Executive Director of the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County Named Justice Frank Evans A

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX - The Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County Inc. (DRC-MC) is pleased to announce that the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Section of the State Bar of Texas, recently named Elaine B. Roberts, winner of the 2020 Justice Frank Evans Award. The award, which honors Justice Evans, the founder of the Texas ADR movement, is the highest award given by the State Bar ADR section. The Evans Award recognizes persons who have performed exceptional and outstanding efforts in promoting or furthering the use … of alternative dispute resolution methods in Texas.”

Gene Roberts (who is not related to the winner), Chair of the State Bar’s ADR Section, noted that the Evans Award is not given out each year. However, “Elaine’s advocacy for the benefits of peaceful resolution of conflicts by focusing on the roots of conflict, engaging the community, and maintaining the highest degree of professionalism are qualities that Justice Evans demonstrated when he was shepherding ADR in its early days in Texas. The ADR Section is thrilled that Elaine is our 2020 recipient of this award.”

Through her work on the State Bar ADR Section Council, and as the Executive Director of the DRC-MC, Elaine has found multiple ways to educate the community about the benefits of mediation and peaceful resolution of disputes. Linda McLain, Chair of the ADR Section Nominating Committee, said that the Committee was especially impressed with Elaine’s work with school children through the Conflict Resolution Day Bookmark Art Contest which reached over 2,000 students from 70 Montgomery County schools in 2019, her establishment of the 2020 Peacebuilding Community Awards with ACR-Houston, and her efforts to ensure that mediations and trainings continued via Zoom during 2020 despite the pandemic.

In her acceptance speech, Elaine Roberts noted that a passionate presentation by Judge Evans on the benefits of mediation had motivated her to become an attorney mediator. Extremely humbled and grateful to receive the Judge Evans Award, Elaine credited the outstanding Montgomery County volunteer mediators and staff for the success of the DRC-MC training and mediation programs and for transitioning so quickly to safe and effective Zoom mediations and training sessions during the pandemic.

Misti Hill Carter, JD, PhD, who is a volunteer mediator at the DRC-MC, indicated that she felt Elaine was very deserving of the Judge Evans Award. Misti expressed appreciation that Elaine Roberts is “always up on the law and ready to discuss best practices” and she “willingly shares her knowledge and wisdom with mediators” and “has created at wonderful atmosphere at the DRC.”

The Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. (DRC-MC) is a non-profit organization that provides and promotes affordable, high-quality dispute resolution services and training to the Montgomery County area. The DRC-MC has been helping people with difficult conversations since 1988.

The DRC-MC is located at 301 N. Thompson Street, Suite 106, Conroe, Texas. For more information about scheduling a mediation at the DRC-MC, training programs and volunteer opportunities with the DRC-MC, visit www.resolution-center.org or call 936-760-6914, Ext.4, between 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., M-F.

For additional information about this Press Release please contact: Savannah Martin, Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc., savannah.martin@mctx.org or (936) 760-6914, Ext. 4.