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2011 WCSU Foundation to honor Robert and Dianne Yamin


DANBURY, CONN. — Danbury attorneys Robert and Dianne Yamin will be recognized for exemplary professional and public service at the 30th annual WestConn Society Luncheon on Friday, March 25, hosted by the Western Connecticut State University Foundation.

The couple, partners in the law firm of Yamin & Yamin, will accept the foundation’s Community Service Award at the luncheon beginning at 11:30 a.m. at The Matrix, 39 Old Ridgebury Road in Danbury. The luncheon also will feature introductory remarks by WCSU President James W. Schmotter and a keynote talk by Mayor Mark D. Boughton on “Governing in the 21st Century.” Admission is limited to members of the WestConn Society and their invited guests.

“Through their involvement in the community, both as public servants and as volunteers, Bob and Dianne have improved conditions throughout Connecticut,” Schmotter said. “They are seemingly tireless, and are great boosters of Danbury. The Yamins are exemplars of community service.”

Bob Yamin is a proud, third-generation member of Danbury’s large Lebanese community. Bob graduated from Western in 1979 at the top of his class, summa cum laude, completing a double major in history and political science in two years with a 4.0 GPA. He was accepted at the Harvard Law School, where he earned his law degree, the first Western alumnus to achieve that distinction.

Bob is the managing partner of Yamin & Yamin. Since 2002 he has also served as the city of Danbury’s corporation counsel and chief legal officer.

Bob is the continuing author of the Connecticut Bar Association’s “Lawyers Deskbook on Residential Real Estate Transactions.” From 1991 to 1995 Bob also served as the Republican leader on the Danbury City Council, and served on the Republican State Central Committee for 15 years. In January, he was elected to the board of directors of the Lebanon American Club in Danbury.

Bob recently joined the board of the WCSU Foundation.

Dianne Yamin, a third-generation Danburian, is a graduate of Lehigh University and the Mercer University School of Law. She has been elected six times as Danbury’s Judge of Probate and is routinely the highest vote-getter in municipal elections.

Dianne is a partner at Yamin & Yamin, served as President Judge of the Connecticut Probate Assembly, as chair of the Mayor’s Task Force of the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness and in 2010 was elected the chair of the board of directors of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the advisory board for the WCSU Institute for Financial Literacy and in December was named a corporator for Savings Bank of Danbury.

Dianne was profiled in a feature article by the American Bar Association in its Summer 1995 Barrister Magazine as one of “21 Young Lawyers Leading us into the 21st Century,” and in 1994 received the Statewide Connecticut Jaycees’ “Connecticut Outstanding Young Citizen Award” for her public education efforts as a judge.

Bob and Dianne have two children, Rebecca and Samantha, both WCSU graduates.

Western Connecticut State University counts on the generous contributions of alumni and friends to fulfill its commitment of providing top quality, affordable education to our students. The WCSU Foundation, Western’s private fundraising organization, manages these charitable gifts for the support of the university and operates under the leadership of its board of prominent area professionals. A donation to the Foundation provides funding for student scholarships, departmental support and other collaborative projects.

The WestConn Society, the oldest continuous giving program sponsored by the WCSU Foundation, has for decades supported innovative programs, outreach opportunities and enrichment initiatives. These programs have been considered by the university to be key to educational excellence. By supporting them, members of the WestConn Society have optimized students’ collegiate experience and invested in our faculty’s potential to meet the ever-evolving demands of teaching for our future. An annual individual membership in the WestConn Society includes attendance at the luncheon.

For reservations and additional information, contact Sue Wolf of the WCSU Office of Institutional Advancement at wolfs@wcsu.edu or (203) 837-8279.

For more information, call the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

 

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.