VALDOSTA —
Some people become permanent fixtures in their community. Some are like light fixtures that shine light on certain areas, but others, like Valdosta Police Department's Vernotis Williams, illuminate more than a focal area – they pack the lumens and wattage necessary to become beacons for people from all corners of the community.
He graduated from Valdosta High School in 1988 then the police academy in 1991.
He grew up less than a mile from where he works today. He says he’s never been outside of Valdosta for more than three weeks and he tempers each of his achievements with sincere doses of self-scrutiny.
“Vernotis gets upset. Vernotis gets angry and Vernotis does things he wishes he didn’t; that’s all true,” says Williams. “But my mentality is that I want people to give me the benefit of the doubt because I’ve built a solid reputation for myself.”
While his name and reputation mean the world to him and he loves both parents the same, Williams says you can’t give him a higher compliment than comparing him to his late father.
Arthur Lee Williams Jr. passed away two years ago, but Vernotis says he’s doing all that he can to pass along all that he learned from his father.
“My mom did a lot of things for me, but she did more of the nurturing,” says Williams. “My dad instilled in me the value of a good name. He told me if you have a bad name, you won’t get anywhere. But you can get so much further on a good name.”
Williams reflects on the purchase of his first car as a great example of one of the many lessons learned from his father. When Vernotis was 18, his father co-signed for the car and the elder Williams taught him about car maintenance.
“When I paid it off, he told me he was proud of me — it was stuff like that,” says Williams. “That meant a lot to me. He ingrained in me the idea that anything you can work for, you should work hard for it.”
And hard work is something than any member of the community can witness when they spot the stocky crime-prevention officer investing his time and energy into the Valdosta-Lowndes area.
“I’m fortunate to be an officer who’s been given the opportunity to mentor kids as a part of my job,” says Williams. “I hate to sound vain, but the most rewarding thing is to see those kids that I’ve had an opportunity to mentor
become adults, and productive members of society.”
He helps with youth programs and provides guidance to neighborhood watches, but there’s one summer camp experience that he says will stick with him for life.
Williams was mentoring a kid at the DEFY (Drug Education For Youth) summer camp, when he discovered that he had mentored the kid’s father at the same camp during the father’s childhood.
DEFY flyers and neighborhood-watch pamphlets cover the walls of his office, but information on what seems to be his favorite community event is stuffed in oversized envelopes and filed away into a cabinet. Inside the envelopes are receipts.
“I’m proud to tell you, and forgive me for being proud here, but I started the first Shop with a Cop program in Valdosta,” says Williams. “I noticed a lot of thefts around Christmas time that resulted in kids losing their toys or situations where parents were depressed because they didn’t have the financial means to buy gifts for their kids for the holidays -a lot of good, hard-working people but they just couldn't afford it."
The program started eight years ago when Williams collected donations from fellow officers and other associates.
“The first year, we had about 10 kids and $50 per kid. Last year, we had 24 kids, $161 per kids and 20 different officers from different agencies. We had officers from Remerton, VSU, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Lanier County and Echols County come to VPD to take the kids shopping.”
The Shop with a Cop program has done wonders in terms of bolstering the community’s opinion of law-enforcement officers, he says, but he adds the program’s benefits don’t stop there.
“Of all of that, do you know what the most joyful thing is?” queries Williams before warning that the answer may be a shock. “It’s the smiles on the officers’ faces. We are so excited. Each year, we have more and more officers asking to be included in the program.
He’s been with his wife for 22 years. He lost a child to stillbirth, but he has three living children whom he adores.
He fishes with his son and says he’d fish in the rain if it wasn’t for thunder and lightning. He’s a liver and onions man. He disciplines his son by excluding the avid young fisherman from excursions on the lake.
He’s dedicated his life to this community. He starts work on cases from the victim’s point of view. He’s a mentor and a role model. He’s a community fixture.
But at the end of the day, he simply wants to be like his father.
“I hope I’m setting as great of an example for my kids as my dad set for us,” says Williams.
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