The eleventh annual Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service highlights Georgia judges and lawyers who have made "significant contributions to their communities and thereby demonstrate the positive contributions of members of the Bar beyond their official or legal work," according to a release.

Bills, who was elected to the Judicial District 4 State Court bench in 2004, chairs the Family Violence Task Force, which won the 2008 Task Force of the Year, and was president of the Rockdale Rotary club in 2007.

Bills was one of 10 judges and lawyers in the state selected for the award. The others were: Charles W. Lamb, Albany (Judicial District 2); Mr. Jonathan Alderman, Macon (Judicial District 3); William Barwick, Michael Hobbs, Jr., Amy Kolczack, and Nancy Whaley, all of Atlanta (Judicial District 5); Angela Hinton, Fayetteville (Judicial District 6); Justin O'Dell, Marietta (Judicial District 7); and Mark O. Shriver, IV(Judicial District 9).

The award is granted by the State Bar and the state Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism and the and will be presented on Feb. 16.