Retired Sheriff Truman Jones, School Resource Officer Capt. Bill Kennedy and SRO Dick Peach were named the first members to be placed on the SRO Wall of Fame.
SRO Lt. Alan Garner announced the inductees during the annual SRO Christmas breakfast for the SROs and families Saturday at World Outreach Church.
Jones launched the SRO Division in 1993 at four Rutherford County Schools’ high schools and one middle school, the first SROs in Tennessee. The SROs celebrated their 31st anniversary this year.
Kennedy was one of the original SROs and later led the division as captain.
Peach joined the division when he was 55 years old and served until he was 70. He emphasized wearing seat belts for safety.
Garner said the qualifications to be inducted included serving as an SRO or impacting the department, community and Rutherford County Schools’ students.
SRO Capt. Barry Hendrixson told SROs the Wall of Fame is a way to show recognition for SROs’ work.
“If you do what you’re supposed to be doing, you might be on that wall,” Hendrixson said.
Peach said his legacy was telling kids to “wear your seatbelt. That was my legacy.”
The legacy began after four students were killed in crashes where they didn’t wear seat belts.
“I wanted to make sure my kids understood the importance of wearing the seat belt,” Peach said.
He challenged the SROs to find kids “who need the most attention. So many kids don’t have anyone to help them out.”
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