The Volunteer Citizen Award is named for the late John C. Green, who served as Park City’s mayor from 1978 to 1986.
Carson began her service locally as executive director of the Park City Education Foundation.
She served on the Park City School Board from 2003 to 2011, including time as its president.
Former School Board Member Mo Hickey spoke to Rotary, and said she was a leader on the board.
“Kim was the guiding hand behind the school board," Hickey said. "She was calm, she was graceful, but always, always put children first. And that’s something that stayed with me for the rest of my career. She made the children the priority of the district. At that time, we were going through a lot of growth. We were going through a lot of changes. Our demographic was changing in Park City. And she helped guide the district through transitions from superintendent to superintendent, but also making sure that Park City School District remained the top school district in the state of Utah. She led with grace, she led with class and she led with humor.”
Hickey noted that a former county councilmember referred to Carson as their “conscience.”
Carson served on the council from 2013 to 2020.
Councilmember Roger Armstrong said Carson was like the sister he never had.
“For eight years, I could call her and say, ‘We have a problem and I need to talk to you about it.’ And her counsel was always wise, was always thoughtful, and it was virtually always right," he said.
And Armstrong revealed a secret about Carson’s quiet exterior.
“There’s a freaking, calm, calculated assassin underneath," he said.
Armstrong said she’s had a long history of taking on challenges. Carson led the effort to set up a county leash law for dogs; she represented Summit County as one of the few women on the Utah Association of Counties Board; she served on the health board when the county and the world was slammed by the COVID pandemic; and during her successful fight with breast cancer, she continued serving in Coalville and talked openly about her illness.
In accepting the award, Carson agreed government service can be like living in a family. She said after growing up with brothers, she wound up working alongside male councilmembers Glenn Wright, Doug Clyde, Roger Armstrong and Chris Robinson.
“With Glenn and Doug, but especially with Chris and Roger—you know, with family, you can’t pick your family," she said. "I didn’t pick them, but I was there with them. You know, sometimes you have your squabbles. Trust me. There are a lot of times that we disagreed over the years. But you also—you end up coming together and you love them. And I think we did a lot of good work because we had that genuine caring for each other, but we also knew what our job was, and we needed to work together to get that done.”
Carson, and Rotary’s Professional Citizen of the Year, Christian Center of Park City Director Dr. Rob Harter, will appear as grand marshals in the Miner’s Day Parade set for Sept. 4 on Main Street.