Mayor graduates police academy
Never one to let grass grow underfoot, Pittsburg Mayor Shawn Kennington now has another accolade to add to his already impressive resume – police academy graduate.
Mayor Kennington boasts more than 20 years as a funeral director at Erman-Smith Funeral Home and 10 years as mayor, but decided he could serve the public in a larger capacity with continued education. He graduated from the Northeast Texas Community College police academy on Sept. 23 and is now a certified Texas peace officer.
“I grew up here in Pittsburg and have been here all my life,” he said. “When I was in high school, it was either law enforcement or the funeral business and I chose funeral.”
Mr. Kennington graduated in 1993 and went to mortuary school. He returned to Pittsburg and has been serving the folks of Pittsburg and Camp County ever since.
“I took advantage of the college having the night police academy to learn more about law enforcement,” he said. “I have invested a lot of time in learning about city departments. Serving as mayor, it can help.”
Now that he has graduated, Mr. Kennington said someone has to carry his commission and Camp County Constable John Cortelyou has stepped up to the plate.
“I'll reserve for the constable's office as a reserve deputy constable,” Mr. Kennington said. “I want to continue to serve the public. I'm still going to serve as mayor and still going to be at the funeral home, although I may be looking at a career enhancement, not a career change.”
In the future, Mr. Kennington said he hopes to run for Camp County Constable.
“When the time comes, I would like to run for that position,” he said. “If I was going to run to be elected, I would not run for mayor at that point, but that's all a few years from now. I'd like to continue to serve as mayor at this time.”
Even though he has graduated from police academy, Mr. Kennington admits he still has a steep learning curve ahead.
“You'll never know everything,” he said. “I can work with Constable Cortelyou and learn for the next few years.”
As a student, Mr. Kennington said he developed a deeper understanding of the unique challenges facing law enforcement today.
“I knew a lot as far as working with law enforcement with the city and county as mayor, but not to the extent that I now know,” he said. “I feel like we have a police department that holds itself to a high standard already. Now I have a better understanding of what they go through and why the decisions they make are made the way they are. It's been an eye opener to me on what the officers go through.”
Mr. Kennington and his wife, Amy, have two high-school age daughters, Payton and Chloe. Payton was actually attending NTCC classes at the same time as her dad.
By Tori Lyle, news@campcountynow.com -
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