CCA Leader Named NAAWS “Warden of the Year”

Ralph Kemp receives national honor

The North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents (NAAWS) has named CCA warden Ralph Kemp of Wheeler Correctional Facility in Alamo, Ga., as the “2009-2010 Warden of the Year.”

Since 1979, the annual award has recognized America’s most distinguished wardens who are committed to the highest standards, professional excellence and industry achievement.

“Wardens are on the front lines of correctional facilities and our communities everyday,” says Art Leonardo, NAAWS executive director. “These decisive leaders are accountable to the public, their staff and the inmates we serve. Their public service must be recognized and revered.”

CCA and the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) jointly nominated Kemp for the NAAWS honor. Seventeen other wardens nationwide vied for the award.

Kemp, 67, joined CCA’s Wheeler Correctional Facility in 1998 after a 30-year career with the GDC, where he started at the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, Ga., and served in a variety of roles. Kemp was named deputy warden for Georgia State Prison from 1972-1977 and first became a warden in 1977, leading Coastal Correctional Institution in Savannah, Ga., through 1981.

Kemp later served as warden of Central Correctional Institution in Macon, Ga. and Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center in Jackson, Ga. As Southeast regional director for the Georgia Department of Corrections from 1988-1994, Kemp supervised 13 state and county correctional facilities. In his final role with the GDC, Kemp served as deputy commissioner of Institutional Operations for the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Today, at Wheeler, Kemp oversees a staff of more than 300 at the 1,712-bed facility, which is currently undergoing an expansion of 750 beds.

“Warden Kemp has made broader achievements that have benefited greater society,” Rick Seiter, CCA chief corrections officer, says. “He was instrumental in passing legislation to prevent convicted felons of accessing the autopsy reports of their victims. He also supported the passage of a law that made unauthorized possession of a cell phone a felony in a correctional facility.”

Warden Kemp will be honored at the NAAWS “Warden of the Year” Banquet in August, during the American Correctional Association’s summer conference in Chicago.

Source, Spring 2010