{"670309":{"#nid":"670309","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Lawrance Foster Retires After 30 Years on Patrol","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOfficer Lawrance \u201cTim\u201d Foster\u2019s picture of retirement does not include sitting in a rocker on the porch. After officially retiring in 2022 from the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/police.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Police Department\u003C\/a\u003E as a patrol officer, he quickly realized he needed to keep busy. He talked to Chief Rob Connolly, who asked him if he would like to be a recruiter. Now Foster works two days a week as a recruiter for the department. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cI review resumes and applications, and I interview applicants,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very different from being on patrol, but I\u2019m loving it.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFor 30 years Foster patrolled the campus, and he was a training officer. \u201cTraining new officers was something I just loved doing. I enjoyed showing them the ropes at the start of their career. I\u2019m still in contact with a lot of my trainees who moved on to other departments.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFoster\u2019s law enforcement career began in his hometown, Spartanburg, South Carolina. He worked for the Spartanburg County Sheriff\u2019s Office for seven years before joining Georgia Tech in 1992, as Atlanta was preparing to host the 1996 Summer Olympics with Georgia Tech as the home of the Olympic Village. \u201cAt the time, there were abandoned houses and properties along the edge of campus. That was cleaned up, and the campus later expanded across the Fifth Street Bridge, creating Tech Square.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFoster received the Officer of the Year Award in 2012 and the Chief\u2019s Choice Award for Special Recognition in 2021. He has had a front row seat to the highs and lows of campus life, from seeing the campus come together to celebrate the Olympics or to mourn after 9\/11. \u201cI have met people from all around the world \u2014 foreign dignitaries, U.S. presidents, governors, mayors, athletes, and entertainers,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat I will miss most is the training and interaction with new officers and the interaction with students, faculty, and staff on campus. Georgia Tech is a good place to work.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ENow that he works part-time, Foster plans to spend more time with his young adult children, two daughters and a son. He also has a dream vacation in mind. \u201cI want to go to Egypt to see the pyramids, and I want to cruise the Nile River. That\u2019s number one on my bucket list.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFaculty and staff who retired between March 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, will be honored at this year\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/specialevents.gatech.edu\/retirement-celebration\u0022\u003ERetirement Celebration\u003C\/a\u003E on Tuesday, Oct. 10, beginning at 4 p.m. at the Biltmore Ballrooms. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EInstitute Retirement Celebration 2023 is Oct. 10.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Institute Retirement Celebration 2023 is Oct. 10."}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2023-10-09 19:50:15","changed_gmt":"2023-10-10 14:32:28","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-10-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-10-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671992":{"id":"671992","type":"image","title":"Officer Lawrance \u0022Tim\u0022 Foster","body":"\u003Cp\u003EOfficer Foster retires after 30 years on patrol with the Georgia Tech Police Department.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1696895348","gmt_created":"2023-10-09 23:49:08","changed":"1696895568","gmt_changed":"2023-10-09 23:52:48","alt":"Officer Lawrance \u0022Tim\u0022 Foster ","file":{"fid":"255167","name":"Officer Lawrance Foster.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/09\/Officer%20Lawrance%20Foster.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/10\/09\/Officer%20Lawrance%20Foster.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":192786,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/10\/09\/Officer%20Lawrance%20Foster.jpg?itok=_xU_x0Kn"}}},"media_ids":["671992"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/specialevents.gatech.edu\/retirement-celebration","title":"Retirement Celebration"}],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"},{"id":"1303","name":"GT Police Department"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}