The State Bar Association of North Dakota Summer 2015 Gavel Magazine | Page 11

Awards, continued

for law and the courts and stimulate a deeper
sense of responsibility on the part of citizens
regarding their duties as well as their rights.
This year’s recipient was Dr. Donna Pearson,
the chair of the Kinesiology and Public
Health Department at the University of
North Dakota who for the past 10 years has
been coordinator for the statewide “We The
People Program.”

Dr. Donna Pearson accepts the Liberty Bell
Award from Zack Pelham.

This program encourages high school
students to learn about the democratic
process through an annual competition.

Legislative Service Award
The Legislative Service Award recognizes the
legislative involvement of individuals who
have served at the state or federal level for
several years, have a commitment to serving
their constituents by actively participating in
the legislative process and have balanced the
principles of justice and jurisprudence while
serving the needs of the public.
This year’s recipient is Representative Kim
Koppelman of Fargo, who is the chair of the
House Judiciary Committee of the North
Dakota Legislature.

Community Service Awards recognize three

Ulysses Jones accepts his Community
Service Award from Darcie Einarson and
Dan Traynor.

Ulysses S. Jones
Northeast Judicial District
Ulysses S. Jones practices law in Devils Lake.
He has displayed a commitment to volunteer
services to the state and profession as a
member of the Commission to Study Racial
and Ethnic Bias in the Court. He continues
that work as a member of the Minority
Justice Implementation Committee, chaired
by District Judge Donovan Foughty. He has
served on the Deacon Board at River of Life
Assembly of God for a number of years and
has provided other leadership, wisdom and
insight to the church.
Jones has been a key team member in
community outreach events, including
the July 4th Celebrate Freedom event and
participating in the Celebrate Recovery
ministry to help those in the community
dealing with hurts, habits and hang-ups. He
was part of a service project team working in
Rogers, North Dakota, with Project Ignite
Light, a ministry to children of abuse, and
participated in a flood relief team in Minot,
working with Samaritan’s Purse, and most

Peter Welte accepts his Community
Service Award from Scott Jensen.

recently was part of a mission team that
worked with an orphanage in Comayague,
Honduras.
Peter D. Welte
Northeast Central Judicial District
Peter Welte has been active in both the
Grand Forks community and in his local
community of Larimore, where he is the Lay
Leader for the Larimore United Methodist
Church, and frequently presides over services
for the Yoke Parish, which includes the
Larimore United Methodist Church, the
Emerado Presbyterian Church, and the
Arvilla Presbyterian Church.
He also serves on the Administrative Board
for the Larimore UMC, and is the annual
organizer of the annual Larimore Days
Sunday Pancake Breakfast. He and his wife,
Lisa, are Lifetime Members of the Larimore
Polar Bear Booster club.
In Grand Forks, Peter and Lisa have been
a host couple for the Northern Lights Boy
Scout Lawn Social for many years. They

have also been active supporters of Special
Olympics North Dakota, in which their son
Cole has been active as an athlete. Peter
created and has organized for Dak-Minn
Blood Bank an annual Holiday Blood
Drive Challenge for many years, in which
employees from the State of North Dakota,
the County of Grand Forks and the City of
Grand Forks compete for one day to donate
blood during the Christmas season, a time
when blood supplies are traditionally low.
He has also been a proponent and supporter
of the Red River Children’s Advocacy
Center, and served on its board for six years.
He has been a champion in many different
roles of the Grand Forks Community
Violence Intervention Center, and is also a
member of ѡ