Former Elma High School athletic director Steve Bridge has received the National Interscholastic Administrators Association’s Distinguished Service Award.

Bridge was selected from among candidates in six states — Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska. He was presented the award Dec. 12 in Phoenix.

Elma’s athletic director for 20 years and previously the athletic director at Montesano and the football coach at Ocosta High School, Bridge retired in 2011.

Still an East County resident, he has remained active as a consultant for Clear Risk Solution, which provides liability insurance to some 190 schools throughout the state — including most of the Grays Harbor County schools.

“My job is to conduct workshops that try to help people to become preventative and pro-active (on liability issues),” Bridge said.

Bridge specializes in addressing two of the hot-button topics facing high school athletic administrators.

He has written a training manual, “Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries,” for the National Federation of High Schools that focuses on the personal conduct of school district employees in interaction with athletes.

Bridge has also co-authored a four-hour workshop presentation on concussion protocol.

His goal on the latter topic is to try to promote uniformity among schools on return-to-play policies following head injuries — which he said varies widely among school districts.

“We try to get school districts to have a comprehensive approach to concussion protocol,” Bridge said.

An educator since 1972, Bridge served as president of the Washington State Secondary Athletic Administrators Association in 2002-03. He was named to the Washington State Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in 2007 and has also received the NIAAA State Award of Merit.

His son Todd, a Montesano High school grad and the former head football coach at North Beach High School, is currently Elma’s Athletic director.