 Honorable Joseph Gerace |
FREDONIA, N.Y. — Feb. 3, 2009 — Retired State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Gerace, Sr., who also has the distinction of having been Chautauqua’s first county executive, will speak at SUNY Fredonia on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. in room S104 of the campus’ Williams Center.
Judge Gerace, whose public service career spans more than 50 years, will present a lecture about the importance of credibility as it relates to good leaders. The event is the first of four presentations which the Fredonia Leadership Development Program is featuring this semester within its Character Education Series.
A former U.S. Navy serviceman and graduate of Denison University and Albany Law School, he was a trial lawyer for 23 years until he was elected as Chautauqua County's first County Executive. He held this position for eight years before his appointment as New York State Commissioner of Agriculture. In 1991 he was elected to the New York State Supreme Court, where he served until he reached its mandatory retirement age in 2003.
As a private citizen, Judge Gerace was actively involved in a historic lawsuit that changed the structure and activity of county government. Under his guidance, electorate votes for legislation dealing with public health, public safety, county highways, lakes, sewers and county taxes are now more accurately weighted based on the population of each township.
Today, Judge Gerace serves the court system as a Judicial Hearing Officer. He has won several civil service awards, including the prestigious Robert H. Jackson 33° Award for Community Service in 2006 and the Jamestown Bar Association Award for Outstanding Community Service in 2007.
