A graduate of Ardmore High School and longtime Ardmore resident has been named the community’s new chief of police after a special joint meeting of the city and town councils.

Jereme Robison returns to Ardmore Police Department after more than 15 years in law enforcement, including more than a year as a reserve officer for the department. Robison said he worked for the late William “Doc” Oliver, who retired from his role as the Ardmore police chief in 2010.

“I never really wanted to leave Ardmore,” Robison said, but an offer to join the Pulaski (Tennessee) Police Department was too good to pass up. He spent 13 years with the department before returning to Ardmore.

“I loved Pulaski,” Robison said. “They taught me a lot and made me a way better police officer than I was. Hopefully, I can take that back home and bring Ardmore into a different era.”

For the 37-year-old father of three, that era includes interacting more with the Ardmore community, rebuilding the reserve police program and giving social media a larger role in communication between the department and the people it serves.

“There’s other things — food drives, toy drives,” Robison said. “I want to use social media to our advantage and try to get the public involved with the police department on a more personal note, so they can feel a part of everything. They can help us, and we can help them.”

He also wants to work on getting officers better trained so they are more of an asset to the people they protect and serve, he said. His family has moved around North Alabama, but to him, Ardmore will always be home.

“I’m a hometown boy,” Robison said. “I grew up here, I graduated high school here. … My parents are from there, my grandparents are from there, and same for my wife. That’s just home — always has been.”