ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Orangeburg Sheriff's Office held their official pinning ceremony on Tuesday morning at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College.
Several officers received their pins and honors from Sheriff Leroy Ravenell.
Chandra Gibbs, who joined the department in 2016, is the first African American female to be the chief deputy of the department.
"Well, representation matters,” Gibbs said. “That is very important to me. But one of the things that we also gravitate to is that leadership, regardless of color, regardless of gender, is needed especially in our field of law enforcement. So to be trusted to serve alongside some of the greatest to ever do it here at the Orangeburg County Sheriff's office is definitely significant for me."
"It’s not lost on me the history of this moment where there are young girls that are sitting in classrooms, and there are those that are in college that are debating about what they want to do but they can see somebody that looks like them, that they can identify with and that makes a difference. And being at the table with the scope of my journey, definitely, I think, will help impact decisions.
Sheriff Leroy Ravenell says promoting Gibbs was an easy decision.
"She's just been somebody that I can go to, somebody that the people trust here at the sheriff's office and she knows her job," Ravenell said "She keeps you going. One of her things is be solution driven. You will always hear her say that, so it wasn't a real hard decision to promote her to this position."