Downtown

Court reporter named Employee of the Year at Brooklyn Supreme Court

October 6, 2017 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Enika Bodnar, senior court reporter, gives a speech after being awarded the employee of the year award at Brooklyn Supreme Court. Eagle photo by Paul Frangipane
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Senior court reporter Enika Bodnar was named the Employee of the Year at Brooklyn Supreme Court Thursday in front of dozens of fellow court employees and her family members.

“Our honoree is one of the nicest people here in the building,” Supreme Court Justice Bernard Graham said at the ceremony in the lobby of the courthouse. “It was really unfair for anyone else up for nomination because Enika pretty much got every vote there was.”

The Employee of the Year Award was created by former Supreme Court Justice Joseph Bruno in 1999 to boost morale at the busy court.

Bodnar has been working in the court system since July 1996 and started at Brooklyn Supreme Court in March 2007. At the time, she had recently reached a transitional moment in her career, going from courtroom reporting to front office work.

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Principal court reporter Keith Olarnick joked that Bodnar’s transition to the front office has caused a heap of extra work, given her “down-to-business” attitude.

“This is a very well-deserved award to a wonderful person who goes above and beyond the call of duty,” Olarnick said.

In addition to Bodnar’s work in the court system, she does extensive volunteering, including visiting children in nearby hospitals.

“This is really overwhelming,” Bodnar said. “I arrived at Brooklyn Supreme 10 years ago. There’s been a lot of personnel changes since then, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the warmth and courtesy I’ve received from everyone who works in both buildings.”

With a common joke at the ceremony revolving around the high-maintenance attitude of court reporters, Bodnar said reporters have only a few requests. Among them were simply: Speak slowly, do not click pens, don’t shuffle papers or jingle change and most importantly, “know when to stop beating a dead horse.”


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