Kimberly L. (Schaubel) Groom
(Click name above to watch HOF video)
Softball and Women's Basketball (1988-1990)
Two-time All-Skyway First Team (softball) and All-Skyway (basketball)
Won over 30 games leading softball to back-to-back Skyway runner-up finishes
Distinguished law enforcement career and extensive community philanthropy
All top competitors seem to possess similar qualities and characteristics, on and off the field. They often have a laser focus, mental toughness and determination, and an unwavering will to come out on top no matter the circumstances. In the late 1980’s Kim (Schaubel) Groom was that person on the basketball court and softball field for the Waubonsee Chiefs. Those qualities led to many athletic successes and eventually to a decorated law enforcement career.
Groom graduated from Aurora West High School where she was the Blackhawks’ Female Athlete of the Year for 1987-88. She was a three-year varsity starter in basketball, earning All-Upstate Eight Conference honors twice. On the softball diamond Groom was team captain as a junior and senior, went 15-2 in the pitching circle and led West High to a conference title and Regional Championship in 1988. Groom then brought her talents to Sugar Grove helping Waubonsee’s basketball and softball programs. A two-time All-Skyway First Team softball pitcher, she was the Chiefs’ workhorse in 1989 and 1990, winning over 30 games in her Waubonsee career for back-to-back Skyway Conference runner-up teams. On the basketball court Groom was an all-around performer as a top-notch rebounder, defender, scorer and distributor of the ball on the way to being named All-Skyway and Academic All-Skyway her sophomore year. Groom achieved all this while simultaneously serving as a ‘big sister’ with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program of Kane and Kendall Counties and working as an Aurora Police Cadet on campus.
Groom went on to Aurora University where she was a key pitcher on the Spartans conference champion softball team, while also averaging nearly 13 points a game on the basketball court her junior year. Groom capped off her collegiate career by being named All-Conference and team Most Valuable Player as the Spartans finished runner-up at the NCAA Central Regional. She did all of this while working full-time as a new Aurora Police Officer. Subsequently, Groom received the 1991-92 NCAA’s Woman of the Year Athletic Honor which was based on athletics, scholarship and community service.
Groom went on to have a distinguished 27-year career with the Aurora Police Department. She served with Patrol, Community Policing, Special Operations, Support Services and Forensic Evidence. She was promoted to Sergeant in 2006 and retired in 2018. Groom coached youth basketball and softball in the Aurora Catholic League for a dozen years. She also coached freshman-level basketball at Rosary High School for five years and still teaches physical education two days a week at St. Rita School in Aurora. Established in 2015, the Kiwanis Club of Aurora annually presents the Kim Schaubel-Groom Award to an Aurora Area softball player who displays exceptional spirit, hustle, and dedication. She also funds a college scholarship through the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley to an area senior who served in their Kiwanis Key Club. Groom is the Immediate Past Governor for the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District of Kiwanis International. She was inducted into the Aurora West High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012 and was awarded the Kiwanis Club International’s distinguished God & Fellow Man Award in 2025. Groom and her late husband Joe, who was a Commander with the Aurora Police Department, have four grown children: Luke, Katelyn, Gabriel and Seth. In addition, Groom has eight grandkids with two more on the way.