Interview by Abernathy Cochran intern and North Hall High School senior Tori Skinkle
Meet Dan Franklin! Dan works for the Hall County Sheriff’s Office where he currently serves as the Assistant Commander of Investigations. This March will mark his 28th anniversary with the department, this is the only law enforcement job he has ever had and he has been with Hall County for the entire duration. Born and raised in Duluth, Dan now lives in Lawrenceville with his wife of 26 years. Together, he and his wife have three children; a 25-year old daughter who teaches elementary school, a 21-year old son who is in college, and a 13 year-old daughter who is in eighth grade.
We would like to thank Dan for sharing more about his life and love for Hall County!
Question: What inspired or led you to your current career?
Answer: “My parents had a lot to do with it. Law enforcement was actually a second choice for me. I joined the Army after high school and initially aimed to become a helicopter pilot. However, I had to start wearing glasses within my first year, I kind of got stuck on my stepping stone because I signed an enlistment to do aircraft structural repair, which is like paint and body work on helicopters. And so I started looking for alternative careers. During my time in the Army, I took some college classes while stationed in Korea. I enrolled in ‘Fundamentals of Criminal Law’ and ‘Criminal Investigation I.’ The final exam for the criminal investigations class involved recreating a crime scene that the instructor had worked on in Korea. Our group was the only one to solve it, and I found it intriguing. This, coupled with my mom’s interest in true crime and my dad’s experiences as a volunteer fire chief in Duluth, sparked my interest in law enforcement. My mom was always a true crime buff, reading hardback books on the subject. When she finished a book, she’d pass it my way. She was particularly interested in stories about seemingly perfect wives in small towns who suddenly commit heinous acts. On the other hand, my dad, a volunteer fire chief in Duluth in the late fifties, shared stories of riding along with his best friend from the Gwinnett County Police Department during major incidents. What truly tipped the scales for me was the final exam in the criminal investigations class. Our group’s ability to solve the crime scene, especially my contribution in finding a crucial note under the bed, convinced me that this was a field I could excel in.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County? And what do you love there?
A: “I’m a barbecue guy, so this question could cause controversy. I’m going to have to go with Moonies, and I’ll choose their brisket.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “I’ve worked in Hall County for almost 30 years. Even though I was born and raised in Gwinnett, my parents split when I was quite young, and my mom moved to South Hall County. So, I did live in South Hall County for a few years during my pre-teen years. And my best friend was always here, so that always brought me back.”
Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?
A: “In the very early parts of my life when things were good, I always enjoyed the Christmas season. I had half-siblings, and they would wake me up in the middle of the night to check if Santa came. I had to be the one to wake up the parents around 2:30 in the morning so that they wouldn’t get mad with the little baby coming in to wake them up. But good memories surrounding Christmas, my favorite season of the year.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
A: “I’m trying to think of someplace I’ve always wanted to go, probably somewhere like Paris. This is because my hobby is photography, and I’d love to visit places with a lot of history for the photographic opportunities. Just thinking about the kind of pictures I could capture excites me.”
Q: What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “’Smokey and the Bandit.’”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “Be kind to one another, be patient, and remember the old cliché: be kind to everyone you meet because you never know what kind of battles they’re fighting that you can’t see or don’t know about.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “One thing that’s an easy answer, and though I’ve had opportunities to do this in the past, I haven’t done it yet, is I’d like to take a ride in a B-17 bomber. I love aviation, especially Warbirds. I have ridden in a World War II trainer, but I’ve always wanted a B-17 ride. I’ve had a couple of opportunities, but the money either wasn’t there because it cost a little bit.”
Q: What’s your favorite music or three bands you would like to see dead or alive?
A: “I was actually raised on Bluegrass, but in high school, I was into hairbands and glam metal. Then, that morphed into my current liking for Wolfgang Van Halen. I also listen to a group called Tremonti. However, Bluegrass remains my top genre. There was a group of musicians that got together and called themselves a Bluegrass album band, and they were my top band for the year. I listened to them the most. Unfortunately, many of those guys have passed away, and I’d love to have seen them perform. I also love Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out in the Bluegrass genre. As I mentioned earlier, seeing Wolfgang Van Halen’s band in concert is something I would find really cool.”
Q: What business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County and why?
A: “Road Atlanta is an answer most reflective of me; I’ve been going to Road Atlanta since I was 15 and in the 26 years of Petit Le Mans, I’ve missed 3 of them.”
Q: Choosing anyone with whom would you love to have lunch? And where locally would y’all have this lunch?
A: “I don’t have one in particular, perhaps a former sheriff from way back, just to see how things were back in the day, listen to some more stories from before modern times, and understand how law enforcement worked in this area during that time period. Then, for lunch, I would let that person pick the place and see where they take us—whether it’s a current day choice or if we’re time traveling. But we might as well go to Curt’s. I guess if we’re talking about law enforcement and learning about history, that would be a good place to do it.”
Q: What’s your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “The history—I think it’s a very diverse community. It’s always been interesting to me, especially growing up in Gwinnett and coming to a place where, although the gaps are filling in now from what everyone that lives here considers Atlanta, there used to be like a 30-minute drive to get to Gainesville. Gainesville was all-encompassing; you used to have the Mountain Center, an arena, a destination for shows, and its own airport, a kind of self-contained area. I think it’s cool because of the lake here, and there are so many diverse places. It’s not that hard to get out and find someplace in Hall County that looks like it did 50, 60, 70 years ago.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?
A: “Hopefully, I’m still around, that’s the important thing. I’ll be working at the sheriff’s office, that’s for sure, at least, on the five-year mark. Just staying healthy would be nice and doing what I’m doing because I really love my job.”
Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “Well, it comes down to two things. I’m a Desert Storm veteran; I served during Desert Storm, and not a lot of people know that. Additionally, I’m a liver transplant recipient, having reached five years post-transplant. While family and those close to me are aware, I don’t think many others know. So, if you’re not an organ donor, please consider it if you can.”
Q: What three words mean home to you?
A: “Family, Love and Stability.”
Q: If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?
A: “Steve Carell; I’ve seen him in comedic and serious roles and I think he’s an excellent actor. So I think that would be a good experience.”
Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose?
A: “My wife does a good job at all those things. So, if I hire somebody to replace her, she might think she’s not good at one of them. I don’t want to put her in that position, a double-edged sword. But one of the toughest things she has to do every day is to cook after being at work, so I would say a chef would be a good choice. It’s not that my wife isn’t a good cook; I’m just trying to take the burden off of everybody. And it’s a good time at my house to sit around and catch up from the day when we’re eating.”
