Simmons employee Amy Bourland honored as Woman of Distinction by YWCA

A longtime Simmons firm employee, Amy Bourland, was recently selected as one of the YWCA of Alton’s 2010 Distinguished Women. To be selected, a woman must demonstrate exemplary community service and advance the YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women.

Knowing Amy, who is our Human Resource Director, she would probably tell you about all the other women who are more deserving of this award. Don’t let her fool you. Since 2004, when she was elected as a board member of the Simmons Employee Foundation, she has worked just as hard to organize golf fundraisers, build a Habitat 4 Humanity house, deliver food to four Madison County food banks, or decorate for the annual SEF dinner auction.

Amy is the type of person everyone – women and men – should aspire to be. She helps before she’s asked. She gives her time and her heart to help those less fortunate than her. When she smiles, you can’t help but smile back.

Amy and eight other area women were honored Thursday during the YWCA’s 20^th annual Women of Distinction award luncheon at Lewis & Clark Community College. I was privileged to attend and watch a video interview Amy gave about herself. 

From one Amy to another, congratulations. Because of people like you, the non-profits, charities or organizations that make Madison County a better place receive the long-term support they deserve.

I should mention that the YWCA also inducted four businesses, including the Simmons firm, into its Circle of Distinction for consistent long-time support of the Y and its programs.  As future neighbors to the YWCA, we’re honored to be a part of this circle. In fact, as the Telegraph noted in its article last week, we’re committed to supporting our new neighbors as they begin renovations to their historic building in downtown Alton.

Hats off to Amy Bourland and the YWCA. Your work makes the firm a better place to work and our community a better place to live. Thank you.

Merlin Olsen, NFL Legend and Television Star, Passes Away from Mesothelioma

With the passing of Merlin Olsen this week, famous NFL legend and television star, the word "mesothelioma" has rippled through the airwaves and headlines of giant media outlets like CNN, the New York Times, and even ESPN. Olsen, age 69, was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year.

Some people know him from his days playing defensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams, where he earned acclaim as one of the "Fearsome Foursome" and was named to 14 consecutive Pro Bowls. 

I remember him more as Charles Ingalls' good friend in the TV series, "Little House on the Prairie," where he played the role of gentle giant, frequently keeping Charles from getting into trouble at the Sleepy Eye tavern.

In addition to his professional success, Olsen's reputation as a decent, charitable man has been remembered and memorialized over the last few days. In December of last year, his alma mater, Utah State University, announced that its football field would be named after him - Merlin Olsen Field.

It is always heartbreaking to hear about the loss of a mesothelioma patient. We can only hope that the absence of Olsen's friendly, well-known face may help ignite some much-needed awareness about this unnecessary cancer.

Pro Bono Guardians Ad Litem Program Provides Opportunity for Firm to Give Back to Community

Attorneys at the Simmons firm represent clients from all over the United States in various types of cases.  In late 2007, the firm made a decision to find a way to give something back to the local community where the main office is located in Madison County, Illinois.  After speaking with several judges on the local bench, a program was started within the firm that would allow the attorneys to be appointed pro bono, or free of charge, as Guardians Ad Litem in cases where the assigned judge deemed it necessary. 

Guardians Ad Litem (GALs) are appointed to represent the interest of people who are the subject of litigation but are not otherwise represented by an attorney or capable of representing themselves.  In most cases, GALs are appointed to represent the best interest of children involved in custody or visitation cases, although there are also situations in which GALs are appointed to represent the best interest of disabled adults in cases concerning their medical treatment or financial affairs. 

To launch this pro bono program, the Simmons firm hosted a training that was co-sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association; more than fifty local attorneys attended the training, including twenty-five Simmons firm attorneys.  Since then, the Simmons firm attorneys have been appointed in more than thirty cases. 

Many of these appointments are done pursuant to Supreme Court rule.  For example, I was recently appointed GAL for an elderly woman who was the subject of a guardianship action.  She suffered from Alzheimer’s and had been in a long-term care facility for many years.  Her son had been handling her affairs throughout that time.  Unfortunately, her son passed away unexpectedly.  She had an adult daughter who was willing and able to step into the son’s shoes and act as guardian for the mother, but she  had not been able to complete the necessary legal paperwork because she did not have the money to hire an attorney.

In addition to hiring an attorney, Supreme Court rule requires that a GAL be appointed in every case where someone is seeking guardianship of a disabled adult, so the family would have to pay GAL fees in a normal situation. This family was simply not in a financial position to do that. A family friend who is an attorney volunteered to prepare the necessary paperwork, and the Court appointed the Simmons firm to act as GAL free of charge. 

I met with the disabled adult, who is a lovely woman.  She is very well-adjusted to her current care situation, but very obviously not in touch with reality.  Her nursing staff told me that her daughter who had applied for guardianship visited her mother regularly.  It was easy for me to make a recommendation to the Court that the daughter be appointed guardian. 

With very little effort on my part, we were able to make this family’s life so much easier.  Attorneys are in a unique situation to provide these kinds of services to people in the community—we should all try to do it more often.   

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