CHRISTIANSBURG (WSLS 10) - Montgomery County will say goodbye in 2016 to a long-time community protector.
Sheriff Tommy Whitt is retiring at the end of the year after 39 years as a police officer in the New River Valley.
Recommended Videos
He joined the Marine Corps right after high school, then went to the Christiansburg Police Department in 1976. From there, he became a Montgomery County deputy in 1984, and was elected sheriff in 2004.
Whitt said he is proud of how far the department has come, including the school resource officer program and promoting a female officer to a command position for the first time ever.
Whitt said he will miss his relationships the most.
Sheriff-elect Hank Partin will officially take over for Whitt January 1st.