Founder’s Award honoree Rick Dove (center) with OCLRE Board of Trustees President Marion Smithberger and OCLRE Executive Director Lisa Eschleman.

Founder’s Award honoree Rick Dove (center) with OCLRE Board of Trustees President Marion Smithberger and OCLRE Executive Director Lisa Eschleman.

For his 20 years of service to law-related education in Ohio, Rick Dove, secretary to the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline at the Supreme Court of Ohio, was awarded the Founders’ Award at the recent Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE) Law & Citizenship Conference.

The Founders’ Award recognizes individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the ideals and growth of law-related education. Like the OCLRE founders for whom the award is named, recipients are considered visionaries and have devoted their time and talent to develop and support programs that engage students in learning about and valuing the rule of law. The program also teaches students about democracy and the importance of civic responsibility.

Throughout his tenure on the OCLRE Board of Trustees, Dove served in every officer position and volunteered for many programs, including Mock Trial, We the People, and Youth for Justice.

During the awards ceremony on September 22, Dove said, “I have loved every minute of my time with OCLRE ... and now [see] lawyers in practice who were Mock Trial participants in my early years on the board.”

The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization whose goal is to improve society by developing citizens empowered with an understanding of the democratic system. OCLRE is sponsored by the Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Ohio State Bar Association, and American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio Foundation.