The Texas Association of Mediators (TAM) recently named Conroe resident, Charlsie Moore, winner of the first annual TAM Volunteer Mediator of the Year. The Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. (DRC-MC) nominated Ms. Moore for this award due to her many years of service and dedication to providing and promoting alternative dispute resolution in Montgomery County.
TAM established the Volunteer Mediator of the Year award to recognize the tremendous contributions of volunteer mediators and the critical role they play in the Texas mediation community. The award honors a volunteer mediator who has contributed significant volunteer time and effort to a Dispute Resolution Center or similar alternative dispute resolution organization in Texas. TAM is a multidisciplinary organization established to provide leadership and education in the field of mediation, and it fosters the sharing of information and experience among its member mediators.
Charlsie Moore is a long-time volunteer mediator with the DRC-MC, who has generously shared her knowledge and expertise with DRC-MC staff, other volunteer mediators, and local judges and attorneys for the last twenty-one (21) years. Charlsie volunteers to mediate five (5) days a week and still mediates up to six complex Child Protective Services (CPS) cases in a week!
Charlsie is widely respected by the members of the Montgomery County judiciary and legal community. She often checks in with the judges to make sure that the DRC-MC is still meeting community needs and to discuss DRC-MC programs and best mediation practices. When the DRC-MC had to move to online mediations because of COVID, Charlsie Moore was among the first to volunteer to take the training and continue with Zoom mediations.
Charlsie also supports the next generation of peacebuilders by mentoring new mediators at the DRC-MC. In addition, Charlsie has served as a trainer and/or lead instructor in over twenty (20) General Mediation training classes, over twenty (20) Family Mediation trainings classes and six (6) CPS mediation training classes at the DRC-MC. Last year, she also participated in the DRC-MC and ACR-Houston Peer Mediation training for high school seniors and has even acted as Mama Bear in programs designed to teach mediation skills to children in grades 1-4. In further support of up and coming mediators, the Charlsie Moore ADR Scholarship at Texas Tech Law School was established to recognize and financially assist the top student in Texas Tech’s Law School Mediation Clinic. To date, six (6) students have benefitted from this scholarship.
Elaine Roberts, the Executive Director of the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. had the following to say about Charlsie: “I have never seen a volunteer so dedicated to promoting peaceful resolution of disputes and so willing to give tirelessly of her time and talent to her neighbors. Charlsie Moore is truly one of a kind, and due to her generosity, she has positively affected the lives of thousands over the years. She truly exemplifies the best of community based mediation and deserves to be recognized for all of her hard work and accomplishments over the years.”
The DRC-MC is grateful for Charlsie Moore’s years of dedication and service to creating a peaceful community. The impact she has made, and continues to make, is an inspiration to all, and has promoted growth, change, and peaceful conflict resolution in Montgomery County and throughout North America. In 2019, the National Association for Community Mediators (NAFCM) named Ms. Moore as the Volunteer Mediator for the fourth quarter out of all nominees in Canada and the United States.
The DRC-MC serves the community as a resource for resolving disputes, improving communication, and restoring relationships. Mediation helps to prevent disputes from escalating into serious civil or criminal issues by using professionally trained volunteer mediators who assist the parties to generate options to resolve their dispute, if possible.
The DRC-MC is located in Downtown Conroe at 301 N. Thompson Street, Suite 106, across the street from the Courthouse. The Montgomery County Commissioners Court and Montgomery County Bar Association established the DRC-MC as a nonprofit organization in 1988 and it has been helping people with difficult conversations since that time.
Find out more about the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. by visiting www.resolution-center.org. Visit the DRC-MC Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/MontgomeryCountyDRC or call (936) 760-6914, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday for additional information.
Contact Savannah Martin, Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the Dispute Resolution Center of Montgomery County, Inc. at savannah.martin@mctx.org or (936) 760-6914, Ext. 4, for further information.
