As an attorney with the Seattle-based Stoel Rives, as three-term Mayor of Mercer Island, and as an Advisory Member of the AIA Seattle Board of Directors, Alan Merkle has proven a valuable ally of architects and design professionals. His knowledge and experience, with one basis in his education as an engineer, have helped guide design and building professionals of all generations to achieve success in their work, while his advocacy for design excellence and its power to serve community goals have energized his public service, and contributed to the achievement of notable built projects in Mercer Island and beyond that enhance civic life. (2006)