BEAVERCREEK — When he graduated from college in the late 1970s, Dennis Evers thought about going to law school.

A friend suggested he look into law enforcement instead.

That turned out to be some pretty sage advice.

Evers was honored by the Beavercreek City Council Monday for his four decades of law enforcement after he announced his retirement as police chief effective Jan. 9, 2021.

“I’ve never regretted that decision,” Evers said during the meeting. “How could I? I never had a day when I did not want to come to work. I truly appreciated the blessings of getting to do a job I truly love.”

Deputy Chief Jeff Fiorita, who has been with the department since 1992, was appointed to be the new chief by City Manager Pete Landrum and approved by council Monday. He will take over Jan. 10, 2021.

Evers began his law enforcement career in 1977 with the Sugarcreek Township Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer, sergeant and lieutenant. He also served as the supervisor of the Greene County Cooperative Crime Unit, a multi-jurisdictional investigative unit based at the Beavercreek Police Department, targeting robberies, burglaries and thefts across Greene County.

Evers joined the Beavercreek Police Department in 1982 and has served as a patrol officer, detective, sergeant, and captain until June 2011, when he was appointed chief of police. That same year the department was faced with the largest turnover in personnel in its history due to retirements.

“What we learned through that experience is the organization is not about one individual,” Evers said. “As individuals leave, including the chief, opportunities present themselves for the next person to step up to the challenge and step outside their comfort zone. Those leaders of tomorrow become the leaders of today. I could not be happier for deputy Chief Fiorita that he’s having this opportunity to step up to be a leader of today.”

State Rep. Rick Perales (R-Beavercreek) cited the leadership of Evers when presenting a proclamation from the state.

“He’s done so much for the city and the community,” Perales said. “You’ve taken this city through some tough times.”

Evers has received numerous awards for his service to the community during his career. Among them are the “Outstanding Community Service Award” from the Greene County Prosecutors Office Victim/Witness Division and the State of Ohio “Exemplary Service Award.” He also was nominated for the prestigious Ohio Silver Star Award for his work on behalf of crime victims when he worked as a detective in the Investigations Division.

Evers was a recipient of the “Police Officer of the Year” award in 1993 and received the Beavercreek Police Department inaugural “Leadership/Integrity Award” in 2003 when the award was established. This award has only been given twice since its inception. In April 2017, Evers received the “David P. Eckart Memorial Award” from the Victim/Witness Division of the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office.

He became the department’s first polygraphist in 1988 and has been an instructor in polygraph techniques and interview and interrogation methods.

Evers had announced in November 2014 he would retire Jan. 2, 2015, but a month later announced he was remaining with the police department.

“There was still work to be done that I wanted to see finished,” Evers said Monday.

He joked that he won’t miss the Monday council meetings or city staff meetings. But no doubt he will miss putting on the uniform every day.

“Police work is a calling,” Evers said. “And once it gets in your blood, as it did mine, there is no other career choice I could have made that would have been as rewarding as this one has been to me. I’m truly honored and humbled and blessed to have served the great community for 38 and a half years.”

All because of a suggestion decades ago.