sturgeon Bay. Attorney Ginzl was a co-chair of the workshop committee and also a presenter.

Thank you for voting us the number one Law Firm in this year’s Stevens Point Journal Official Community Choice Awards for Lawyer or Law Firm. We are honored and grateful to be recognized by the community for our hard work and dedication to our clients. If you would like to see all the results for the 2022 Best of Portage County, please follow the link below:

https://stevenspointjournal.secondstreetapp.com/Best-of-Portage-County-2022-Winners/?itm_campaign=Stevens%20Point%20BOB%202022&itm_medium=con&itm_source=secondStreet