Dalton Police Officer Terry Smith was honored at the December 13 Dalton Board of Education meeting in recognition of his 16 years of service at Dalton Public Schools.

In addition to his board recognition, City Park and Westwood collaborated to host a retirement celebration for the school resource officer on Tuesday, December 14.

“You have made such an impact on us,” said Westwood teacher Sheree Patton to Smith. “Just last week, a little boy said, ‘Westwood isn’t going to be Westwood without officer Smith,’ and it’s so true. While we are going to miss you, we certainly hope you have a great new adventure.”

Smith said his favorite part about his role was always interacting with the students.

“I just enjoy the students,” Smith said. “It makes every day fun and different.”

To add to the celebration, Dalton Mayor David Pennington attended the party, proclaiming December 14 as Office Terry Smith Day.

“It’s a big honor to come here and recognize one of Dalton’s finest,” said Mayor Pennington. “Everybody thinks being an officer is about giving out speeding tickets or running around catching crooks, but they do things like this every day that make Dalton a much better place to live.”

Smith is a veteran of the armed forces, served with the Dalton Police Department for 26 years and served 16 years with DPS.

According to City Park media specialist Hannah Talley, Smith was instrumental in the school resource officer initiative as he was one of the first to serve at DPS.