Island County Superior and Juvenile Court Administrator Michael Merringer has been named Court Manager of the Year by the Washington State Court Management Council, a statewide forum of court officials that works to enhance the administration of courts.

Merringer was nominated by Island County Superior Court judges Vickie Churchill and Alan Hancock, and Benton/Franklin Counties Juvenile Court Administrator Sharon Paradis.

In addition to his administrator duties, Merringer has served for 10 years on the Washington Association of Juvenile Court Administrators, and is currently president of the association as well as co-chair of its Legislative Committee.

In her nominating letter, Paradis said Merringer has “worked tirelessly to improve the statewide process by which a validated risk assessment tool, and the necessary infrastructure to support such an endeavor, is fully implemented in each juvenile court in the state.”

She also credited the administratorMerringer with being “a strenuous advocate for the courts through an extraordinarily difficult and challenging time.”

Continuing, Paradis lauded Merringer’s efforts during the 2008 Legislative session when he “played an important role in helping the juvenile courts save funding that has allowed local courts to continue to successfully lower the juvenile crime rate statewide.”

The award, presented at a recent meeting, caught Merringer by surprise.

“To say I’m shocked is an understatement,” he said. “There is so much talent all across the state. I wouldn’t even be nominated if it weren’t for our great judges and staff.”

The Court Manager of the Year Award has been presented annually since 1991 to recognize a full-time manager who has served Washington courts for at least five years and has made significant contributions to the court community.