Michael Sommermeyer is a public relations strategist and writer. He currently serves as the Court Information Officer for the Eighth Judicial District Court and the Las Vegas Township Justice Court in Las Vegas, Nevada. The kid with the big mouth is eleven-year-old son Michael, who actually may have a larger and more developed gift for communication and expression than his father.

Michael maintains a profile with more historical professional details on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/msmrmyr. If you join LinkedIn (for free), there is more information available.

Disclosure: I work for the Clark County Courts Administration as the Court Information Officer. Everything in this Blog is my own personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Occasionally, since this is a personal blog, my employer and events surrounding my employment may be referenced. However, these postings are in no way any part of any PR program nor an attempt to influence reader opinions about the Eighth Judicial District Court or the Las Vegas Township Justice Court in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Biography

A public relations strategist and writer, Michael Sommermeyer currently serves as the Court Information Officer for the Clark County Courts (Eighth Judicial District Court and Las Vegas Township Justice Court) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sommermeyer is a news anchor turned public relations professional who left television after six years of working as a reporter, anchor and news director in Texas, Idaho, and Utah. He transitioned into university public relations as a science writer, communicating science research for the College of Engineering and the College of Agricultural Sciences at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

After a short time running the university’s video news bureau, Sommermeyer was promoted to Associate Director in the Office of News and Publications responsible for promoting the university’s reputation with students, industry and alumni. In this responsibility, Sommermeyer managed crisis communications events, such as a smear campaign by PETA targeting the university’s fire ant research and the death of the university mascot. He also assisted the University Chancellor in promoting the university’s $500 million Horizon Campaign, aimed at improving Texas Tech‚Äôs endowment fund. In his last months at Texas Tech, Sommermeyer assisted the Chancellor in preparing the community for the arrival of Coach Bobby Knight.

In April 2001, Sommermeyer accepted the challenge of creating a public affairs program for the Eighth Judicial District Court, which had endured negative press coverage about the Family Court and had juggled resources to assist media in two high profile murder trials. His first day on the job, he was besieged with national media covering the kidnapping of a student by an Indiana school principal. Since that day he has rarely sat still, handling media relations, internal communications and developing strategic messages for the Clark County Courts.

Sommermeyer has helped led the court toward improving the reputation of the Family Court, redrafted a High Profile Media plan, developed employee communication programs during the integration of the Las Vegas Township Justice Court and court clerk functions, and created an improved web presence at clarkcountycourts.us. The communication efforts led by Sommermeyer have helped the Clark County Courts further the education of the public and enhance the reputation of the courts as a model for the nation. Since 2001 the Clark County Courts have hosted judges and court administrators from Russia, Ukraine, Korea, China, Canada and from within the United States.

PS:

I enjoy my job and find it very rewarding. I’m an integral part of the management team and relied upon for developing public relations programs that benefit the court.