Advertisement Close

Arab American Judge Allen To Receive Prestigious Kaye Tertzag Purple Sport Coat Award

posted on: Nov 29, 2011

The friends and family of the Honorable Kaye Tertzag will host the third annual Tertzag Tribute Dinner in his honor on Thursday, February 23, 2012. Judge Tertzag passed away on February 4, 2009, having established a great legacy of integrity and service to the State of Michigan, as well as a great example of love and devotion to his family and legion of friends.

The third annual Tertzag Tribute Dinner will be at the Park Place Banquet Hall in Dearborn from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Park Place is located at the corner of Park and Outer Drive, just south of Michigan Avenue. Tickets are $35.00, and include dinner and an open bar. Checks should be made payable to: Tertzag Tribute Dinner, LLC, and sent to 26815 Winslow Drive, Flat Rock, MI 48134. Spouses and/or significant others are welcome. This event will sell out, so please buy your tickets now.

The Kaye Tertzag Purple Sport Coat Award is bestowed annually in recognition of those that best exemplify the life and work of Hon. Kaye Tertzag. Recipients demonstrate exceptional commitment to his legendary excellence in the legal profession, civility in an outside the courtroom, and mentorship in the legal arena.

The Hon. Kaye Tertzag Tribute Dinner Committee is pleased to announce that the 2012 recipient of the Purple Sport Coat Award is Judge David Allen. Past honorees Hon. James Rashid and attorney Joseph Lujan will present the sport coat to Judge Allen.

Judge Allen was mentored for many years by Judge Tertzag. Judge Allen inspires others in the finest tradition of Kaye. Judge Allen is a Wayne County Third Circuit Court Criminal Division judge, where he has presided over thousands of felony cases. He is a 1993 summa cum laude graduate of the Detroit College of Law, after receiving Bachelor and Master’s of Arts Degrees from University of Michigan. Judge Allen is an adjunct professor of law at the Thomas M. Cooley and University of Detroit Mercy Schools of Law. He is a member of the Board of Directors for several organizations, including: YMCA, ACCESS, American Constitution Society, Royal Oak Youth Football League, and Boll Family Downtown YMCA. He is married to Colleen, with three sons, and resides in Detroit.

The committee is truly honored to have Senator Carl Levin as our keynote speaker. Sen. Levin will continue the tradition of high profile keynote speakers at this event. Past speakers include Norm Tucker and former Governor James Blanchard, both giving a great message in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Senator Levin has spoken up for working families, held powerful institutions accountable and worked to build an America that lives up to the ideals of its founders. He has become one of the nation’s most respected leaders on national security, a powerful voice for equality and justice, and a fighter for economic fairness. He is married to Barbara Halpern, with three daughters and six grandchildren. Judge Tertzag and Senator Levin were friends and mutual supporters. We are excited to hear Senator Levin’s message!
We will end the evening by continuing the tradition started by Kaye’s daughter, Kara, at the memorial- the Sambuca toast.

Attendees are encouraged to wear purple to the event. Those who wear purple will be entered into a drawing for a door prize at the end of the evening.