Gary Fulwiler just retired, and Tracy Sommers is about to retire after serving Centerville schools; Sommers called the SRO role ‘the best job in the world’
Centerville-Washington Twp.’s Americana Festival will pay tribute to two longtime school resource officers who officials say have played “a crucial role” in keeping local schools safe.
Serving as grand marshals for the parade that is the focal point of the event, the largest one-day festival in Ohio, will be Centerville Police Officer Tracy Sommers and retired Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy Gary Fulwiler.
“These guys are well-liked in the community, everybody knows them and they do a lot of great work,” said Mark Metzger, the festival’s president. “They also happened to be retiring, and with that, it gives us an opportunity to focus on something that has continued to grow in our community. We’ve increased the number of SROs.”ExploreWhat should Centerville be? Resident survey kicks off city’s new long-term plan
After a concert and fireworks on July 3, the Americana Festival is July 4 in Centerville, with the 10 a.m. parade going down Franklin and Main streets.
Sommers, who was a school resource officer from 2009 to 2014, and 2019 until the end of the 2024, plans to retire in September. She started her career in March 1999 as a Centerville Police dispatcher and was promoted to police officer in August 1999.
Sommers also is an advisor for the Centerville Police’s Public Safety Cadet program, mentoring students who aspire to become police officers. She has received several recognitions from the Centerville Noon and Evening Optimist Clubs, notably the John P. Kalaman Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award in 2019; and a life-saving award from the CPD. She was also the recipient of the VFW Post 9950 Police Officer of the Year Award in 2020.
Sommers said that through the years, the SRO program has turned into something other than just filling the role of providing security at the schools.
“I can go into any school and all the kids know me and I know them by name, so it’s such a great relationship that we have, the sheriff’s department, the police department and the schools,” she said.
Being a police officer and being able to be in the schools is “the best job in the world,” Sommers said.
“I go to school with the kids every day from start to finish and the relationships that I have with the kiddos … it’s purely amazing,” Sommers said. “We just got done doing Safetyville Square, which is a three-week program in the city of Centerville and it’s the incoming kindergarteners and how fun it is to see them on the first day when they look at me and say, ‘I know you’ (and I say) ‘I know you.’ That’s it right there in a nutshell.”
Fulwiler, who retired in March, worked for the Saint Elizabeth Hospital Police Department and the Ansonia Police Department in Darke County before joining Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in 1999. During his tenure with MCSO, Fulwiler worked road patrol and went on to become certified as an evidence technician and an SRO. He was assigned to Dayton Public Schools prior to his 15 years at Centerville City Schools teaching, mentoring and guiding Montgomery County youth.
During his years at the sheriff’s office, he received numerous letters of recognition, commendations and awards, including the Jonn P. Kalaman Law Enforcement Officer of the year in 2007. He was presented with the Washington Twp. Employee Award of Excellence in 2022, and he received the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy of the Month in both 2014 and 2023. During his time at the sheriff’s office, Fulwiler assisted in organizing the annual Safetyville Square pre-kindergarten program with the Centerville Noon Optimist Club. He developed the cruise-in portion of the Cruise-In to the Ice Cream Social put on by the township and MCSO at the Washington Twp. RecPlex.
