At the helm: Gilkison addresses the trials and rewards of correctional work

Official photo issued with press release announcing elevation of Russ Gilkison to RSW Jail superintendent.

We contacted Russ Gilkison about his quick elevation from deputy superintendent to succeed William Wilson just weeks after Wilson announced his resignation as the RSW Regional Jail Superintendent on February 23. As reported in our initial story, Gilkison has served as the “boots on the ground” administrator for day-to-day operations from the outset of the facility’s creation in 2013. In fact, this permanent promotion is actually Gilkison’s second go round in the top spot, which he held on an interim basis for three months following Robert Mulligan’s sudden departure on June 30, 2014, just at the jail was poised to officially replace the three involved counties’ jails.

In a press release on Gilkison’s hiring, Warren County Administrator and RSW Board chairman Doug Stanley commented, “He has been with the Authority since we started hiring for the facility and was intimately involved in the startup of the facility … Russ has the respect and support of the RSW staff as well as that of the Authority Board and has earned the opportunity to lead this facility.”

We asked Gilkison if he had reapplied for the top job in the wake of Wilson’s announcement of his departure for a job closer to his family in Chesterfield County. Wilson’s resignation took effect on March 26, three days after the board approached Gilkison about taking the job.

Having been with the facility from the outset, we asked Gilkison what his short and long-term goals as superintendent were:

“I was hired in December of 2013 about 6 ½ months before we moved in.  As with any agency there are challenges or things that we encounter every day that we look at and try and improve on.  Life is full of successes and failures and you try to learn from it all to maximize one and minimize the other.  So many times all that is reported is the negative which gives the perception that this is a horrible place.  The volunteers and service providers that come here and work with the staff and inmates have the privilege to see what really happens here and will tell you otherwise.

“Everyday lives are saved here and I wish the community could see the hard work and professionalism of the officers, medical, mental health, food service, maintenance and administrative support staff that make sure the needs of those incarcerated here are met.

“Working in a correctional facility is not glamorous and it takes a special kind of person who understands that what you do will probably not be recognized or appreciated by the inmates or the public you serve.  You just have to know that what you do is important to the safety and security of the community; and you have the ability to be a positive role model to those who are incarcerated.

The view from the inside and out of RSW Regional Jail. Photos/Roger Bianchini

“As an agency we should never rest on our laurels.  We should always try to improve and provide the highest level of service.  I am lucky to be working with such a great staff and appreciate the support they give me every day.  I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead this agency and look forward to the future.”

Gilkison is a veteran of the U.S. Army where he served on the Presidential Honor Guard with the Third Infantry Regiment based out of Fort Myers, Virginia.  He began his law enforcement career in 1997 at the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.  He eventually became Assistant Division Commander of the Corrections Court Services Division there before being hired in 2013 as deputy superintendent of RSW during the regional jail’s formation.  He has been a resident of Clarke County since 2000, and resides there with his wife and two children.