Terry Dunlap
With 60 years as a peace officer, 32 as a Violet Township trustee and countless more spent with other organizations, Terry Dunlap Sr. has spent decades in public service, adhering to his grandfather Lewis’ words: “Give where you live” and “Be part of the solution.”
In May, the Pickerington Area Chamber of Commerce (PACC) honored Dunlap with the second-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
Reflecting on his service, Dunlap is proud to help people while also caring for his family. He encourages others to make the same commitment to their families and communities.
“People say, ‘I don’t have time.’ Yeah, you do. A busy person always has time, even for home. They adjust. They make time,” Dunlap says.
The road to service
Terry Dunlap
Dunlap, 1942
The grandson of generations of farmers, Dunlap grew up in Pickerington, attending Pickerington schools through seventh grade. His father, Raymond, was a minister and moved the family to Etna, where Dunlap eventually graduated from the newly founded Watkins Memorial High School in 1957.
Dunlap took vocational agriculture as a sophomore and also recalls riding his Whizzer motorbike down to his grandfather’s farm to lend a hand, but always wanted to be in law enforcement.
Terry Dunlap
Dunlap, 1980
He became a peace officer in 1958 before marrying Carolyn Fisher in 1959, who he met by chance after she swapped places with his blind date. The couple settled in Canal Winchester, raising three children – Kristi, Terry Jr. and Debra – spending nearly 45 years together before Carolyn’s passing in 2004.
Dunlap made family a priority, even when it interfered with his burgeoning career.
In 1961, having just had their second child, Dunlap was a cadet dispatcher for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, about to complete the Academy when the commander told him his assignment: Ashtabula.
“I said, ‘That’s a four-hour drive. I can’t commute and go up there and leave my wife with a 1-year-old and a newborn.’ The commander said, ‘Well, you got a choice, don’t you? Your family or the patrol family?’ ... I said, ‘I’m looking out for my family,’” Dunlap says.
Afterwards, he volunteered as an auxiliary officer for the Pickerington Police Department. In the early ’70s, he and Carolyn were also volunteer dispatchers, taking emergency calls from their home.
Dunlap worked his way up to captain before retiring in 1985. He additionally served the Harrisburg Police Department for 22 years and retired as captain in 2018.
Keeping kids on track
Terry Dunlap
While Dunlap enjoyed many facets of being an officer, such as getting unsafe drivers off the road, a source of satisfaction that he says stands out was his “You Owe Me” book, in which he gave misbehaved kids a second chance.
“Sometimes you catch kids doing something they’re not supposed to be doing... It wasn’t serious enough to send him to juvenile court,” Dunlap says.
Rather than telling a kid’s parents about their transgression, he documented their name in the book, allowing them to make amends and work towards improving themselves, such as raising their grades or engaging with school programs and making better friends.
“I tried to make things right for young people, to get them on the right road,” Dunlap says.
He says a handful of kids have thanked him now as adults.
“I’ve had a couple come to me and say, ‘You saved me,’ and I said, ‘I didn’t save you. I just pointed you down another road, and you took it,’” Dunlap says.
Training future first responders
Terry Dunlap
Dunlap also invested in kids in the community through roles such as Cubmaster for Pack 256, scouting district advisor and umpire for his son’s Little League team. He also helped establish the Fire and Police Explorer post, a co-ed program through Boy Scouts of America that provided hands-on training to older youth.
At the time, in the late ’70s, Pickerington’s fire and police departments relied on volunteers. Dunlap says the Explorer post had an agreement with Pickerington High School allowing the Explorers to assist the departments. The Explorers also helped fill in dispatch roles.
“They were 16 but they were well-trained,” Dunlap says. “They did a wonderful job. I’m proud to say that a lot of them went on into Fire/EMS and law enforcement work.”
He recalls that, on a road trip to the National Explorer Olympics in Colorado, the Explorers rendered aid to two women whose camper had overturned in a wreck. He says they also directed traffic, collected driver’s licenses and gathered witness statements, impressing the ranger who showed up at the scene and later earning the Explorers recognition at the competition.
Terry Dunlap
Terry Dunlap
A legacy of service
Throughout the years, Dunlap has worn many hats, including roles such as Pickerington’s Service Director, police academy instructor and officer for Nationwide Insurance’s Security and Investigations Division.
Notably, he became a Violet Township trustee in 1994, between campaigns for Fairfield County Sheriff in ’92 and ’96.
As a trustee, Dunlap had many achievements, which were highlighted by Violet Township and PACC, including expanding Fire and EMS protection and station locations and improving parks, roads, infrastructure and public services.
He also secured economic opportunities for Violet Township by advocating for a Cooperative Economic Development Agreement (CEDA) and Joint Economic Development Districts (JEDD).
“I’m proud of those two accomplishments. I got them started up and got them going and then was able to see through to the finale. That’s good for the township (and) good for the community,” Dunlap says.
He says he’s honored to serve the people of Pickerington.
“The community was good for me and good to me. It worked out,” Dunlap says.
Amanda Stevens is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at astevens@cityscenemediagroup.com.
