Donald P. Klekamp receives highest alumnus honor from St. Xavier High School

On Tuesday, Donald P. Klekamp received the most prestigious award given by St. Xavier High School.  Ironically, it is a school he almost didn’t attend.

Born in Cincinnati and raised in a humble home in the neighborhood of Carthage, Klekamp and his two brothers didn’t think they could afford to attend St. Xavier High School. But their mother, Gertrude, had other plans. She paid the school one student’s worth of tuition for all three boys and arranged with the school president for each of the boys to work odd jobs on campus to cover the difference. Klekamp, now a founding partner in Greater Cincinnati’s largest first generation law firm, Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL, graduated in 1950.

The school honored him April 27, 2010, at the annual President’s Dinner at the Cintas Center with the highest honor awarded to an alumnus, the Insignis Award.

“I’m extremely honored to receive this award, and I consider it one of the most significant awards of my career,” said Klekamp, who has been honored with numerous recognitions for his commitment to Catholic and legal education for the underprivileged.  He is credited with being a driving force behind Cincinnati’s Legal Aid Society. In recent years, he’s received a Lifetime Achievement in Law Award from the Cincinnati Bar Foundation and Distinguished Alumnus Awards from Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

In his acceptance speech, Klekamp said “St. Xavier has meant a tremendous amount to me in my development as a husband, a father, a Catholic, a lawyer and generally a member of the community. Without question, the training I received at St. Xavier, and later at Xavier University, has done a lot to structure me as a ‘man for others.’”

The Insignis Award is bestowed upon an alumnus by St. Xavier High School “recognizing graduates who have served their God, their family, and their community in an outstanding manner.”

“Mr. Klekamp is such a genuinely good man; he’s hard to ignore in this community because of all the good that he does – not just for St. X, but also for Xavier University, the UC law school, the legal community, Catholic charities and institutions and the community at-large,” said Mark Motz, director of communications for St. Xavier High School. “He’s a shining example of what it means to be committed to the community and the values that St. Xavier espouses.”

Klekamp and his wife, Marianne, established scholarship funds at both St. Xavier High School and Xavier University. Klekamp also completed a successful campaign as the Corporate Chairman of the 1996 Catholic Inner-City Schools Education (CISE) Fund Drive, which raises money to provide tuition assistance to families in need with students at eight urban Catholic elementary schools and provide scholarships for those students to attend local Catholic high schools.

The Klekamps were instrumental in providing funding for the acquisition and remodeling of the Donald P. Klekamp Community Law Center as the new location of the Legal Aid Society, which provides legal services to the poor and disadvantaged in a five-county area. Klekamp is past President of the Board of Trustees of the Legal Aid Society.

And in March 2010, Don and Marianne Klekamp were presented with the Dominican Award for Charity in Action and honored as the Honorary Co-Chairs of the VISIONS Community Services Raising of the Green event in honor of their dedication to creating a better community and living out strong family values. VISIONS Community Services provides a combination of early childhood education and support services for parents to enable families to break out of the cycle of poverty.

“I’ve been blessed with some significant opportunities in my life, and I appreciate the ability to give back,” Klekamp said. “These are all causes that mean a lot to me, and I feel privileged to be able to work on these projects.”

Motz said the work of other attorneys at Keating Muething & Klekamp has also received notice. The firm’s commitment to community is a credit to Klekamp and all of the founding partners. In addition to volunteering their time to numerous charitable organizations in Greater Cincinnati, the attorneys share a strong commitment to the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, providing legal advice to those who might not otherwise be able to afford it.

“The firm has created a corporate culture of good people who do great things in the community,” Motz said. “You can tie that to Don and the example that he set early on and continues to live out today. His service to the community reaches beyond what even he has been able to accomplish on his own.”

Notably, this year’s Magis Award, recognizing and honoring those who have made exceptional contributions of service to St. Xavier High School, was bestowed upon Lois and Dennis M. Doyle.  Denny Doyle practiced law at Keating Muething & Klekamp from 1972 until 1983 when he joined American Financial Group, Inc. and then Chiquita.

About Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

The law firm of Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL (KMK^®), based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a nationally-recognized law firm delivering sophisticated legal solutions to businesses of all sizes — from Fortune 500 corporations to start-up companies. KMK has been recognized as a leading law firm in bankruptcy and restructuring law, corporate and mergers & acquisitions law, and general commercial litigation in the 2010 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers^®. KMK has been ranked #1 in Ohio in project finance law and #1 in Cincinnati in corporate law, municipal law, employee benefits law, land use & zoning law, project finance law, and real estate law in the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America^®. Founded in 1954, KMK has approximately 115 lawyers and a support staff of 150 employees. Additional information is available at www.kmklaw.com.

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