FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KFSM) — After 34 years Police Chief Greg Tabor’s last day serving the people of Fayetteville will be September 20.
On Wednesday (Sept. 11) a retirement celebration was held to honor all the things he has done for this department and the city.
In August of 1985, Tabor joined the Fayetteville Police Department, but he started his public service career as a volunteer firefighter for West Fork when he was a teenager.
Then shortly after high school, he went to work for the Eureka Springs Fire Department for a year.
Tabor then worked for the Washington County Sheriff’s office for six months before joining Fayetteville.
He served in many roles before being promoted to police chief in 2006. Tabor is the second longest-serving police chief for the City of Fayetteville.
Taber says today was a bittersweet moment and the past 34 years has gone by really fast.
“I think I’ve had a good run and I think we’ve done some good things at the police department during my time there and as my time as Chief," Tabor said. "You know I’m reminded of a saying that goes, 'leave it better than you found it' and I think we’ve done a good job doing that. Like I said I don’t take all the credit because it’s a team effort. You have to be surrounded by the right people and have the right employees to make anything work, so I think we’ve done a good job of being more transparent, being more professional over the last few years."
Taber says he’s retiring now because the way his retirement is set up, 35 years is the most he can do and his time at Eureka Springs counts towards his 35 years of service.
The mayor has named Deputy Chief Mike Reynolds the interim chief, but the mayor will not name an official replacement until after Tabor retires.