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Honoring Stephen J. Harmelin, Esquire as the inaugural recipient of the Green Tree School & Services Lasting Legacy Award.
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WHEREAS, Green Tree School & Services (Green Tree) is an organization that is committed to its mission of discovering, developing, and delivering opportunities for children with unique challenges and abilities and aiding them to achieve their full potential; and
WHEREAS, Since 1957, Green Tree's mission is rooted in a belief that every child and young adult should have the opportunity to learn the academic, social, emotional, vocational and life skills they need to achieve resiliency and success in their learning, living, and working environments; and
WHEREAS, Green Tree strives to achieve a vision of Transforming Lives and Impacting Communities by providing education, support and other services to over 300 individuals classified with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, and Developmental Delays; and
WHEREAS, to support these goals, Green Tree has created The Lasting Legacy Award to honor individuals who have been champions for initiatives and issues that transform Philadelphia and have a lasting impact on its citizens and on Thursday, June 5th, at the Union League of Philadelphia, Green Tree will present Stephen J. Harmelin, Esquire with its inaugural Lasting Legacy Award; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Harmelin is the Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Partner at Dilworth Paxson, LLP where he has over 35 years of experience in corporate law and securities and financial transactions and has represented various governmental and non-profit entities and has lectured on law firm management and corporate transactions; and
WHEREAS, Stephen J. Harmelin has served for more than a decade on the Board of Directors of the Barnes Foundation, which built its beautiful new gallery on the Parkway, and has served on the Boards that built and developed the National Constitution Center and Pennsylvania Convention Center; and
WHEREAS, In addition to his non-profit board service, Mr. Harmelin has been a steward of the City's and Nation's Constitutional history where he led a five year effort that located and returned to Pennsylvania its original copy of the Bill of Rights, which had been presumed lost and missing from the Commonwealth for almost 200 years, and he also worked with FBI agents to recover North Carolina's copy of the Bill of Rights, which had been missing for over 138 years and for his efforts, he was awarded a Certificate of Distinguished Service from the Director of the FBI; and
WHEREAS, Another example of this true commitment to public service and philanthropy, Stephen and Julia Harmelin will use the occasion of The Lasting Legacy Award to announce the creation of the Stephen and Julia Harmelin Fund for Arts and Creative Expression; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Harmelin is the quintessential Philadelphia Lawyer whose career, public service, and philanthropy have had a lasting impact on Philadelphia and he is an outstanding choice as the inaugural recipient of The Lasting Legacy Award because he embodies the spirit and purpose of this Award and the legacy of the founder of his firm Mayor Richardson Dilworth; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor Stephen J. Harmelin, Esquire as the inaugural recipient of the Green Tree School & Services Lasting Legacy Award.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Mr. Harmelin as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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