Charleston, W.Va. — The law firm Spilman Thomas & Battle announced today that John C. (Max) Wilkinson, counsel in the firm's Charleston office, was honored by the West Virginia State Bar with the 2011 Citizen Soldier Award for helping bring support to orphans in Afghanistan.

Wilkinson is a member of the West Virginia National Guard's 1092nd Engineer Battalion and has participated in two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The award was presented by Major General James A. Hoyer, the Adjutant General of West Virginia, during the West Virginia State Bar's recent annual meeting.

When his co-workers wanted to send care packages to him and his fellow soldiers serving in Afghanistan last year, Wilkinson suggested helping support a nearby orphanage instead. At the time, the orphanage housed 40 boys aged 4 to 15, and his battalion was in the process of constructing a new building that would provide a home for 100 orphans.

"I am deeply humbled and grateful to receive this great honor from my colleagues in the West Virginia Bar," Wilkinson said. "However, I can only accept it on behalf and as a representative of all the fine fellow soldiers and citizens whose efforts made our mission with the orphans such a success."

---

About Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC
Spilman Thomas & Battle is a full-service law firm with more than 135 attorneys. Founded in 1864, Spilman has offices in Charleston, Morgantown and Wheeling, W.Va.; Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pa.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Roanoke, Va.