May 12, 2002 3 min read

By the Herald-Standard Allegheny County Judge Lawrence W. Kaplan will return to his roots when he serves as guest speaker at the 45th annual B’nai B’rith Sports Awards Night banquet.

Kaplan is a Uniontown native and 1946 graduate of Uniontown High School. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950 and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1953.

The banquet, hosted annually by B’nai B’rith Fayette Lodge 471, will be held Thursday, May 23, at the Uniontown Jewish Community Center

It will honor seven graduating seniors from Fayette County high schools and a student from Penn State Fayette Campus.

Also, the lodge will award its 2002 Penn State Fayette Campus scholarship and honor a Special Olympics athlete.

The scholarship winner is Joseph C. Martinak, son of Donald and Mary Martinak of Perryopolis. He is a 1981 graduate of Frazier High School and was the Fayette County champion in the mile and two-mile runs. After high school, Martinak enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. During 20 years of service, he was awarded the joint service achievement medal, four Marine Corps achievement medals and six good conduct medals.

Upon his retirement in 2001, Martinak started classes at Penn State Fayette Campus. Since then, he has made the dean’s list every semester and has a 3.8 grade-point average. Martinak has a double major in History/Education and a minor in Business.

The Special Olympics honoree is Kim Miller, daughter of Jeff Miller of Connellsville. She has been involved in Fayette County Special Olympics for eight years. She participates in volleyball, softball, golf and basketball. She earned a gold medal at the state level in basketball.

Miller is a sports enthusiast. She is employed at Nino’s in Mt. Pleasant.

Kaplan was a first lieutenant in the Office of the Judge Advocate General during his time in the United States Army. He later served as a trust officer of the former Western Pennsylvania National Bank before entering law practice as a member of the firm of Kaufman and Harris, where he specialized in tax, estate and business matters.

He is presently serving full-time in the Adult Section and part-time with the Juvenile Section of the Family Division of the Court of Common Pleas. Kaplan was appointed there through the merit selection process in 1978 and has won re-election ever since. He assumed Senior Judge status in 1998.

Kaplan is married to the former Natalie Adler of Pittsburgh. The Kaplans have three adult children and three grandchildren.