Lieutenant governor, KSP hold award ceremony honoring civilian employees

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and the Kentucky State Police honored 15 civilian employees on Sunday for their role in public safety.

Awards presented include the 2023 Civilian of the Year, Career Achievement, Police Communications Support and Supervisor of the Year among others, according to a release by KSP.

KSP says it has 800 civilian employees that work multiple roles, including telecommunications, maintenance, driver testing, information technology public relations and records support.

The following awards were presented during the ceremony:

2023 ‘KSP Civilian of the Year’ Award: Gary Thomas.

Thomas is a 23-year veteran of the agency who serves as a criminal intelligence analyst for the Intelligence Branch.

The release says Thomas provided tactical and strategic intelligence support during multiple KSP investigations, which led to the recovery of $5.2 million in cargo thefts. Thomas assisted to shut down an organized crime ring responsible for over $10 million dollars in thefts.

The 2023 KSP civilian employee award recipients include:

Admin Services Award

Emily Perkins, a 15-year veteran of the agency, serves as the procedures development specialist II at Headquarters in Frankfort.

Career Achievement Award

Lou Ann Clayton, a 35-year veteran, serves as the security threat assessment program coordinator at the Driver Testing Central Office in Frankfort.

Commercial Vehicle Support Award

Ramona Lawson, inspector II, CVE East Region

Drivers Testing Award

Ronald Pillow, commercial driver’s license examiner, Post 3 Bowling Green

Forensic Services Support Award

Ashley Cook, forensic scientist specialist II, Jefferson Regional Laboratory

Information Technology Award

Shelvy Riffe, a three-year veteran of the agency, serves as the information systems supervisor in the Information Technology Branch in Frankfort.

Police Communication Support Award

Gerald Browning, public safety telecommunicator III, Post 10 Harlan

Alex Jett, public safety telecommunicator III, Post 12 Frankfort

William Graham, public safety telecommunicator III, Post 3 Bowling Green

Post Operations Support Award

Melissa Brock, administrative specialist III, Post 10 Harlan

Katie Wiggins, administrative specialist I, Post 1 Mayfield

Records Technical Support

Bridget Stone, CJIS compliance specialist III, LINK Audit Branch, Post 16 Henderson

Special Enforcement Support Award

Gary Thomas, criminal intelligence analyst II, Intelligence Branch Lexington

Supervisor of the Year Award

Shelly Job, public safety telecommunication manager, Post 12 Frankfort

Supplies Properties Management

Ricky Simpson, maintenance worker II, Post 12 Frankfort