Kelly Broniec will never forget Oct. 19.

That’s when the Montgomery County associate circuit judge, a native of Warenton, received a phone call from Missouri Governor Mike Parson and found out she was appointed as a judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.

“He was so very kind,” Broniec said. “It’s indescribable. That was really exciting.”

The next day, Broniec was sworn in by Judge Roy L. Richter during a ceremony. Richter, a former prosecuting attorney and associate circuit judge for Montgomery County, retired from the Court of Appeals in July.

“He was one of the longest serving judges in the state of Missouri, having served as a judge for over 40 years,” Broniec said. “Obviously, there are big shoes to fill. The other judges on the Court of Appeals are great and very welcoming, so I’m really looking forward to working with them as well.”

The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, is the state’s largest appellate court with its offices located in downtown St. Louis. Broniec will be one of 14 judges who will handle approximately 50 percent of the intermediate appellate caseload in Missouri, covering 25 counties and the city of St. Louis.

“It really does mean a lot to me,” Broniec said. “It’s hard to put into words on how much it means to me. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the citizens of Missouri in a different capacity. But really, the icing on the cake is getting the Richter seat on the Court of Appeals. It’s a huge honor.”

The other judges include Robert Dowd Jr. (chief judge), Mary Kathryn Hoff, Sherri Sullivan, Kurt Odenwald, Gary Gaertner, Robert Clayton III, Angela Turner Quigless, Philip Hess, James Dowd, Lisa Page, Colleen Dolan, Robin Ransom and Michael Gardner.

Broniec will be working on a special assignment from the Supreme Court and some cases in the 12th Circuit Court before joining the Court of Appeals. She said she’s looking forward to her new role after working in Montgomery County for 21 years.

“There is a lot of being a trial judge that I’ll miss,” she said. “I’ll really miss working with the families in juvenile court and seeing the kids I had in juvenile court. It will be different. It will be a lot quieter with a lot more reading and writing than what I’m just used to. Appellate work is a lot more reading and writing than what a trial judge does. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to take a little bit of a deeper dive into cases with the research and the writing end of it.”

Broniec became Montgomery County’s associate circuit judge in 2006. Before that, she worked as the county’s prosecuting attorney for seven years.

“I was elected to the (associate circuit judge) position after Judge Richter,” Broniec said. “He went to the Court of Appeals from the Montgomery County associate circuit judge seat 14 years ago. Since then, I’ve been handling a pretty wide variety of cases. I’ve handled all of the juvenile cases throughout the circuit. I’ve worked on several Supreme Court committees. I’ve been working hard to try to not only do my job of doing justice in individual cases, but also try to help with reforms in the system statewide.”

Broniec, a Warrenton native, graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration from William Woods University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law.

“I had no idea what I was going to do growing up,” said Broniec, who moved to Montgomery City in 1999. “When I was in college at William Woods, one of my professors encouraged me to go to law school, so that’s how I got started on the legal career.”

Broniec is an active member of the Montgomery City Kiwanis Club, the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and her church, Grace Lutheran Church in Wellsville. She has two daughters, Hannah and Katie, and her husband, Mark, is a sergeant for the Missouri Highway Patrol.