Kim Kimple always knew aviation would be part of her life but it’s happening a bit sooner than expected.

“It was always going to be my next direction, but I was thinking it would be a few years from now,” said Kimple, who is the new Port of Orcas manager as of Jan. 1. “I figured I would get my pilot’s license once my older two kids are through college — they are 20 and 17 now.”

She first began working at the port in 2020 as an administrative assistant to former manager Tony Simpson while he planned his departure from the port. Kimple was originally hired for a month but her contract was continually extended. She then worked alongside new manager Jeannie Sharpe, who left the position this fall after two years. Kimple has attended nearly every board meeting for the past three years and is well-versed in the port’s operations, which include managing the Eastsound Airport.

Kimple applied for the job, and the port commission offered to combine the port manager and administrative duties into one role.

“Everything kind of aligned in my life,” she said. “It just felt right.”

Kimple has been slowly divesting her other jobs: public information officer and district secretary for the Orcas Fire Department, assistant director of Park and Rec and administrative assistant for the Orcas Health Care District. Kimple also owns and operates a bookkeeping business.

She’s been working a 70-hour week for the past few years and says she is very much looking forward to more of a balance between her work and home life. Kimple is also a mother to five-year-old Charley.

“Being a mom is my most exhausting role and my most rewarding,” she laughed.

Kimple will still be a volunteer EMT and is soon starting ground school for her pilot’s license. She enjoys hiking with her daughter, kayaking and attending musicals and plays.

“In all of my roles in small government here, I hold a lot of respect for the port manager position,” Kimple said. “It’s a public entity and I’d like to represent the needs of the community well. We have so much opportunity to have a positive influence with both commerce on the island, aviation needs and potential for marine access.”