Published: November 24, 2009 08:16 am      

Hanging it up after 25 years

Picard retires from Vidor PD

VIDOR — After more than 25 years of service, Ted Picard is calling it a career.

A special ceremony was held Monday afternoon in honor of Sgt. Ted Picard of the Vidor Police Department who recently announced his retirement. Picard has spent the past 25 years working at Vidor P.D., including most of the last 20 years as a patrol sergeant.

“This is really a bittersweet day for me,” Picard said. “It’s sweet because it’s something I know I am ready for, but it’s bitter at the same time because these people I work with are like family to me, and I won’t see them on a daily basis anymore.”

Picard said he plans on spending his time working on land he owns and remodeling his house, but he also plans on remaining active.

“I plan on staying busy,” Picard added. “I’ve worked security with the school district for several years, so I hope to continue doing that when possible.”

Picard joined the Vidor Police Department at the age of 36 and has spent the past 27 years — 25 active and 2 years on reserve — with Vidor P.D. Prior to that he worked as security at North Star Steel as well as nine years in the U.S. Army which included a stint with military police.

In an age when longevity at one job is not as common as it once was, this Port Arthur native moved to Vidor in 1976 after his service in the U.S. Army and has remained here ever since.

“Vidor is a growing city and it has a lot of good people and is a good community,” Picard said. “It wasn’t hard for me to decide I wanted to stay here all of these years.”



Tommy Mann Jr. is a reporter for The Orange Leader. He can be reached at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com