Shasta County Superior Court official honored with statewide award

Only three people out of California's 39 million residents has gained the type of notoriety that Shasta County's Melissa Fowler-Bradly has received this year ― and she is a bit overwhelmed by it all.

She didn't compete in the Olympics, win a contest or invent a culture-changing device.

But according to the Judicial Council of California, she has worked behind the scenes to make visiting and using Shasta County's courts more productive and useful.

Fowler-Bradley, the Shasta Superior Court executive officer, has been chosen this year as one of three people statewide to receive the judicial council's Distinguished Service Award, which "recognizes people and organizations for their extraordinary leadership and contributions to the administration of justice in California."

The award from the judicial council also marks Melissa Fowler-Bradley's 50th year of public service, with most of those years in Shasta County.

Twenty-two people signed on to support Fowler-Bradley's nomination, which ran on for 20 pages and included the names of all Shasta County judges, as well as court officials from as far away as San Diego and Orange counties.

"The year 2024 marks Melissa Fowler-Bradley's 50th year in public service. Yet it is the quality of that service, not its remarkable duration, that characterizes the value of her contributions to our judicial branch of government," the nomination for the award says.

How Melissa Fowler-Bradley got her start in public service

Fowler-Bradley started in public service in Alameda County's welfare department in 1974 and began working as a clerk in Alameda County Superior Court in 1977. She started as a courtroom clerk there and went on to become division chief, responsible for all courtroom staff, according to her nomination.

In 1995, she went to work as assistant court executive officer/clerk of the court in Shasta County.

Fowler-Bradley was promoted to court executive officer in 2008, overseeing a court system that currently has about 200 employees, the nomination says.

During her time with the court, she has worked with numerous state and local committees and task forces. For the past 15 years she promoted construction of the new $175 million courthouse in Redding, which opened in February, according to her nomination.

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Hard time believing 'I'm in their league'

Fowler-Bradley said she was surprised to learn she had been named as one of the three award recipients because she didn't know she had been nominated for the award.

"I hate to use the word surreal, but I guess it kind of describes that, to have my name added to that list, because that's a list of people that I've known for a long time and I certainly admire and respect them and thought they were very deserving. So I guess I have a hard time being kind of feeling like I'm in their league," Fowler-Bradley said.

During the past several years, the court has dealt with challenges that included the COVID-19 pandemic, "catastrophic" wildfires, outdated case management systems and construction of the new courthouse, Superior Court Judge Stephen Baker said in a letter to the judicial council supporting Fowler-Bradley's nomination.

But she has dealt with those issues with "dignity and equanimity," Baker said. "This is especially important to recognize when so many members of the public seem disillusioned with government institutions," Baker wrote.

The two other people who received the distinguished service award were Justice William W. Bedsworth with the state's Fourth District Court of Appeal and retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry Friedman.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @damonarthur_RS . Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today !

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County Superior Court official honored with statewide award