VALDOSTA — As one-time Valdosta Police Department dispatchers, Alan Carter and Ricky Plair developed good personal and working relationships with many police officers.

As the years passed, Carter and Plair moved on and dispatching became the province of the Lowndes County 911 Center, but neither man forgot the officers of the Valdosta Police Department.

This weekend, Carter and Plair pay their respects by organizing a reunion for retired VPD officers. Nearly 30 retired officers, mostly ones who served with the department from the 1950s through ’80s, are planning to attend, organizers say, while any retired Valdosta Police Department officer may attend.

“These men have done so much for the community and there hasn’t been anything for them to get together or to honor them,” Carter says. “We wanted to have something to let them know their service is remembered and appreciated.”

Carter and Plair have been discussing such a reunion for a few years, but decided to put their talk into action a few months ago. Redland Baptist Church, where Plair attends, is the location. Bailey’s Meats donated the chicken for the dinner while Autry Bar-B-Que donated baked beans and cole slaw. Retired officers expressed interest as organizers spoke with them. Expected guests include former Valdosta Police Chief A.L. Arnold. Carter and Plair hope to organize such an event on an annual basis, adding new honorees as officers retire from the Valdosta Police Department.

Carter and Plair’s friendships with these men started many years ago. Carter joined the VPD as a clerk then worked as a dispatcher before working as a dispatcher for other area law-enforcement agencies. Plair started dispatching for the VPD straight out of high school, before working as a dispatcher with the 9-11 Center and Valdosta State University.

They recall a different era of law-enforcement and a different type of law officer.

“We started out at a time when these guys physically walked a beat,” Carter says. There were few patrol cars. Officers walked the beat, literally pounding the pavement, putting truth behind the old slang term of a beat cop as a “flatfoot.”

If there was trouble, an officer had to handle the situation alone or get to a call-box phone and request back-up. There was a call list of senior citizens whom the police department called every morning to ensure they were OK. People know officers by name and police knew not only the names of the people on their beat but who those people were and what they did. They’d rattle the doors of a business, after hours, to make certain they were locked. They often knew if someone was on vacation and away from home.

“They were part of the community,” Plair says. “And if you dispatched them, you knew the officer and what he could do. You knew if he could handle a fight with four or five people or if he needed back-up.”

“They exemplified public service and what a public servant should be,” Carter says. “They worried about the people they encountered. They didn’t complain about the job they had to do. They were devoted to the community.”

The reunion will be for retired officers only. No wives or families, allowing the men a chance to reminisce while being honored. Southern Circuit Judge Richard Cowart is scheduled as keynote speaker. Hundreds of old photographs are planned as part of the presentation.

Those expected to attend include G. Robert Carter, Walter Wacter, Mitchell Pittman, Van Hastings, Steve Owens, Willie Hankins, David Whitfield, David Lightsey, Jimmie Norman, Johnny Browning, Billy Green, Ronnie Bennett, Tom Williams, Clyde Barden, Marion Norris, Earl Spurlock, Harmon Weldon, J.C. Williams, Howard Holems, Godfrey Hunter, Tony Hudson, Charlie Spray, Jack Taylor, Tim Baker, Mike Kitchens, Allen L. Arnold, David Robinson, Barry L. Hall, Johnnie Fason, Ricky Plair, Remer Croft, Ashley Hill, auxiliary.

If you are a retired Valdosta Police Department officer who wishes to attend the reunion, call Ricky Plair, 559-8729, for more information and to register.