3 to Receive Honors for Contributions to Community : Service: A volunteer-group leader, a career prosecutor and a drug-abuse prevention educator will receive awards from the Orange County Bar Assn.

The head of a local volunteer group, a career prosecutor, and a former teacher who has heightened awareness of drug abuse and street violence are being honored tonight by the Orange County Bar Assn. for their efforts to improve the community and uphold the law.

“The purpose is to award individuals who reached out and have done something really unique for the community,” said deputy public defender Danni Murphy, who helped select the winners of the bar’s annual Liberty Bell awards.

The recipients will be Carol Stone, president of the Volunteer Center of Orange County; Maurice Evans, chief assistant district attorney; and Marilyn MacDougall, executive director of an anti-gang project for the Drug Abuse is Life Abuse program.

The service award ceremony, to be held at the Turnip Rose Cafe in Santa Ana, is part of Law Day Week, which includes a series of events promoting an awareness of U.S. laws and the legal system. May 1 was established as Law Day in 1958 by then-President Dwight Eisenhower.

This year’s theme is “E Pluribus Unum--Out of Many One,” Murphy said.

“Orange County is just a wonderful mosaic of cultural beliefs,” she said. “We are so diverse, but in essence we are one under the law. But because of this great diversity, we face great problems.

“The award recipients are people have worked with the community to exemplify this theme.”

As president and chief executive officer of the Volunteer Center in Santa Ana, Stone works to provide volunteers, management assistance and training to more than 2,00 nonprofit agencies in Orange County.

When she first arrived at the center 14 years ago, Stone worked with four employees who offered three programs in the Newport Beach area. Now countywide, the volunteer center’s 38-person staff runs 40 programs that reach out to youths, senior citizens and corporations.

“The center has really grown, but the need seems to grow with it,” Stone said.

Evans has been an Orange County prosecutor for 23 years and and has a long history of community involvement. During his five years as chief assistant district attorney, he has served as chairman of the county’s Gun Control and Violence Task Force, the Homeless Task Force and the Victim/Witness Assistance Program.

Evans said he appreciates “the people who volunteer their time to make these programs happen.”

Murphy described Evans as tireless and modest about his accomplishments. “Personally, I adore this man and I’m a public defender,” she said. “He’s the kind of man who will be the chairman of a committee and he will step back and let everyone else take the limelight. His efforts for the community have been ongoing.”

MacDougall directs the local Drug Abuse is Life Abuse program’s anti-gang campaign. The program was founded in 1987 by Sheriff Brad Gates, the Sheriff’s Advisory Council and businessman Michael Hayde.

Formerly a teacher for 24 years, MacDougall has been involved in creating a curriculum at Orange County elementary schools to educate students on the dangers of drug use. Her other projects include bringing schools, businesses and recreational centers and community-based organizations together to raise an awareness of issues related to drugs, gangs and violence.

Other Law Day activities will include volunteer attorneys who will visit public schools and senior citizen centers to offer legal advice and information on the justice system. Lawyers will also staff phones on Friday and May 12 to answer legal questions from the public. For legal assistance, call (714) 753-9100 on Friday and (800) 278-5050 on May 12.