On December 7th, Attorney Jason Knutson, a shareholder at Habush Habush & Rottier, was presented the Marcus S. Miles Volunteer Award at Centro Hispano’s 40th Annual Celebration. Centro Hispano is a non-profit organization committed to strengthening the Latinx community in Southern Wisconsin. Their programming and initiatives help youth and families achieve personal and professional goals, and foster connections within the community.
Each year, Centro chooses five individuals to receive a Community Award; to recognize the individual’s impact on the organization and the greater Dane County Latinx community.
The Marcus S. Miles Volunteer Award is given in honor of Marcus S. Miles, a Madison community photographer who used his talents to capture photos for Centro. The award is given to a volunteer whose talents and efforts advance Centro’s goals and mission.
As Knutson accepted the award Thursday evening, he remarked, “I’m extremely grateful to receive this award and I appreciate what a great man it was named for.” Knutson has been involved with Centro since 2016. His primary initiative is a free monthly free legal clinic that provides legal guidance to the Centro community members. “Centro helps a lot of people, and they help each individual meaningfully, and when they do it, they build trust- each interaction, each relationship. We wanted to do the same thing with the legal clinics.” Over the years, the legal clinic has assisted over 800 people.
Knutson is thankful for the support he receives from his colleagues at Habush Habush & Rottier to make the legal clinic a success. Staff members who are fluent in Spanish often help in translating, and the other Madison law partners help manage the caseload when needed.
Knutson concluded his acceptance speech with a toast, “To every single person who works for and with Centro: sometimes, your hard work goes unrecognized, but we see you, we know how important it is, and we thank you. What you do is amazing. Congratulations on the past 40 years and let’s go get the next 40.”