After 28 years with the Brundidge Police Department Corp. Sherry Shackleford is swapping her badge for a rocking chair.

Shackleford was honored with a retirement celebration by her fellow officers Tuesday at Brundidge Station and a large gathering of family and friends came to wish her the best in her retirement years. Shackleford has the distinction of being the first female Brundidge Police officer and the only female officer on the force.

She admits that she didn’t have a burning desire to be a police officer, it just happened.

“I was working at the nursing home in Ozark and a dispatcher’s position came open at the Brundidge Police Department,” Shackleford said. “It was an opportunity to work at home rather than drive to Ozark, so I applied and got the job.”

Shackleford worked her way up from the third shift to chief dispatcher. In February 1988, Police Chief Joe Connell gave her the opportunity to join the Brundidge Police Department as an officer.

“I didn’t hesitate,” Shackleford said. “It was a great opportunity for me and I wasn’t going to let it go by.”

As a member of the Brundidge PD, Shackleford worked the streets. She worked the third shift and she served as the department’s school resource officer.

“I’ve done a little of everything and I’ve enjoyed it all,” she said. “I worked the third shift with Toby Adams and Charles Mack Wilson and we had a great time working together. The third shift was always my favorite shift. You meet a lot more interesting people on the night shift.”

As the department’s school resource officer, Shackleford was the liaison between the schools and the community.

“I had an office at Pike County High School and Pike County Elementary School,” she said. “If the students had problems and they needed someone to talk to, they could come to me. Whatever they said was between us unless it was a situation that had to be dealt with, something that had to be brought to light. The years I served as the school resource officer were special times.”

Shackleford said those years as the school resource officer made her a better officer.

“I worked with children that now have children and grandchildren,” she said. “And, that’s a unique situation for a police officer. Several generations have learned to trust me and they know I am fair. There’s a special rapport that exists and that’s an advantage for me, as it would be for any police officer.

“Brundidge is a small town. We all know each other and we have mutual respect for each other. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have some crime. All towns do but, we have a low crime rate when it comes to major crime.”

Being the only female officer on the Brundidge force has not been a problem for Shackleford. It has often worked to her advantage.

“People have a tendency to want to protect me more than they would a male,” she said. “Sometimes they will listen more to me. Often a female officer can relate easier to another female. But, being a female police officer has not been difficult. People have treated me with the same respect they would a male officer.”

Looking back, Shackleford said the one thing that she will remember most about her years as a police officer is when people came back and thanked her for the help and advice she gave them.

“When they say that knowing me made a difference in their lives, that’s what means the most to me and that’s what I’ll remember most,” she said.

As for now, Shackleford said her plan is “to do nothing.”

After a few days of that, she’ll be on the move again.

“I have some things I would like to do. Most of all, spend time with my mother,” she said. “Before my dad died, we had a father/daughter date and that was so special. I want to have more than one special time with my mother –  just spend time together.”

Shackleford stocked a small food pantry at the Brundidge Police Station and she has thoughts of expanding it at a different place.

“I don’t care what anybody has done, if they are hungry, they should be fed, especially our veterans,” she said. “I’ll be around. I have to have something worthwhile to do.”