VALDOSTA — As the crime reporter, I meet and work with several law enforcement officers every day. However, with all the contact I keep with officers who handle the thefts, violent crimes and accidents, it is rare that I get the time with speak with the officers who handle policy and procedure for a law enforcement agency.

I recently expressed an interest in meeting a “behind the scenes” law enforcement officer to Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine. He recommended Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Major Logan Henderson, who he described as a “longtime friend and a good guy.”

Despite his quiet demeanor, Henderson opened up and shared interesting details from his life with me during our interview. Here is his story:

Logan Henderson was born in North Carolina in the mountains. His family moved to Lake City, Fla., when he was 5 years old. Henderson spent the remainder of his childhood in Lake City and graduated from high school in 1968.

“After I graduated, I went to a school in Nashville, Tenn., for auto and diesel mechanics and welding,” Henderson said. “A few months before I was to finish, I found out that my next-door neighbor from back home got killed in Vietnam, so I decided to quit school and join the Air Force.”

Between quitting school and going active duty, Henderson relocated to Valdosta to take some classes at Valdosta Technical College. During that time he met and began dating Sue Lindsey of Valdosta.

Henderson went over to Vietnam in 1970 and worked with ammunition.

“I handled anything from small firearms to large explosives,” he said.

Henderson was stationed at Phan Rang Air Force Base during his one-year stay in Vietnam. He returned home in May 1971.

Although the war exposed Henderson to several things, Henderson said, “I didn’t have it nearly as bad as some of the other guys did.”

Henderson married Sue the month after he returned to the Valdosta.

The couple then moved to Montgomery, Ala., where Henderson was stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base. There he was trained as a firefighter.

“We stayed there for a year. Then I went to Guam and slept in a tent for six months.”

In 1973, Henderson returned to Alabama, and that November he and his wife moved back to Valdosta.

“I worked a few jobs when I got to Valdosta,” he said. “The first job I had in law enforcement was at the Valdosta Municipal Airport. I worked for a department called the Valdosta Crash Rescue and Airport Police. It was a joint fire and police department.”

Meanwhile, Henderson worked part time with the Remerton Police Department, where he served as chief for most of his tenure. He also began to serve on the Lowndes County Drug Squad.

When asked what influenced his decision to get into law enforcement, Henderson replied, “I never really thought about it. In the 1970s jobs were kind of hard to come by. And after working at the airport, I found I liked the policing part more than I liked firefighting.”

After eight years of working for the airport, the city discussed closing the joint fire and police department. Henderson then applied at the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.

“I eventually got called back and asked if I’d like to work on the drug squad.”

In November 1983, Henderson became a drug agent at the sheriff’s office.

Henderson quickly advanced during his tenure at the sheriff’s office. He worked as a drug agent for two years, then became a detective. After two years in the detective bureau, Henderson was promoted to lieutenant. He maintained that position until leaving the sheriff’s office in June 2005.

“I took a few months off of law enforcement and then went to work for the Echols County Sheriff’s Office,” Henderson said.

Henderson stayed with the Echols County Sheriff’s Office for three years. After Prine was elected Lowndes County’s sheriff, Henderson considered returning to work in Lowndes County.

“Sheriff Prine called me one day and asked me to come by, so I did. I decided to come back to the sheriff’s office after giving the idea some thought.”

Henderson officially returned to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Jan. 1, 2009. He now serves as a major at the sheriff’s office.

He handles personnel paperwork and writes policy for the office. Henderson said his time back with the sheriff’s office has been a learning experience, considering so much has changed in the past four years.

“The changes are mainly due to upgrades in technology in the office,” Henderson said. “The faces have changed as well. There was a time when I could walk around the sheriff’s office and I would know everyone’s name. I never thought I would see the department get so big that I did not know everyone by name.”

In addition to the on-the-job knowledge and expertise Henderson has acquired, he has also obtained training from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, received an associate’s degree in general studies from Georgia Military College, received a bachelor’s degree in general studies from Valdosta State University and completed the Basic Narcotics Investigator’s Course from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

“This job also requires that you take so many classes to help you maintain and develop skills, so I’ve attended several other schools and classes,” he added.

At 58 years old Henderson does not have any plans to leave the sheriff’s office in the near future.

“As long as my health is good, I will continue to work in this field.”

Henderson is proud of where life has taken him thus far and credits all of his accomplishments to the people in his life, as well as the people he works with daily.

“I have worked with a lot of good people and I have learned from the best of them,” he said. “I don’t believe I would be where I am today if it was not for others, and some of them are still here.”

Henderson and his wife, Sue, currently reside in Lake Park. The couple shares one daughter, a son-in-law and an 8-year-old grandson. They live in Echols County.