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U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice

DAYTON —U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice will be honored for his decades of volunteer service this week when he receives the Citizen Legion of Honor Award.

The honor comes from The Presidents Club of Dayton, a nonprofit organization and a consortium of more than 30 service clubs in the greater Dayton area.

The award has been given since 1951, and past winners include former University of Dayton President Brother Raymond Fitz, Virginia Kettering, philanthropist Oscar Boonshoft and former Dayton Daily News Publisher Brad Tillson.

“It’s a tremendous honor, particularly when one considers prior award-winners,” Rice said Friday.

Rice will receive the award at a luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Dayton Convention Center. The public is welcome to attend, and tickets are available by calling (937) 226-1444.

Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce President Phil Parker, who served as award committee co-chair, said Rice was a champion of peace, inclusion and civil rights whose impact has been regionwide. “He’s been volunteering in our community for 47 years,” Parker said. “That tells you this guy has been an outstanding citizen.”

A native of Pittsburgh, Rice received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, then attended Columbia University, where he received his law degree and an MBA.

He started his law career as an assistant Montgomery County prosecutor in 1964. He left to work in private practice in 1966, but returned in 1969. Later that year, he was elected Dayton Municipal Court judge. In July 1971, he was appointed to the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, where he served until President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the federal bench in 1980.

His current affiliations include:

— a founding trustee of Aviation Heritage Foundation, Inc.

— a trustee of Wright Dunbar Inc.

— co-chairman and member of the steering committee of the Dayton Dialogue on Race Relations.

— co-chairman of the Montgomery County Ex-Offender Reentry Policy Board.

— trustee of the Montgomery County Volunteer Lawyers Project.

— board member and vice chairman of ISUS Inc., a charter school.

He is also a board member of Wright Image Group, the National Underground Railroad Museum Freedom Center and the American Cancer Society. In the past, Rice has served with the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park Commission, Inventing Flight, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Committee, the RTA in 2000 Committee, Sinclair Foundation, Culture Works and the United States Air and Trade Show Committee.

“It’s truly deserving,” said Ohio 2nd District Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey Froe-
lich, a close friend of Rice. “No one has contributed more than Walter Rice.”

Rice said that one of his main passions was to improve the justice system so that it was more effective and humane.

“I think everyone has the responsibility to give back to the community that has welcomed him and his family,” Rice said.

View video of his Acceptance Speech.

By Lou Grieco, Staff Writer
Dayton Daily News

 

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