CALSPro - California Association of Legal Support Professionals

Bert Rosenthal Award Recipient

Posted November 4, 2011 in Conference, Membership

The Rosenthal Committee meets yearly (eight of us met in June) and in a rigorous, sometimes emotional process, nominates those who it feels have given the utmost of service and dedication in promoting and protecting our industry.  The committee consists of the current president, past presidents (who are still members) and all past recipients.

The first Bert Rosenthal Memorial Award was awarded to Bert himself, In Memoriam, in 1978.  Bert was one of the founding members of CALSPro and as such, is represented by one of the thirteen diamonds in the pin that hopefully will be presented to one of the below nominees at this year’s Conference.  In 1979, the tenth anniversary of our Association, his wife Dorothy wrote:  “During Bert’s initial years in the process serving industry, he dreamed of the time there would be an Association of Professional Process Servers.  Certainly his dream was realized, and gratefully, he did live to see its emergence as the prestigious organization that it is.  Bert truly loved the industry and he put so much of himself into it.  Were he here on this 10^th Anniversary, he would be so proud of all of the accomplishments of CAPPS.  For Bert, I can only say “Congratulations CAPPS for a job well done.”  Dorothy wrote those words over thirty years ago, yet they still ring true today, don’t you think?  Bert would be oh so proud of us, and what we have become, and I’m not referring just to the Association, but also to the individuals he befriended and mentored.  Today, due to the legacy of those individuals, and their legacy, Bert’s legacy is even more impressive.  Jerry Topolos summed it up nicely in his 1978 award speech.  He said:  “We are not only honoring a man.  We are honoring those who will be recipients in the future.  The Association has come along way, and we feel it’s about time the energies and contributions of certain members were recognized and recorded for posterity.”

The following individuals were nominated for this prestigious award:

Mike Belote

Robert DeFilippis

Steve Janney

John Perez

Brett Peters

At the banquet on Saturday night, September 23^rd, 2011, the award was presented to Steve Janney!  Here is a bit of information about Steve:

Steve was born into a “legal support service” family in 1951.  His dad, Jack Janney, was an early member of the Los Angeles process serving community (and was also a recipient of the Bert Rosenthal Memorial award).  Steve served his first paper on January 23, 1969, his 18^th birthday, when he finally conformed to the civil code of procedure by being “over the age of 18 and not a party to the action.”  No Business and Professions Code for process servers existed back then.

Steve graduated from high school in 1969 and Biola University in 1980.  He likes to say “I squeezed 4 years into 11.”  He graduated with a degree in Education and a minor in Theology.  After a year in graduate school, he joined his dad and brother Doug as the process manager of Janney & Janney Attorney Service.  In 1983 he married Dana Walker, and they have 3 children, Linda, Matt & Paul.

Steve has served in a variety of positions in CALSPro.  He was the newsletter editor, has served several terms on the board of directors, was elected twice as secretary-treasurer, chaired the Strategic Planning Committee and has served 3 terms as President of our association.

When asked about his life in the legal support industry, Steve said, “I think back over the past 40 years and I never would have imagined being where I am today.  After 40 years, I would describe myself as a blessed man.  I have had enough joy in my life not to be overwhelmed by sorrow, and enough sorrow to appreciate the joy.  I have a life filled with purpose for today and hope for tomorrow.   I have learned the difference between knowledge and wisdom, valuing the latter over the former.”

I was honored to present Steve the award in September.  Notably, he received the first CALSPro version of the trophy and pin, which was appropriate as it was Steve who guided our Association through that change.  Congratulations to Steve and his family!