News : Iowa Judges Association names new award after Vinton\'s Van Zimmer

Iowa Chief Justice Mark Cady presents the first IJA Van Zimmer Award to Van Zimmer of Vinton.

Iowa Appeals Court Judge Van Zimmer of Vinton received the Van Zimmer Award from the Iowa Judges Association (IJA) at the association’s annual meeting in June.

In an unexpected presentation, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady gave Zimmer the award, which is the first of its kind and named after Zimmer, the first award recipient.

The award was presented for extraordinary dedication and service in the area of judicial education. In the future, the award will be presented to judicial staff who have shown extraordinary effort to providing quality education to their colleagues.

The Iowa Judges Association held their annual meeting in conjunction with The Iowa State Bar Association which is a voluntary organization of more than 8,000 lawyers and judges who are licensed to practice law in the state of Iowa. Oldest of the voluntary bar associations in the country, The ISBA has been in continuous operation since its founding in 1874.

An important role of both the IJA and the ISBA is helping to educate lawyers in the latest changes in the legal field.

Locally, Zimmer has been sharing the history of the Benton County Courthouse. He will speak to the Vinton Women's Club on this topic during its fall meeting on Sept. 23.