DADE CITY – Pasco’s County commissioners honored two men who each recently retired after decades of service to Pasco County and Dade City on March 11.
They were Ronnie Deese, who retired Jan. 17 from Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, and Chief James Walters, who retired Feb. 28 from the Dade City Police Department.
The resolution the commissioners adopted honoring Deese said, among other things, that he had been hired as the chief financial officer for Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative on Sept. 1, 1988.
During his 36-year career with the cooperative, Deese oversaw annual budgets of $600 million and played a key role in the redevelopment of the Lacoochee area.
His role at the cooperative included locating substation sites and negotiating contracts for pole attachments and towers.
He was involved with the Boys and Girls Club in Lacoochee, with the community of Lake Jovita and with the Walmart Distribution Center coming to Hernando County.
Deese served on several boards, including the Pasco County Fair, Pasco-Hernando State College, AdventHealth Dade City and the Chamber of Commerce.
“I’ve tried to help my community like y’all have,” Deese said, “It’s something we strive to do.
“I’ve had a lot of coworkers, friends and citizens of this county that I have depended upon that I could always go and ask for help, money, whatever was needed to better our community.
They haven’t buried me yet so I plan on continuing these projects.”
Deese added that he had started a new project a few days ago.
“I’d like to see that our senior citizens who are impoverished get an opportunity to go out to a few restaurants and that is a goal of mine,” Deese said. “That’s the new project that we’re taking up.”
Walters became chief of the Dade City Police Department on Aug. 17, 2018, following the retirement of Raymond Velboom.
Walters joined the department as a patrolman in 1995 and moved up in rank over the years including detective, sergeant, captain and chief.
The resolution the commissioners adopted honoring Walters said, among other things, that he was committed to protecting life, property and individual rights while maintaining peace and order, and instilling the core values of respect, integrity, professionalism and service.
Walters taught at what is now Pasco-Hernando State College in the Law Enforcement Academy, from 1999 to 2018, teaching well over 1,000 recruits, many of whom work for the Pasco Sheriff’s Office.
Walters earned a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from St. Leo University in 2006 while he was a sergeant with the police department. He continued to work at the university as an adjunct faculty in the criminal justice program.
Since 2018, Walters made it a priority to host an annual Back to School Shop with a Cop program to help instill confidence in students and ensure they have the essentials to be successful.
He was awarded the President’s Award through the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce in 2019 and elected president of the Tampa Bay Area Chiefs of Police Association in 2022.
Walters promoted his philosophy of the Stop, Walk, and Talk program to assist in fostering a culture of trust within the community of Dade City.
He also fostered strong relationships with Pasco County, Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Pasco County School Board, Pasco County Emergency Management and Pasco County Fire Rescue.
“It’s nothing without the partnerships as you all well know,” Walters told commissioners. “I’m grateful for the partnership that we had and hopefully continue to have with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and just keeping all our citizens and visitors to this community safe.”
