Brenda Severeid 60th District Court Deputy Administrator proudly holds her award "Michigan Court Administrator of the Year."
By Diana L. Coleman
Legal News
For the first time in the history of the Michigan Association of Court Administrators, a deputy administrator received the award as Administrator of the Year. Muskegon County’s Brenda Severeid was honored recently at the Association’s annual conference held at Shanty Creek.
Prior to this year’s conference, the award was always presented to a court administrator. This, in itself, say great things about the dedicated service Muskegon County’s District Court Deputy Administrator applies to her position.
The award is presented at the conference banquet and the general assembly does not know who has won the award until it is presented. Severeid was totally shocked by the honor and in her own words said, “I knew by the second sentence of the nomination that it was me. Jennifer Huebel, Court Administrator for the 81st District Court in Tawas City and the award committee chair, kept reading and I started looking around the banquet room for an escape route. I saw my Dad, Mom, and Sister coming into the room and I lost it.”
Severeid’s family members were informed of the award to be presented and came to the conference banquet to be there as she was honored. “I guess my family had been slinking around the parking lots and hallways like a bunch of criminals trying to make sure I didn’t see them,” said Severeid. “They could have just relaxed because I went up to my room and took a short nap before the banquet.”
They were successful in the slinking endeavor and managed to stay out of sight. Severeid was totally shocked at their attendance. “When I saw them,” said Severeid, “I went running up to them and burst into tears.” Her husband, Michael, is recovering from recent back surgery and was unable to attend, but was certainly there in spirit.
Please note that your author is placing husband Michael above Severeid’s cats. In the bio below, her husband was listed after the family cats, and he did take notice. It’s Michael and then Booger and Tater.
“I had just seen my whole family on the Sunday before at a birthday party, said Severeid. “I couldn’t believe that my friend Tina, my parents, husband, aunt and sister all kept it secret.”
Severeid obviously has a high water table. She said, “I was too choked up to do any kind of acceptance speech. All I could get out was ‘thank you.’ I couldn’t believe I won. In the past it has always been presented to a court administrator. Just the thought that I was the first deputy administrator to receive the award blew me away.”
Tina L. Keifer, Court Administrator for the 8th District Court and a long-time friend of Severeid, submitted Severeid’s nomination for the award. Severeid’s sister assisted Keifer in the biography. Immediately below is the biography read at the presentation:
“The recipient of tonight's Michigan Court Administrator of the Year Award performs the duties of administration the same way they approach life in general — with strength, humor, courage, compassion, a little luck and a good, old-fashioned, hard-work ethic. A graduate of Western Michigan University, a member of the National Association of Professional Women, a past Director on the Board of the Michigan Court Administrator's Association and our Conference Vendor Organizer for the last two years, 60th District Court's Deputy Court Administrator Brenda Severeid is always there to lend a hand with whatever needs done. Brenda has been a familiar face for years at the conference registration table and the Queen of the Collating Party!!
“Brenda began her career in criminal justice as a clerk at the Stop-N-Go on WMU's campus where she single-handedly prevented countless six-packs from walking out the door of the store. Although the satisfaction of foiling many shoplifting plots was gratifying, Brenda was destined for a more substantial career in the field. She graduated from Western in 1981 with her Criminal Justice degree and has never looked back. She later received her paralegal certificate and worked for the 9-1 District Court in Kalamazoo; her last position there was serving as bench clerk for the Honorable Quinn Benson until 1994.
“In 1994, with encouragement from Judge Benson, Brenda applied and was hired to be the Deputy Administrator for the 60th District Court in Muskegon. Over the years, she has also served as Interim Court Administrator during several administration changes.
“We understand that the traits mentioned previously have been with Brenda since birth. We're told that her strength in management began very early in life when she honed her skills on her younger sister, Sue. ‘I used to think she was just pushy,’ says Sue, ‘but now I understand the whole management thing.’
Brenda's sense of humor comes from growing up in a close-knit family that rarely takes life seriously. (Her mother wanted to make sure I mentioned that she's got some pretty great parents!) The ability to laugh at each other comes in pretty handy when you drive to Arizona in a green Econoline van - in July - with NO air conditioning. And although she'd probably prefer NOT to share a pup tent with her sister ever again, to this day Brenda enjoys traveling with her family and can't wait for the annual trek to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. However, she now takes her own vehicle!
“Brenda has shown extreme courage at several key moments in her life: In 1975, only days after reading Jaws, Brenda snorkeled several miles off the coast of the Florida Keys; she laughed as a man stuck a knife in her face while robbing the Clark station she managed (of course it was 5:00 am and she wasn't quite awake enough for it to register what was happening), but her cool head prevailed and she was unharmed and the robber was eventually apprehended; and in 1990 she braved the worst blizzard in a decade to meet her sister in Grand Rapids for the first Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas concert.
“Today Brenda shows her courage daily in dealing firmly and fairly with a sometimes angry public — as we all know how much people like to pay fines, right? On the flip-side, she also knows how to deal compassionately with that public — calling a ride or giving a few spare dollars when the need arises.
Brenda inherited her lucky streak (and her middle name) from her Grandmother, Louise - on one Caribbean cruise she hit a rather large jackpot, winning enough quarters to cover her bar bill-albeit just barely!
“At the end of the day, Brenda unwinds by tending to her patio garden, her two cats, Booger and Tater, and her husband Michael. You might even catch her with a book in hand (or on her iPod) — she's a voracious reader… If a true crime account or crime novel has been written, Brenda's probably read it.
Tonight we would like to express our appreciation and honor Brenda by presenting her with the 2010 Michigan Court Administrator of the Year Award.
“Congratulations, Brenda.”
Severeid has been active in the court administrator’s association for many years. She has served as an elected trustee for eight years (talked into running for this position by her buddy, Tina). Since 2008, Severeid has been in charge of bringing vendors to the annual conference. When she took over as chair, there were only thirteen vendors at the conference. This year the conference had 44 vendors presenting their wares, which included office machines, software and hardware companies, program demonstrations particular to court systems, and many others. Severeid explained, “The revenues received from the vendor fee helps to offset some of the annual conference costs. I sent out 150 invitation letters this year and we had a record-breaking 44 present.”
As a little add-on, this is not the first award the association has presented to Severeid. It seems that Severeid and Kiefer tend to get a bit noisy in meetings—maybe even argumentative, causing some tiny disruptions in the meeting’s flow. The association took due and timely notice of this tendency and presented the “Time Out” award to Severeid in 2008. She proudly displays both plaques in her office.
Muskegon County is fortunate to have such an intelligent and dedicated deputy clerk in the District Court. Given her many years of faithful service, it is only fitting that she receive this honor, which she certainly deserves.
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