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PrintAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American job tenure is 4.6 years. Not so for Larry Thomas, who has worked in his current position as Gardner-Webb's police captain for nearly 40 years.
But it wasn't always that way for Thomas. As a GWU student and graduate, the Shelby native assumed a number of surprisingly varied roles.
Thomas came to Gardner-Webb in 1960 after attending six different schools between the 1st and 12th grades. At first, he majored in psychology and found himself filling in as president of student government.
"As a student, I played football as a linebacker when I weighed only 165 pounds," Thomas recalls. "Then I was asked to be manager of the basketball team. I didn't even know what that was. But I took the job, and we had two great years."
Thomas took a break from school to serve as a medic and psychiatric specialist in the U.S. Army. After returning to Boiling Springs, he graduated with a degree in religion and began working on campus. Prior to serving as a campus police officer and current captain, he worked as sports information director for the public relations office and head of the Bulldog Club, the athletic fundraising arm of Gardner-Webb.
Thomas, who never imagined being employed by campus police, first heard of the job by happenstance. "I was working with my brother-in-law building houses and just happened to be over here visiting one day when Chief Washburn, who was head of security at the time, out of the blue said, 'You wanna come work for me?' and I said 'sure.' That was on a Friday. I started on Monday. Been here ever since," Thomas said.
Along with security-related duties that come with being a campus police captain, Thomas is the University's locksmith, a position with a skill set he's developed since the beginning of his tenure.
"The first morning I came in, Washburn threw me a ring of keys. 'Go find out what these fit.' That was my start in the key business. I unlocked some doors that hadn't been unlocked in 10 or 12 years. I've loved it ever since," Thomas said.
Times have changed since Thomas began working at Gardner-Webb. Back then, he remembers female dormitories and the library closing at 9 p.m.
"I've always had three rules: don't tear anything up, don't hurt anybody and don't park on top of any of my buildings," Thomas said. "If students followed those rules, we got along."
Right around the time he began working his current position over 35 years ago, Thomas decided to start a new hobby: woodworking. Little did he know his work would be featured in a campus art exhibit decades later.
"I started building stuff and just got better," he shared. "I take wood, cut it apart, put it back together and create. Now I usually go home and go to the shop until suppertime. Just getting home, taking off the uniform, putting on shorts and a T-shirt and going into my shop is a good feeling. It's relaxing."
At a point of life when some may consider retiring, Thomas has no plans for that or for ceasing to work. "As long as I'm physically able and enjoy it, I plan on being right here. I've still got some good left in me to help out around here. Besides, I've got to make money to buy some lumber for woodworking."
Thomas, an avid reader, also plans to continue reading during his retirement. Stacked in his office bookshelves are the entire "Jack Reacher" series and a number of Robert Ludlum books, author of "The Bourne Identity" series.
"I like the people here. I've always said that I work for the students. I get paid by the University, but I actually work for the students. Most of the kids on campus are like my kids, and that's the way I treat them. I love this place. It's a good place to go to school."
