Former football great Judge Dwayne Woodruff |
Pictured from the left is Chamber President Randy Allmon, FRC Executive Dir. Cindy Slavens, CC Commissioner John Payne, Judge Woodruff and Mrs. Joy Woodruff |
The Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce held their annual
awards banquet honoring Wellsville’s “Community Stars” this past Thursday
evening. The Citizens of the Year Dinner
was held at the Wellsville Alumni Center and it was a packed house. The dinner was prepared and catered by
members of the Wellsville High School Alumni Association.
Keynote speaker was the Honorable Judge Dwayne
Woodruff. Woodruff is a graduate of the
University of Louisville and a 12 year NFL veteran after being drafted by the
Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a member of
the Steeler’s 1979 winning Super Bowl team.
While he was a member on the Steeler’s roster he studied and obtained
his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University School of Law.
He was a founding member of the Woodruff, Flaherty & Fardo,
LLC law firm. In 2005 he was elected to
the bench as Common Pleas Court judge of Allegheny County. Woodruff remarked that his court deals only
with juvenile offenders. He refers to
many of those youngsters as “his kids”.
Woodruff and his wife Joy chair the “Do the Write Thing” program in
Pittsburgh. It’s a program that
encourages students to make personal commitments to stop violence in their
homes, schools and neighborhoods.
During his speech Judge Woodruff recalled his days as a
professional football player, sometimes with amusing antidotes. He offered some
good natured ribbing to fans of Pittsburgh’s Division rivals, especially those
of that team on Lake Erie that don brown & orange uniforms. He talked of his experience as a juvenile
judge and shared some of his thoughts and observations. His talk was entertaining and, at times
thought provoking.
Two footballs autographed by Woodruff was auctioned by auctioneer
Bob Sell. The first one included two
Steeler pre-season tickets for the game of the winning bidder’s choice for next
year. The tickets were donated by
Woodruff to stimulate the bidding.
Winners of this year’s Community Stars will follow in
separate articles. Chamber President
Randy Allmon remarked that there was a record number of ballots returned in
this year’s balloting. All members of
the Wellsville Area Chamber are eligible to vote in the selection process.
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