By Robin Vander Wall . . . The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws was thrilled to honor the ACLU of Michigan with our Hawthorne Award and David Feige with our Braveheart Award at the 2018 NARSOL National Conference on June 8, 2018.

The ACLU of Michigan was responsible for successfully litigating Does v. Snyder which held enhancements and amendments to Michigan’s sex offender statutes unconstitutional and in violation of the prohibition against ex post facto laws due to their punitive effect. David Feige, an attorney by training, is a leader in the effort to use journalism and the power of film to personalize the stories of people who are most affected by registries.

In addition, NARSOL was excited to present Fred Allen with the 2018 Advocate of the Year Award for his hard work and dedication to the organization’s day-to-day operational needs. As a volunteer, Fred works a nearly full-time schedule helping to manage the websites, handle  incoming correspondence, answer emails, assist the communications director, and ensuring the integrity of NARSOL’s payment processing system with the assistance of our team of technology gurus. He is one of several “gatekeepers” who work together to screen all calls and correspondence incoming to NARSOL.

Larry Neely, our treasurer and long-serving board director, was presented with NARSOL’s Lifetime Achievement Award and joins rank with individuals we hold in highest esteem for their sacrificial service to, and support for, advocacy on behalf of NARSOL. Larry also leads the legal team, manages our monthly NARSOL in Action teleconferences, serves as publisher of the Digest, and serves on a number of committees that are critical to our continued growth.

A number of individuals were presented with our Pearl Award for their efforts exclusively in support of NARSOL’s advocacy. Among them were Peter Marana, corporate secretary and board director; Andy Stein, one of our lead techs and a podcaster; Rick Dean, volunteer coordinator; Richard Mori, region one coordinator; and Susan Walker, region four coordinator.

The Awards Committee is presently giving consideration to the creation of two new awards that would be used to recognize our most outstanding affiliates and the individuals within our affiliates whose efforts are worthy of national recognition. The Awards Committee wishes to express its deep gratitude to all the award recipients as well as the individuals who assisted us with identifying qualified candidates. Thank you!