The longtime media relations manager has been chosen as the new public information officer for the Administrative Office of the Courts for Utah.
Nancy Volmer will begin her new job July 7.
She previously worked for nearly five years for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, served as tourism manager for the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau and worked for the Park City Chamber/Bureau for 10 years.
More recently, she was one of four media relations managers for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.
"We're very pleased to have her joining the courts," said Dan Becker, state court administrator. "She has very good experience here in Utah. Her experience in the community suggests she will be a good fit and do a fine job for the courts."
Becker said Volmer does not have extensive knowledge of the court system right now, but he is confident that will quickly change.
"She brings good experience in terms of working with public relations but also very good contacts and experience in working with members of the media in the Salt Lake area," Becker said.
"What many people know about their court system comes from what they see on TV or individual cases. There are a lot of programs that impact the public directly, such as our online public assistance programs and restitution program, that are important for the public to know about.
"Having a person able to communicate with the public about the real work of the courts is important in maintaining the public confidence in the court system," Becker said.
Volmer's former boss at the Salt Lake Chamber, Larry Mankin, also cheered the selection.
"She is clearly one of the best single public relations/community relations persons I ever dealt with, and I've been with seven different chambers in the past 30 years," said Mankin, who is now CEO of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce in California.
"I was so disappointed when she left us to work for the Olympics. She's not flashy, not the kind of person who's going to receive community accolades, but she's a great thinker and great communicator, particularly in the written area," Mankin said. "She will do a great job of communicating through traditional press mechanisms and also tell a great story on the Internet. She's just clearly a class person."
Volmer replaces the court's former public information officer, Jan Thompson.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com