Interview by Abernathy Cochran intern and North Hall High senior Tori Skinkle
Meet Greg Cochran! Born and raised in Dahlonega, Greg has been with the Hall County Sheriff’s office since 2014 and is currently a Captain. He has been in law enforcement for a total of 25 years, having worked in other districts before Hall County. Greg is very active in the community and has even been a part of many successful fundraisers. He currently holds the world record for flipping a 550-pound tire 205 times in one hour.
We want to thank Greg for spending time with us recently and telling us more about his life and love of Hall County.
Question: What Inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “I think a lot of it was just the way that I was raised and brought up and a desire to help my fellow man. I didn’t think about law enforcement until a local Sheriff in Dahlonega asked my father, said, ‘Has Greg ever thought about law enforcement?’ And they asked me and all of a sudden I’m in law enforcement and I haven’t looked back since. It’s always been a part of my life, that was in 1991, so it’s been a while.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “Luna’s. I love their filet and Lobster tail.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “I’ve lived in Hall County since 1993, on and off working. I had some other jobs in law enforcement that pulled me out of Hall County, but I’ve been here at Hall County Sheriff’s Office since 2014.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met in Hall County and why?
A: ” I think that would be Jeff Cline. He was one of those people that you could talk to and just never really got tired of talking to. You find yourself talking with people and it’s like you feel yourself inching away and you’re done but it wasn’t that way with him. He always had a unique take on life, and he was very interesting to talk to.”
Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?
A: “Starting to play music with my father. We played bluegrass Gospel on the weekends, I started playing guitar and it kind of brought the community together. We always had gatherings where we played music so I’d say that would be it.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
A: “Scotland and it’s where the Cochran name, my last name originated from.”
Q: What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “‘Jaws’, The original ‘Jaws’ And it’s a toss-up between ‘Jaws’ and the original ‘Smokey and the Bandit.’ They were both very close together, but ‘Jaws’ was the first.”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “If you’re the smartest person in the room, find another room.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “Scotland, for sure. And I hope that one day, I’ll have my entire family together, just for that one day when everybody can be there. It’s really hard to get everybody together because I have a law enforcement family and a military family. As simple as that.”
Q: What is your favorite music/three bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: “80s Rock, AC/DC, Def Leppard, and probably Metallica.”
Q: What local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County and why?
A: “The old Coca-Cola building. For some reason, I remember seeing that as a kid and thinking it was the coolest building ever. And I don’t know why, it was just one of those things that stuck out. I think when I go by that building, I remember being with my mother and my father coming to town.”
Q: Choosing anyone (past or present and a non-relative), with whom would you love to have lunch? And where locally would you have this lunch?
A: “President Ronald Reagan and I think I’m going to take him to Poor Richard’s. Luna’s is my favorite restaurant in town because it has some special memories for me. But Poor Richard’s to me is like ‘the guys’ place’ and I think it would be cool just to sit back and have a steak and talk to him for an hour or two.”
Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “Honestly, it’s how much the community supports law enforcement. We’ve been through some tragedy in the past several years, we’ve had some line-of-duty deaths and I just see the community come together, and not only within law enforcement but also with my world records and fundraisers. As big as we are, we still have a really good small-town home feel, and that means a lot to me.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?
A: “In five years, still doing what I’m doing. I’m a captain here, I don’t anticipate changing much because I like what I do. In 10 years.”
Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “I’m kind of an open book. When I’m away from here, I always talk about my world records and the movie I was in. Of course, everybody here knows that. But as much as I’m out here in the community, I’m really a homebody when it boils down to it.”
Q: What three words mean “home” to you?
A: “Family, Faith, and Dahlonega. I mean, even though I’ve been here for as long as I have, Dahlonega is home.”
Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose?
A: “I think I would choose my daughter and she would volunteer with the homeless because she has the biggest heart that I know. It wouldn’t be an employee for me, that would be her role if I had those resources.”
