Vickie Asher first double recipient of Court Clerk of the Year award

Garland County District Chief Court Clerk Vickie Asher was recently selected the 2017 Court Clerk of the Year by the Arkansas District Court Clerks Association, becoming the first clerk to ever receive the award twice, having been honored previously in 2009.

Judge Meredith Switzer Rebsamen submitted the award application on behalf of Asher, who has served the district court for more than 16 years, a news release said.

The award recognizes a chief court clerk or deputy court clerk who has made significant contributions to the profession, the association and the clerk’s own community. Judging criteria includes length of service, interest in education, attendance at certification meetings, community service, and furthering the court clerks association.

Since 2003, Asher has served ADCCA as officer, instructor and committee member. She served as ADCCA’s first vice president, second vice president, secretary and treasurer, holding some of the offices for multiple years. She served on the ADCCA Executive Board, Certification Committee and six of 12 years as chair of the Education Committee.

She has served yearly since 2003 as an instructor in the ADCCA Education Program, on the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Automation from 2009 to 2015, and on the Arkansas Ecite Steering Committee since 2013. Asher plans to graduate from the National Center for State Courts Institute for Court Management Program in August, the release said.

Asher also participated as the only representative of Arkansas District Courts in the Faculty Development Training Program, sponsored by a partnership of the Arkansas Administrative Office for the Courts and the National Center for State Courts. She has trained court staff around the state in the Court Performance Standards: CourTools course, an innovative trial court management program that focuses on methods of trial court performance assessment.

In 2013, Asher completed the National Judicial College’s Designing & Presenting Programs Effectively: Arkansas Faculty Development Workshop, a course that educates participants on how to draft appropriate learning objectives, create learning activities, develop effectively structured presentations, and to teach more effectively and with greater confidence.

“Ms. Asher’s extracurricular education and service illustrate her commitment to improving judicial productivity, challenging perceptions of justice, and inspiring the court staff to achieve excellence,” Rebsamen wrote.

Garland County ranks eighth in population in the state, but handles a volume equal to Pulaski County, which ranks first. Asher was commended for her administration of the workflow of a large-volume docket and her employment of institutional knowledge and experience to help effect a seamless transition while onboarding a new district judge within a short time frame, the release said.