Town Justice Stephen Diamond Receives Root Stimpson Award for Community Service

Town Justice Stephen Diamond Receives Root Stimpson Award for Community Service

11.3.2023

By Jennifer Andrus

Stephen Diamond does it all — from helping an 18-year-old sister raise her four younger siblings after a death in the family to finding jobs for at-risk  teenagers.

The Union Vale town justice, a trusts and estates attorney,  received the Root Stimson award on Saturday for his dedication to such groups as Habitat for Humanity, the Arlington Fire District, the Northern Dutchess NAACP and the MATT Herring Foundation.

“More than a dozen community leaders wrote letters to us describing Stephen Diamond as selfless, generous, and inspiring,” said New York State Bar Association President Richard Lewis. “They say he is the first to volunteer but the last to seek recognition for his work. That is why we are honoring him today.”

The Root Stimson award is given for outstanding commitment to community service and improvement of the justice system.  Lewis will present the award to Diamond during a meeting of the association’s House of Delegates, its governing body, at the Bar Center in Albany.

The award is named for Elihu Root and Henry Stimson and honors their commitment to public service. Root served as secretary of state in President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration, received the Nobel Peace Prize and presided over the New York State Bar Association as its president.  Stimson was secretary of war under Presidents William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. He also served as secretary of state under President Herbert Hoover.