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Contact: Jon A. Sullivan
Manager, Media Services & Public Affairs
jsullivan@nysba.org
518/487-5532
June 11, 2007
STATE BAR ASSOCIATION HONORS ONONDAGA COUNTY DISASTER
MANAGER
Emergency Management Director, Peter P. Alberti,
Receives Inaugural Douglas C. Johnston Award for Excellence in Disaster
Preparedness
The New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Mass Disaster
Response today bestowed the inaugural Douglas C. Johnston Award upon
Peter P. Alberti, Director of Emergency Management for Onondaga County,
for his excellence in disaster preparedness and in recognition of his
efforts to assist disaster victims. The award was presented at a special
luncheon paying tribute to Mr. Alberti and to Douglas C. Johnston for
whom the award was named, posthumously. The luncheon was attended by
State Bar Association President Kathryn “Kate” Madigan,
Binghamton (Levene Gouldin & Thompson LLP).
Mr. Alberti should take tremendous pride in receiving this award,
named after Doug Johnston, whose reputation as a lawyer who talked the
talk and walked the walk was never more evident than when assisting
people who had experienced disaster,” Association President Kate
Madigan said. “Clearly Mr. Alberti has demonstrated his commitment
to public service and has distinguished himself by his passion for his
community and protecting the rights of those victimized by catastrophe.
I congratulate him on this well-deserved honor.”
Douglas Johnston was the Vice Chair of the Committee on Disaster
Response from 2001 to 2006, while waging a battle with cancer, which
finally overcame him last year. He was instrumental in developing the
mission of the Mass Disaster Response Committee and played a key role in
formulating the committee’s disaster response plan. The plan is
activated whenever a significant emergency occurs in New York State,
like the crash of flight 587 in New York City, the Amtrak train crash in
Syracuse in 2001 and the World Trade Center attacks.
Mass Disaster Response Committee Chair Robert J. Saltzman, Brooklyn
(NYS Grievance Committee) said, “In times of disaster it can be
easily forgotten that people will require more than immediate emergency
assistance. It is equally important that individual’s legal rights
are protected. Doug Johnston understood this and the vital role lawyers
play when disaster strikes. Peter Alberti has demonstrated these same
qualities and I am proud to present this award to him and I know he will
continue to achieve the high standards for which we honor him
today.”
The award luncheon was held on Friday, June 8, at the M&T Bank
Building in Syracuse.
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