Rack up more rave reviews for the Leo High School Scholarship Benefit.
This year’s, the seventh annual, took place at the Four Seasons Chicago on Wednesday, Nov. 30, with Joe Power ’70 the recipient of the Leo Lions Legacy Award as a distinguished (and generous) representative of Leo.
Jim Williams of CBS-2 Chicago, a South Side product and longtime friend of Leo, served as master of ceremonies. Nearly 300 people filled the hotel’s Grand Ballroom to honor Joe, who as the founding/managing partner of Power Rogers directs one of the state’s most impactful law firms.
After a three-song performance by the world-renowned Leo Choir began the program, Monsignor Kenneth Velo used the occasion of his invocation to recognize Joe’s wife Susan … and poke a little fun at most of the males present.
“I want to salute Joe’s wife Sue, who reminds us that behind every successful man there’s a surprised woman,” Monsignor Velo said.
Following dinner, Leo Principal Shaka Rawls took the stage with four well-spoken Leo students who described for the audience their Leo experience. Freshman Edwin “Eddie” Hernandez, sophomore Robert Washington and seniors Matthew Hernandez and Thomas Sims cited the “Leo brotherhood” as one of the things they appreciated most about the school. The younger Hernandez seemed to be speaking for all four when he chose “awesome” as his one-word description of Leo.
Power Rogers’ track record of obtaining legal redress for those who have been wrongly victimized through corporate carelessness, malfeasance or indifference is well established. The presence of Ron Malec ’46 and his daughter Suzanne Malec McKenna brought that record into the room.
A co-developer of the expansive Maple Park subdivision on Chicago’s Southwest Side, Mr. Malec had recently pledged to fund up to 12 scholarships for students from Maple Park who would like to attend Leo, in conjunction with the 60-year anniversary of the community’s founding.
Mr. Malec’s daughter Suzanne is a Joe Power client, and she sought to link her dad’s generous pledge to the evening’s recognition for Joe, in gratitude for the service he provided her and her family.
Suzanne’s late husband Michael McKenna was an intellectual property lawyer. In 2006 he was shot and killed in his office by a deranged former client, who accused Mr. McKenna (wrongly) of defrauding him on a patent application and pocketing the proceeds from an invention that was too primitive to be developed and never got to market.
Lawyers for the firm that provided security at Mr. McKenna’s building obtained an initial judgment absolving the firm of responsibility for his death, maintaining that it came at the hands of a mentally unstable gunman. His widow then retained Joe Power, who got the judgment overturned on appeal, took the case to trial and won a multimillion-dollar settlement for Mrs. McKenna and her four young children.
“It took 11 years, but Joe was there for us every step of the way from beginning to end,” she said. “I can never thank him enough for all he did for our family.”
Joe had a typically humble, understated reaction.
“Suzanne was one of my favorite clients,” he said. “What she and her family went through was just terrible, unthinkable. I was really happy that we were able to get a favorable outcome for them.”
Joe and Susan have four sons and two grandchildren. He follows Andy McKenna ’47, Bill Conlon ’63, the late Tom Owens ’54, Bob Sheehy ’71, Mike Holmes ’76 and Major General William J. Walker (USA-ret.) ’75 as Lions Legacy Award recipients.
“At Leo I learned to appreciate and get along with people from other races, other nationalities, other cultures, and that was important,” Joe said. “Despite what might seem like differences, we’re all the same, and we have to look out for each other and give back.”
Joe attended St. Gabriel’s in Canaryville before Leo, and Notre Dame and Loyola School of Law after. “I support each of those schools with scholarships because I really believe that education and the values my parents taught me are responsible for my success,” he said.
“That would be my message to the young Leo Men who are here with us tonight: Take advantage of that Leo education and use it to accomplish great things.”
* * * *
“It’s the size of the fight in the dog …”
A classmate weighs in on the qualities that make Joe Power so worthy a recipient of the 2022 Leo Lions Legacy Award:
By Bob Standring ’70
As a 1970 classmate of Joe Power’s, I’ve had the pleasure of calling him a close friend for more than 50 years. We all know about Joe’s stellar professional reputation, but I’m often asked, “How would you describe Joe Power?”
I would reply with this saying: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog that matters.”
In the courtroom, Joe fights with great passion for his clients.
Outside the courtroom, he is soft-spoken. He listens more than he talks, but when he talks, people listen.
He is a good family man, married to his wife Sue for more than 40 years. He is a good father to his four sons, and a doting grandpa to his grandchildren.
He’s also involved in a second “marriage”—a business marriage with his longtime law partner Larry Rogers, who happens to be a Black man.
Joe met Larry in the late 1970s, when he brought his car in for repairs at the service station where Larry worked. He learned that Larry was a Mendel graduate who was working his way through law school. They developed a friendship, then a partnership that overcame the racial tensions of that era.
Their hard work, mutual respect and shared integrity built Power Rogers LLC into one of the nation’s most highly regarded personal injury law firms. And their trust in each other is best exemplified by the fact both men have sons who are attorneys working for the firm.
Speaking for the Class of 1970, we all admire Joe and his firm for their hard work and professionalism. But there’s a consensus among our class regarding Joe’s best trait: He never forgot his Canaryville roots and remains as humble as he is accomplished, having helped countless numbers of people through difficult situations not of their own making.
He also believes in giving back. The students at St. Gabe’s, Leo, Notre Dame and Loyola Law School are among the many beneficiaries of Joe’s unmatched generosity.
But the Mission of Leo High School has been a focal point. Joe’s support has helped hundreds of young Leo Men reach “beyond their expectations” and develop into leaders who are as committed to helping others as Joe has been.
Joe is a great example of the “giving back” philosophy that has motivated so many Leo Men over the years. Let’s hope that current and future generations of Leo Men adopt that philosophy, follow Joe’s example and commit to helping Leo survive and thrive in years to come.
Congratulations, Joe, on receiving the Leo Lions Legacy Award. It is truly well-deserved.
Rack up more rave reviews for the Leo High School Scholarship Benefit.
This year’s, the seventh annual, took place at the Four Seasons Chicago on Wednesday, Nov. 30, with Joe Power ’70 the recipient of the Leo Lions Legacy Award as a distinguished (and generous) representative of Leo.
Jim Williams of CBS-2 Chicago, a South Side product and longtime friend of Leo, served as master of ceremonies. Nearly 300 people filled the hotel’s Grand Ballroom to honor Joe, who as the founding/managing partner of Power Rogers directs one of the state’s most impactful law firms.
After a three-song performance by the world-renowned Leo Choir began the program, Monsignor Kenneth Velo used the occasion of his invocation to recognize Joe’s wife Susan … and poke a little fun at most of the males present.
“I want to salute Joe’s wife Sue, who reminds us that behind every successful man there’s a surprised woman,” Monsignor Velo said.
Following dinner, Leo Principal Shaka Rawls took the stage with four well-spoken Leo students who described for the audience their Leo experience. Freshman Edwin “Eddie” Hernandez, sophomore Robert Washington and seniors Matthew Hernandez and Thomas Sims cited the “Leo brotherhood” as one of the things they appreciated most about the school. The younger Hernandez seemed to be speaking for all four when he chose “awesome” as his one-word description of Leo.
Power Rogers’ track record of obtaining legal redress for those who have been wrongly victimized through corporate carelessness, malfeasance or indifference is well established. The presence of Ron Malec ’46 and his daughter Suzanne Malec McKenna brought that record into the room.
A co-developer of the expansive Maple Park subdivision on Chicago’s Southwest Side, Mr. Malec had recently pledged to fund up to 12 scholarships for students from Maple Park who would like to attend Leo, in conjunction with the 60-year anniversary of the community’s founding.
Mr. Malec’s daughter Suzanne is a Joe Power client, and she sought to link her dad’s generous pledge to the evening’s recognition for Joe, in gratitude for the service he provided her and her family.
Suzanne’s late husband Michael McKenna was an intellectual property lawyer. In 2006 he was shot and killed in his office by a deranged former client, who accused Mr. McKenna (wrongly) of defrauding him on a patent application and pocketing the proceeds from an invention that was too primitive to be developed and never got to market.
Lawyers for the firm that provided security at Mr. McKenna’s building obtained an initial judgment absolving the firm of responsibility for his death, maintaining that it came at the hands of a mentally unstable gunman. His widow then retained Joe Power, who got the judgment overturned on appeal, took the case to trial and won a multimillion-dollar settlement for Mrs. McKenna and her four young children.
“It took 11 years, but Joe was there for us every step of the way from beginning to end,” she said. “I can never thank him enough for all he did for our family.”
Joe had a typically humble, understated reaction.
“Suzanne was one of my favorite clients,” he said. “What she and her family went through was just terrible, unthinkable. I was really happy that we were able to get a favorable outcome for them.”
Joe and Susan have four sons and two grandchildren. He follows Andy McKenna ’47, Bill Conlon ’63, the late Tom Owens ’54, Bob Sheehy ’71, Mike Holmes ’76 and Major General William J. Walker (USA-ret.) ’75 as Lions Legacy Award recipients.
“At Leo I learned to appreciate and get along with people from other races, other nationalities, other cultures, and that was important,” Joe said. “Despite what might seem like differences, we’re all the same, and we have to look out for each other and give back.”
Joe attended St. Gabriel’s in Canaryville before Leo, and Notre Dame and Loyola School of Law after. “I support each of those schools with scholarships because I really believe that education and the values my parents taught me are responsible for my success,” he said.
“That would be my message to the young Leo Men who are here with us tonight: Take advantage of that Leo education and use it to accomplish great things.”
* * * *
“It’s the size of the fight in the dog …”
A classmate weighs in on the qualities that make Joe Power so worthy a recipient of the 2022 Leo Lions Legacy Award:
By Bob Standring ’70
As a 1970 classmate of Joe Power’s, I’ve had the pleasure of calling him a close friend for more than 50 years. We all know about Joe’s stellar professional reputation, but I’m often asked, “How would you describe Joe Power?”
I would reply with this saying: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog that matters.”
In the courtroom, Joe fights with great passion for his clients.
Outside the courtroom, he is soft-spoken. He listens more than he talks, but when he talks, people listen.
He is a good family man, married to his wife Sue for more than 40 years. He is a good father to his four sons, and a doting grandpa to his grandchildren.
He’s also involved in a second “marriage”—a business marriage with his longtime law partner Larry Rogers, who happens to be a Black man.
Joe met Larry in the late 1970s, when he brought his car in for repairs at the service station where Larry worked. He learned that Larry was a Mendel graduate who was working his way through law school. They developed a friendship, then a partnership that overcame the racial tensions of that era.
Their hard work, mutual respect and shared integrity built Power Rogers LLC into one of the nation’s most highly regarded personal injury law firms. And their trust in each other is best exemplified by the fact both men have sons who are attorneys working for the firm.
Speaking for the Class of 1970, we all admire Joe and his firm for their hard work and professionalism. But there’s a consensus among our class regarding Joe’s best trait: He never forgot his Canaryville roots and remains as humble as he is accomplished, having helped countless numbers of people through difficult situations not of their own making.
He also believes in giving back. The students at St. Gabe’s, Leo, Notre Dame and Loyola Law School are among the many beneficiaries of Joe’s unmatched generosity.
But the Mission of Leo High School has been a focal point. Joe’s support has helped hundreds of young Leo Men reach “beyond their expectations” and develop into leaders who are as committed to helping others as Joe has been.
Joe is a great example of the “giving back” philosophy that has motivated so many Leo Men over the years. Let’s hope that current and future generations of Leo Men adopt that philosophy, follow Joe’s example and commit to helping Leo survive and thrive in years to come.