By: Jessie Thueme (MI)

In April 1998, Irene Bizzoso walked into the filing office of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as a legal assistant, tasked with reviewing direct appeals before they ever reached a docket.  Twenty-five years later, she retired from her post as Prothonotary, having become one of the people who kept Pennsylvania’s highest court running.  This past August, at the NCACC’s 53rd annual conference in Austin, Irene was named the 48th recipient of the Conference’s highest honor, the J.O. Sentell Award.

Established in 1979 and named for founding member and first president J.O. Sentell of the Alabama Supreme Court, the award recognizes a member whose service has substantially advanced the NCACC’s objectives.  

Before she ever set foot in the Supreme Court’s filing office, Irene spent five years as assistant counsel with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Unemployment Compensation Board of Review.  She’s licensed to practice in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  Her rise at the court came one promotion at a time: a decade as deputy prothonotary running the Middle District filing office in Harrisburg, then acting Prothonotary in January 2010, confirmed to the permanent post that December.  In the role, she oversaw daily operations across the court’s Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh filing offices, prepared argument lists and orders, and coordinated attorney admission ceremonies.

Over her years of involvement with the NCACC, Irene has served a multitude of roles, including President, Host, and Treasurer, and sat on nearly every committee the Conference offers.  She never expected to be recognized so meaningfully by the fellow Clerks she’s come to think of not just as colleagues, but as chosen family.  After a career spent devoted to the judiciary, Irene credits the Conference and its members with helping her navigate the adjustment to retirement.

The award itself came from a friend, Scott Mitchell of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, who shared memories from Irene’s mentor and fellow past honoree, William DeCicco, retired from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.  Irene is especially grateful to Collette Bruggman and those who nominated her, and admits she still isn’t sure she stands on the same level as past recipients—though by every measure, she does.

In retirement, Irene currently serves as President of the Executive Board of the statewide Pennsylvania YMCA and remains an emeritus member of the James S. Bowman American Inns of Court.

The J.O. Sentell Award honors the people who make an appellate court run without anyone outside the building ever noticing the effort—and who, even in retirement, keep showing up.  Irene Bizzoso is exactly that person.

Scott Mitchell (AL), Irene Bizzoso (PA, ret.), and Jenny Kitchens (SC)