NH DISTRICT COURT Administrative Justice Edwin W. Kelly was recently honored with two awards from community organizations. Kelly was the recipient of the 2002 Community Leadership Award given by the Northern New Hampshire Foundation, a division of the NH Charitable Foundation, and the first-ever recipient of the Dr. Tom Fox Award presented by New Futures.

The Northern New Hampshire Foundation's Community Awards are given annually to publicly recognize and honor leaders who have distinguished themselves in support of the North Country and its communities, "especially those individuals who have increased the sense of connection and belonging in their communities." The Foundation's Community Leadership Award recognizes an individual who "has had significant community impact by being a capacity builder - one who enables community improvement." The award includes a $2,500 grant, which the recipient may direct to the charitable organization of his or her choice.

Judge Kelly, who sits in Plymouth District Court, was recognized for his involvement with many non-profit organizations in the Plymouth area, his leadership role in developing a drug court in Plymouth (and other sites statewide), and his role in the Greenbook research project, which is studying the way courts handle domestic violence and child abuse cases. "As part of his commitment to children, Judge Kelly also helped convene a forum on early learning in the Plymouth area as part of his role in the [Governor's] Kids' Cabinet," stated a press release announcing Kelly as the recipient of the Leadership Award.

In support of Kelly's nomination for the award, Lisa Mure, director of the Lin-wood/Newfound/Pemi-Baker Community Coalition, said that she knows of no other person in central or northern New Hampshire "who has distinguished himself as much as Judge Kelly."

"His vision of a better condition for families in the Plymouth community has led to his involvement for 10 years in the Plymouth Area Ad Hoc Committee on Youth at Risk, the vision and ultimate realization of the Whole Village Family Resource Center, the development of the Lin-wood/Newfound/Pemi-Baker Community Coalition two years ago, and the drug court and Greenbook projects in the past year," said Mure.

New Futures, a non-profit organization working to reduce alcohol, tobacco and other drug problems in New Hampshire, awarded Kelly with the first annual Dr. Tom Fox Award. The award's namesake, who passed away in June, was most recently the acting director of the NH Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Recovery and was active in the field of substance abuse for many years. The award is presented to an individual working in NH who has demonstrated "commitment, excellence and leadership" in the field of addiction and has instituted practices to reduce the problem of addiction in NH.

In addition to his work on the drug court, Kelly was cited for leading the effort to secure the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's "Reclaiming Futures" grant to develop solutions for youth challenged by substance abuse problems and delinquency. In 2001, he was appointed the first chair of the Governor's Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment. He has chaired the District Court Task Force on Juvenile Justice Issues. He has also served on such statewide bodies as the Governor's Commission on Drunk Driving, the Governor's Commission on Domestic Violence and the Wellness and Primary Prevention Council.

"Judge Kelly is a strong and effective leader who cares deeply about many of the critical issues that impact our children, families and communities," said Lindy Fox, the widow of Dr. Tom Fox, in presenting Kelly with the award.

"He is able to not only bring people with differing views together to work toward a common goal, but his passion and vision inspire all of us to accomplish more than we originally thought was possible. He leads by his personal example of dedication, commitment and giving to each of us and to the entire community."

Kelly said that he was honored to receive the two awards, but pointed out that such awards recognize the efforts not only of an individual, but also of others who contribute to their communities in a similar way. "I think it's a huge honor to receive awards like this. At the same time, I also know there are dozens of other people out there doing the same kinds of things I'm doing," he said. "These awards recognize their efforts, as well."

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