In a surprise ceremony in the Randolph County Courthouse on Thursday, 20th Judicial Circuit School-Based Probation Officer Kimberly Bonnett received the WVPAO Steven Gitlin II Probation Officer of the Year Award. 

“I mean, I was shocked,” Bonnett told The Inter-Mountain after the ceremony. “I opened the door and there were the faces of all my people, who shouldn’t be in court!”

The ceremony was attended by over 30 of Bonnett’s friends, family, co-workers and colleagues, as well as officials including Randolph County Circuit Court Judge David Wilmoth and Randolph County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shawn Dilly.

At the ceremony’s start, WVAPO President Jessica Triplett said that, in her eight years as a member of the association’s board, she had never seen so many nominations come in for one person. Bonnett received nine nominations along with four additional letters of support.

Back row , from left, Bryan Bonnett, Kimberly Bonnett and WVAPO President Jessica Triplett. Bottom row, from left, Connor Bonnett and Declan Bonnett.

“In reviewing the nominations, terms ‘professional,’ ‘dedicated,’ ‘exceptional’ were all used,” Triplett said during the ceremony. “(As were) ‘witty,’ ‘humorous’ and ‘feisty.’ So, this year’s award recipient is Kimberly Bonnett, nominated for her tireless dedication in her service to the court, to the community, to her colleagues and, most noticeably, to those she supervises.”

Several of Bonnett’s co-workers and colleagues spoke during the ceremony, each saying how grateful they were for Bonnett’s hard work, dedication and overall character.

Randolph County Schools Facilities/Maintenance and Transportation and School Safety Director Nicholas Alfred spoke fondly of Bonnett’s ability to always be there to help Randolph County Schools and their students.

“We need something, (Bonnett’s) there. When the schools need something, she’s there,” Alred said. “We appreciate what you’ve done for us and our students, and I’m sure the principals would agree. You’re always here to help us and help the kids, so thank you.”

Wilmoth also spoke highly of Bonnett, recounting how, when he first became a Randolph County Circuit Court judge, he was often told “Kim will take care of it.”

“For the longest time, I didn’t know who Kim was,” Wilmoth said, earning a laugh from the room. “I never saw her. I just heard, ‘Kim will take care of it,’ ‘Kim’s got this,’ ‘Kim’s talked to them,’ ‘Kim’s got it all worked out’… She’s lived up to ‘Kim will take care of it.’ Now I know who Kim is and I say ‘Kim will take care of it.'”

Bonnett also addressed the room, thanking her husband, her mother, her friends and her co-workers and colleagues. She stated that winning the award would not be possible without the people in her life and that this was “a little bit of everybody’s” award, a sentiment she repeated later to The Inter-Mountain.

“I’m just super overwhelmed because this is a team effort, it’s not just me,” Bonnett told The Inter-Mountain. “Every person who was standing up there has hopped in a car with me. Every person in my office has helped with late nights and early mornings, and kept my sanity. This is everybody’s award. Everybody in this room is the reason I’m standing right here. They’re my favorite people.”