I will never forget the day I first encountered Calvin Bryant. Although it was almost six years ago, I remember the day vividly because I learned the true meaning of responsibility for one’s actions that day.

I had just graduated from high school and turned 18, but I still only had my learners driving permit because I could not drive too well. One summer day my mother allowed my friend, who was licensed, to take me out and show me how to drive my in mother’s new car.

My friend let me drive from Quitman to Morven that day and I did quite well. However, my luck ran out as I was driving back to Quitman on Jackson Road. To make a long story short, we ended up in a wooded area after I struck a tree in my mother’s car.

Crying and panicking, all I could do at the time was jump out of the car, walk to a nearby dirt road and pace back and forth. As my friend tried to calm me, a Brooks County pickup truck drove up to the scene and the driver asked if we needed assistance. When he saw the wrecked car, he called and reported the accident to the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office.

That day, I received $600 in citations, disappointed my mother and dedicated the rest of my summer to working to pay off the tickets and the deductible for body work on my mother’s car.

Several months later, I saw the man who had stopped to help my friend and me the day of the wreck. I was surprised that he still remembered me. I learned that his name was Calvin Bryant and he was the Brooks County constable.

I saw Bryant a few more times in passing, but I got a chance to speak to him again during the swearing in of Brooks County officers his year. I suggested that we meet for an interview so he could share his story with the public.

Calvin Bryant was born and raised in Quitman. He graduated from Brooks County High School in 1987.

“After graduating, I went directly into the workforce,” Bryant said. “I did pre-delivery inspections in the quality control department at a Cadillac dealership for three years. I spent the next three years doing the same thing at a Ford dealership.”

In 1994, Bryant enrolled at Valdosta State University and completed a semester.

“My sister, Melissa, initially wanted to go to trade school, but I encouraged her to go to college instead,” he said. “Although I never really intended to go to college, I went along with her to help push her to pursue a degree. She graduated around 1997 with a degree in sociology.”

Bryant continued to work during his time in school, but later switched careers to assist his father.

“My dad was a truck operator. In 1995, he fell on hard times, so I left the dealership. I got my commercial driver’s license and drove with my father for the next year and a half.”

Bryant’s father, Melvin Lee Bryant, passed away in 1997. Bryant continued to drive full-time until 2001.

“I began to feel like it was time for a career change,” Bryant said. “My friends told me about an ad in the newspaper for a constable in Brooks County. So I applied and was blessed to get the position.”