Page 4 - 2-13-15 Friday's Edition

Features
Assistant Police Chief Leaves Job, But Not Community
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, 51-year-old John Bennett made the transition from Assistant Chief at the Tampa Police Depart- ment to retiree. He shared his celebration at the RICH House in the Robles Park Public Housing Complex with co- workers, friends, and mem- bers of the community.
The transition was bitter- sweet for an individual who had dedicated the majority of
his adulthood to making the streets of Tampa safer. During his tenure of 30 years, Chief Bennett has forged lifelong friendships. And, during those 3 deca+des, he has watched the city change in many ways.
Chief Bennett said that while he is no longer on the payroll, his dedication to the citizens of Tampa hasn’t fal- tered. He plans to serve in a volunteer capacity whenever and wherever needed.
He leaves the department with a two-fold legacy.
The first is the manner in which he rose to his position. Chief Bennett said when he was hired, he never had any intents or desire. “I was fo- cused on the present. I believe that focusing on other things is clearly a distraction. I never dreamed that I would be pro- moted when I started as a pa- trol officer. I’ve spent half of my career in East Tampa.
“I love this city and I want it to continue to have the op- portunity to grow.”
During his career, Chief
Assistant Tampa Police Chief John Bennett is shown outside of the RICH House in Robles Park at his retirement celebration.
Bennett has worked for 6 Chiefs: Robert L. Smith, A. C. McLane, Bennie Holder, the late Eduardo Gonzalez, Stephen Hogue, and Jane Castor. He has also worked for 5 mayors: Bob Martinez, Sandy Freed- man, Dick Greco, Pam Iorio, and Bob Buckhorn.
He is the poster child of starting a career at the bottom and rising to the top. He is a witness that proper work ethics and dedication, makes any goal attainable.
The second legacy, and perhaps most important, is the message he leaves for the next generation. He calls it the “3 Ps.” “Keep your priorities straight; preserve and remain focused; and prayer. You can’t do this job without being on your knees. The answers come
during those quiet moments when you are on your knees.”
As for the future, Chief Bennett said he will remain in the Reserve and help with the transition of leadership be- cause he feels he has an obliga- tion to the department.
At some point, he will get a job, but being a police officer is the only career he will ever have. And, he plans to enjoy spending time with his wife, Mary, and 4 adult children. Three of them are still in col- lege and the oldest has gradu- ated.
Chief Bennett said he will miss the people and en- gaging in the community most of all. But, retirement doesn’t mean he can’t keep in touch.
The one thing he won’t miss is the telephone ringing at all times of night.
Black Facts:
Black Heritage Stamp To Honor Robert Robinson Taylor
The United States Postal Service will dedicate a stamp honoring Robert Robinson Taylor. He was the first African American to graduate from the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology (MIT).
Taylor is also believed to be the first African American academically trained as an ar- chitect.
February 12th was the offi- cial first-day-of-issue for the Black Heritage Forever stamp honoring Taylor. Tay- lor is the 38th inductee into the Postal Service’s Black Heritage Stamp Series.
For more than 30 years, Taylor supervised the design and construction of the Tuskegee Institute, in Ala- bama. He also oversaw the school’s programs in indus- trial education and the build- ing trades. He retired in 1935.
Taylor was a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, and attended school there. After graduating, he worked at his father’s building trade business, but wanted to attend Massachusetts MIT.
He was admitted in Sep-
ROBERT ROBINSON TAYLOR 6/8/1868 --- 12/13/1942
tember 1888, graduating four years later, never failing a class. During his tenure at the school, he was above the class average and earned honors in trigonometry, architectural history, differential calculus, and applied mechanics.
Taylor had designed the chapel at Tuskegee and con- sidered it his outstanding achievement in architect. He collapsed and died while at- tending services in the chapel. He was 74 years old.
The dedication ceremony was held at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D. C., on Febru- ary 12th.
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