FROM THE PRESIDENT:

     I wanted to know more about our Chief and he was gracious enough to take time out of his busy day to sit down and have a conversation with me.
     Born in Marianna, Florida and raised in Chipley and Panama City, he classifies himself as a farm boy and has even dabbled in the rodeo in his youth. After high school, Joe began studying pre-law in college with the intent of becoming a lawyer, but in 1981 one of his professors suggested that he may want to enter the Police Academy.
     In the 1980's in Florida, the only way to get into the Police Academy was through a sponsorship by a Chief of Police or Sheriff. He sent in is application and the Police Chief of Calloway, Florida, sponsored him. He loved the Police Academy, changed his degree, and graduated in March of 1982. He went on to begin his career with the Calloway Police Department.
     He laughs about it now, but in his first two years on the job he was shot at twice. The second time was point blank and thankfully the gun had no bullets left in it!
     In 1988, Chief Hall started working at the Panama City Police Department and retired as Deputy Chief in 2009. And lucky for us at that same time, Bartow was looking for a new Chief, and Joe accepted the job.
      Because of his love of small town police work, Bartow has been a perfect fit.  He and his wife Winnie settled into Bartow nicely and I, for one, am glad.
      Our Police Department does a great job and not just out on the street. The department offers neighborhood and business crime watch, gun and cyber safety tips and much more. In addition, they have a Citizens Police Academy offering a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of the Department. I am a 2014 graduate and found it very informative and interesting.
     Did you know that the BPD also has a program that if you are going on vacation you can request periodic checks on your home by calling 534-5034 and placing a House Watch Order? And the other wonderful news that Chief Hall is very proud of is, that the overall property crimes are lower this year by 26% from the same time last year.
      Chief Hall is also starting a new program at Mosaics Community Cafe on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 a.m.,  called "Breakfast with the Chief." It will begin on December 1st. He welcomes you to come join him for a chat.
      I don't know about you, but I feel very safe in our town and I am thankful to Chief Joe Hall and his staff for that.

Until next week,
Sharon Casey
Chamber President, 2015