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By Charlotte Reames

A large crowd including law enforcement from Troup, Harris and Chambers Counties gathered in front of the newly opened Kimble’s Corrections for its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.

“The grand opening is over a year and a half in the making,” said Dewey Wahlin, CEO of Turnkey Corrections, during the ceremony.

Kimble’s is a LaGrange business that serves 100 jails and prisons in the South and over 250 total across the nation as a secure fulfillment center for commissary and banking services for inmates. The company also provides video visitation and communication services for jails.

“We’re kind of like an Amazon for inmates,” said William Pendergraph, president of Kimble’s, during the ceremony.

Though Kimble’s has served the area since 1985, the company was recently acquired by Turnkey Corrections, a nationwide parent company based in River Falls, Wisconsin, with a technology focus at its core.

Since the acquisition, Pendergraph said there have been 25 promotions, two companywide raises and zero lay-offs.

The new building, on O.G. Skinner Drive in West Point, has been completely renovated to house the company with customer service and IT support. Dedicated to its convenient location, Pendergraph said the company spent over double the purchasing price in remodeling the rebuilding.

Wahlin said that it was important to them not to lose any employees in the transition due to a long commute or other similar hardships.

“I want to thank the com                   munity,” Wahlin said, “The employees are the heartbeat of who we are and what we do. … We’re excited to be here and to our neighbors, thank you for welcoming us into the neighborhood.”

During the ceremony, Wahlin said Kimble’s has over 8,500 commissary orders a week and 500,000 orders a year.

Now that its open, Pendergraph said he plans to expand the internship program already in place. Partnering with Point University and Columbus State, the program began with one intern, then grew to two and Pendergraph hopes to add two more again next year.

“These are young individuals that are just incredible that are taking us to new levels,” he said.

Using AI software, the company monitors and transcribes all communication in video visitations, calls and text messages and passes it to investigators to help them search for keywords related to investigations.

“It makes their jobs significantly easier because they’ve got a lot to do,” Pendergraph said.

Kimble’s has always donated 2 percent of sales to the Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Ranch program. The program provides a safe, structured environment for youth to live who don’t have a safe home environment.

Over the years, Pendergraph said, the company has donated over $750,000 to Pineland Youth Ranch in Troup County.

Recently, Kimble’s started donating to the Alabama Sheriff’s Youth Ranch as well, and so far, has donated almost $200,000 to the Tallapoosa Girls Ranch in Camp Hill, Alabama.