Retired Sheriff Earl Holcombe Receives Honor Award at Oconee County Sheriff’s Office

Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw and former Oconee County Sheriff Earl Holcombe

(Walhalla, SC)-------------------------------------At a ceremony held this past Wednesday at the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, retired Sheriff Earl Holcombe received an award from the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association.

Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw presented Sheriff Holcombe with an Honor Award for Public Service Certificate and Medal.  Many former and current Sheriff’s Office employees, who either worked for or were hired during Sheriff Holcombe’s administration, were in attendance.

“I have been wanting to do something for quite some time to honor Sheriff Holcombe, as well as provide an opportunity to get some former employees back here to the Sheriff’s Office,” according to Sheriff Crenshaw.  “There is a rich and storied history at the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and I want our newer employees to understand that history.  I was glad that some of our newer Deputies were able to attend the ceremony Wednesday and meet with Sheriff Holcombe and some of the former employees who were there.”

Sheriff Holcombe formerly served as Police Chief in Westminster and was Oconee County Sheriff from 1981 through 1992.  During Sheriff Holcombe’s time in office, the Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit was created, along with the implementation of the D.A.R.E. program in public schools, as well as the creation of S.E.R.T. (Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team), which was the forerunner of the current Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. team. 

“In an example of how things have evolved with the Sheriff’s Office as Oconee County has grown over the years, there were less than 20 Deputies when Sheriff Holcombe took office in 1981.  Now, the Sheriff’s Office has over 100 sworn Deputies as our county has grown,” says Sheriff Crenshaw.  “We are grateful to Sheriff Holcombe, and all those who have held the office of Sheriff before me, for the great work they did that has helped to pave the way for what we are able to accomplish in the present.”