The Valmeyer Police Department recently brought on a new full-time hire, welcoming an experienced officer back home after a lengthy career outside the community.

Having grown up in the village, Terry Marquardt graduated from Valmeyer High School in 1992.

Immediately after graduation, he began working as a mechanic, though he eventually found that this line of work simply didn’t suit him.

In 2000, Marquardt began working part-time as a police officer in New Athens, attending police academy and serving as a full-time officer a few years later.

Marquardt said he didn’t find himself drawn to law enforcement for any particular reason. It was simply something he had previously been exposed to, and it seemed to be a better fit for him compared to mechanics.

“It was just something that, for whatever reason, piqued my interest,” Marquardt said. “I did quite a few ride-alongs in Valmeyer right out of high school… I did a lot of riding with the sheriff’s department just to see if that’s what I wanted to do, and after riding with them it just piqued my interest and I kept on the run with it.”

As a police officer, Marquardt moved from town to town several times. Having started his career in New Athens, he spent the bulk of his time – 18 years – in Freeburg. Most recently, he served with the St. Clair Sheriff’s Department for about a year and a half.

He’s filled a number of different roles over the years, working with the K-9 unit in Freeburg, serving with the St. Clair County drug unit and working in the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force.

While no particular anecdotes came to mind, Marquardt did describe his experience as an officer generally positively.

“It’s been a good career,” Marquardt said. “I was turning wrenches, and I got to a point where I didn’t care for that. That was something I didn’t want to do all my life… Part-time was kind of a good test. It got me on the street doing real work, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

He expressed satisfaction with being able to work in his original hometown – noting that he moved back to the area both because of the job with the VPD and his family’s recent purchase of his parent’s nearby hog farm.

Marquardt also mentioned that the workload has been a nice change of pace, with Valmeyer police work involving far less paperwork than he dealt with at the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department.

“It’s just nice to be back home, local,” Marquardt said. “All the family’s right here. It’s home. I’ve always loved the little town of Valmeyer. Everything worked out, and I’m more than glad to be here.”

Valmeyer Police Chief Marty Seitz spoke quite highly of Marquardt, emphasizing his high expectations for the department’s latest addition.

“He’s gonna be a great asset to our department,” Seitz said. “He’s been a cop for 20-plus years. He’s got a lot of experience, and I just couldn’t be happier to have him as part of the department… He just brings a wealth of knowledge to the department.”

Marquardt expressed his hopes for his time serving the community.

“Overall, we’ll help take care of our people and keep everybody safe,” Marquardt said.

Seitz also spoke about the state of the VPD in general, noting he had previously been the only full-time officer for some time, with the department’s work supplemented by part-time officers.

He said the department currently has six part-time officers, and he hopes to bring on one or two more, with one set to join sometime next month.

“We’re just gonna stick with the two full-time, myself and Terry Marquardt,” Seitz said. “The call volume’s not there, and with the additional part-timers, we can supplement it and make the schedule work for us.”

Seitz added that this sort of department operation, with a bulk of officers being part-time, isn’t unusual for many smaller communities.

Given Valmeyer’s size and the relatively small call volume the department contends with, he said it makes sense to keep the number of full-time officers low.

“I know a lot of those departments, those smaller departments, rely heavily on part-time officers, and then of course they have limited full-time,” Seitz said. “We’ve always ran two full-time, and it’s worked out great for us.”