Ohio Director of Public Information Chris Davey honored with NCSC Distinguished Service Award

Williamsburg, Va. (March 24, 2014) –  Chris Davey, Director of Public Information for the Supreme Court of Ohio, is the recipient of the National Center for State Courts’ Distinguished Service Award, one of the highest awards presented by the organization. The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to those who have made significant contributions to the justice system and who have supported the mission of NCSC. The award will be presented to Davey in August during the annual meeting of the Conference of Court Public Information Officers.

“Davey is considered a leader in the field of court public information officers,” said NCSC President Mary McQueen. “He has worked tirelessly to educate the court community about how the evolving world of journalism is impacting courts and how courts can adapt to new media.”

Davey has been a long-time member of the Conference of Public Information Officers (CCPIO) in which he has played an active role on the national level. Former CCPIO President Karen Salaz, Thomas Hodson of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and Davey served as the authors of a multi-year project “New Media and the Courts: The Current Status and a Look to the Future,” which surveyed judges and others in the court community to learn how many courts are using social media and the ways they are using it.

At the Ohio Supreme Court, Davey led the team that planned and launched Court News Ohio, a multimedia news program about the Ohio judicial system that includes a website, television program, social media feeds and a monthly print magazine. Working for the NCSC’s Institute for Court Management, he designed a two-and-a-half day course for court managers called “Court Community Communication” in 2011.

Davey is a former Statehouse correspondent for the Dayton Daily News and The Cincinnati Enquirer.

The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a nonprofit court organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, NCSC provides education, training, technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts.