By Andrew Edwards

Staff Writer

On Friday, January 31 at the Doster Center in Prattville, city officials, community leaders, police officers, and family friends of Skip Tallmage gathered to officially recognize the retirement for the police officer that has done so much for the community throughout the years.

Skip, who has been in law enforcement for nearly 30 years (25 years in Prattville), was extremely grateful when trying to describe the love and support that he was receiving from the crowd that arrived to see him.

“I never thought I’d be here, honestly. Prattville has been a great place to work. The community has been very supportive for what we do, and how we do it. It means a lot to be able to retire, but I’m going to miss so many of the people that I work with and had a chance to be around,” Tallmage said.

Diane Thomas, Assistant Chief of Police for Prattville PD, has been with Tallmage every step of the way.

“I came here in 1993, two years before skip – so we’ve had a long time to really grow our friendship. We did juvenile together in 96’ and 97’. I’m going to miss him because he’s a personal friend, not just a co-worker. It’s bittersweet to see him go,” Thomas said.

Chief of Police, Mark Thompson, also had kind words to say about the retired Lieutenant.

“I’ve known skip for 30 years now. He’s the type of person that would give you the shirt off his back. I’ve never met a single person that didn’t like him, and I wish him the best moving forward,” Thompson said.

Mayor Gillespie also spoke on the character of Tallmage.

“Skip has been a vital part of the community for many years now. It’s been an honor to see him work with the community and interact with its’ citizens. I want to say thank you, to him. I consider him a good friend,” Gillespie said.

From the Elmore Autauga news, we thank you Skip Tallmage for all your hard-work and dedication that you’ve put into the community for the past 30 years!