Marshall County’s Joe Rucki Recieves 2022 Circuit Clerk of the Year Award
Joe Rucki thanks a number of people during an acceptance speech.
Alan Olson
Joe Rucki accepts the 2022 Circuit Clerk of the Year award. The award was presented by Clayton Fitzsimmons, left, and Scott Windom.
Alan Olson
Joe Rucki thanks a number of people during an acceptance speech.
Alan Olson
Joe Rucki accepts the 2022 Circuit Clerk of the Year award. The award was presented by Clayton Fitzsimmons, left, and Scott Windom.
Alan OlsonTrending
Marshall County Circuit Clerk Joe Rucki received a hero's welcome Wednesday afternoon from dozens of his friends and colleagues who turned out to see him awarded the honor of 2022 Circuit Clerk of the Year.
Rucki's audience filled the gallery of the county courthouse as he received his award, for which he was named the winner in June. The award was presented by Scott Windom, president of the West Virginia Association for Justice, and Wheeling attorney Clayton Fitzsimmons, who serves on the WVAJ's board of governors and who nominated Rucki for the award.
Rucki spent much of his time thanking the numerous employees on his staff and the local officials who enable him to do his job effectively. What keeps him coming back to work, he said, is the people.
"I like meeting people. When jurors come in, even if they're upset, I try to make the best of it for them - I know it's hard, they need to drop everything they're doing ... to come in and solve a problem with nobody to consult," Rucki said. "The jurors of Marshall County are the best."
Rucki has served in the Circuit Clerk's Office since 1988, when he was appointed chief deputy by retired clerk David Ealy. He has worked more than 225 jury trials and 96 grand juries over his career, and served seven circuit judges in Marshall County, including two who went on to serve on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
"It's a real honor and privilege to be standing up here today, presenting an award to a most deserving man and good friend of ours, Joe Rucki," said Fitzsimmons. "In his 34 years, he's honorably served the citizens of Marshall County and has always gone above and beyond what was expected of him in his job as a clerk.
"Marshall County's court, and the clerk's office, and the courthouse as a whole has earned a reputation across the state as one of the most fair, efficient, friendly and helpful courts, and a large part of that is due to Joe Rucki. That's not just helpful to lawyers and litigants, but to the general public."