GOSHEN, Ky. — An Oldham County Schools resource officer is going above and beyond to not only keep students and staff safe, but to make school fun for Kentucky kids.
What You Need To Know
- Greg Ford is a school resource officer for Goshen and Harmony Elementary Schools
- School resource officers are tasked with the responsibility of helping students and families when there are safety problems
- Ford has served 31 years in law enforcement, and 4 as an SRO
Officer Ford is more than just your average school resource officer.
“He's a mentor, he's a friend to them, they adore him,” said Harmony Elementary School Principal Suzie Hackmiller.
School resource officers are tasked with the responsibility of helping students and families when there are problems. So when Officer Ford is not providing a safe and secure learning environment, he’s lending a listening ear.
“It's good interaction, the kids will want to come up and ask me questions a lot. I'll go around checking doors and they'll want to talk to me about different things, tell me about their day, ask me questions about my job,” said Greg Ford, school resource officer for Harmony and Goshen Elementary School.
SRO’s like Ford are full-time officers with the Oldham County Police Department, available to staff and students on their assigned campuses.
Ford has also stepped up to the plate to help his school system with multiple other tasks, including serving in the lunchroom.
“He helps us at arrival and dismissal so he's opening car doors, he’s helping kids pack up and getting ready to end their day. He visits gym class, he reads to classes, we've been short handed in our kitchen and so there are many days that you'll see Officer Ford serving lunch to the boys and girls,” Hackmiller said.
Ford has served as an SRO for four years and can’t imagine being anywhere else.
“Oh, it's great. That's the part of the job, I really enjoy interacting with these young guys and young girls,” Ford said.
He's constantly going above and beyond to put a smile on someone's face.
“I think the first word that comes to mind is just happy. He just has a happy presence, always has a smile, even under his mask you can see it in his eyes that he’s just very happy,” Hackmiller said.
Ford is hoping one day, a young boy or girl follows in his footsteps.
“We're going to need that down the road, so I hope I influence them to become law enforcement or whatever profession they want to do,” Ford said.
He's also served as an SRO at Centerfield Elementary and East Oldham Middle School. Ford is going on 31 years as an officer.
There are currently 9 School Resource Officers within Oldham County Schools. To learn more about the officers and which campus they serve, click here.