OTTAWA – Elaine Keenan Bengts of Yellowknife, NWT, has been named the winner of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA)’s 2013 Douglas Miller Award. The award was presented on Feb. 16 at the CBA Mid-Winter Meeting of Council.
“This award honours the memory of former NWT Branch President Doug Miller of Yellowknife, a very active CBA member who passed away in 1994. It couldn’t be more fitting that this year’s winner, Elaine Keenan Bengts, also has a passion both for the North and her Association that rivals only that of Doug Miller,” said CBA President Robert Brun, Q.C., of Vancouver.
A 30-year member of the CBA, Ms. Keenan Bengts’ involvement in CBA sections and committees has been extensive. She served as Chair of the NWT Family Law Section and Women Lawyers Forum, and was instrumental in bringing professional development programs to Yellowknife that helped improve access to justice. In 2010-2011, she followed in Doug Miller’s footsteps by becoming NWT Branch President.
Ms. Keenan Bengts was a member of the National Executive of the Family Law Section, which she chaired in 2006-2007, and served a two-year term on the National Awards Committee from 2008-2010. In her capacity as co-chair of the 2008 Organizing Committee for the Mid-Winter Meeting in Yellowknife, she was responsible for bringing over 200 members to the Northwest Territories, most of whom had never before visited the North.
The Douglas Miller Award recognizes a CBA member in good standing who demonstrates outstanding dedication and team spirit and who attends the Mid-Winter Meeting. The award consists of a framed photograph of the sculpture entitled "Crane," carved from musk ox horn by Northwest Territories artist Rex Goose.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to supporting the rule of law, improvements in the law, and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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