Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Gatesville Police Chief Brad Hunt, who has been in law enforcement for 29 years, recently spoke to the Gatesville Lions Club about the force’s involvement during the recent eclipse.
“I was hired as the chief of police in February, and it was not part of the incoming process to talk about the eclipse, and about two weeks after I got here, Cheri Shepherd let me get settled in my office and then said, ‘Hey you, have you heard about the eclipse?’ We started planning from there.” Hunt said that, without Cheri’s help, some of the planning would have fallen on his shoulders.
“First, we had a lot of positive press coverage, there was a lot of Gatesville news out by KWTX, KXXV, and The Gatesville Messenger – those were the main three - and when I was looking at coming to Gatesville back in January and you would do a Google search of Gatesville, there was a hospital explosion, a flood, and a convict that escaped from the sheriff’s office, and that’s what the news was about in Gatesville,” he said.
In comparison, Hunt pointed out, “Now, if you do that same search for Gatesville, it would be that there were 62 stories in a ten-minute search about the eclipse and what Gatesville has done or did do about the eclipse – a lot of positive stories out of that.” Hunt continued, “So, to me, that was the word about our town out there. What I found out since is that this is a close-knit community and a very giving community.”
During the eclipse, Hunt reported that Gatesville had visitors from 30 states and 19 countries, including Amsterdam, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Columbia, Ireland, and Japan to name a few. “Personally, I met dozens and dozens of people over that weekend from all over the world. My own relatives came in from South Carolina. Every single person that I encountered had nothing but positive things to say about Gatesville.”
Hunt said the visitors were not only pleased about the event and how the preparations were made in advance, but also who the people were in the community and their friendliness. “So, I’m now so proud to be a part of a community that’s like that,” he said.
