devotion and gratitude, it was Ace Little. His long and
successful career as both a coach and administrator spoke
volumes about the kind of man he was.
Since Kirk’s degree was in Behavior Disorders, he was
qualified to teach and counsel inmates classified as “high
max” and “high max segregation,” inmates considered
the worst and most dangerous in the state. After a couple
of years, a job at the Training Academy became available
and the Warden, A. D. Thomas, suggested Kirk apply for
the position. “I said, ‘I’m not certified in any kind of law
enforcement training.’” But the Warden was insistent. “He
said, ‘Then I'll send you to school.’”
After graduating at the top of his class, Kirk took
a position with P.O.S.T., the Peace Officer and Training
Council. He was quickly promoted up the ladder of
command from Public Safety Training Instructor 1 to
manager over the Southeast Georgia Law Enforcement
Training Center.
He was responsible for teaching firearms and defensive
tactics to law enforcement, federal marshals, sheriffs, police
departments, and basically anyone in law enforcement in
Georgia that needed the training. Kirk had some incredible
experiences and opportunities that included working the
1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the G8 Summit on
Sea Island in 2004.
All this time, Kirk continued to raise and train horses
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as well as help his father with their small herd of cattle. In
2000, his father passed away. “I remember thinking, ‘This
is going to be impossible to try to run without Daddy.’” He
sold the entire herd along with all his hay equipment. All
that remained from his childhood dream was a few horses.
That same year, Kirk met his future wife, Lisa. They
married the following year and began their lives together
as a new family. “I had two boys, and Lisa had two boys,”
said Kirk. With a new season in life came a renewed hope
in an old dream. “I went to Ashburn, Georgia, with Melvin
McBride, and we bought about fifty head of commercial
cattle.”
When Kirk developed Meniere’s disease–an inner
ear disorder that can cause hearing loss and dizzy spells
(vertigo)–he eventually lost all hearing in one ear. With the
right treatment, the disease was manageable, but even after
two surgeries, the damage to his hearing was irreversible.
In 2009, the loss of hearing led to his retirement
from law enforcement. It is doubtful that raising cattle
would make the top ten list of things people plan to do in
retirement, but for the cowboy kid from Partin Park, it was
the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. With the land his father
gave him all those many years ago, Kirk had everything he
would need to start “Solid Ground Farms,” a name he took
from a Bible verse in Psalms 143, “…May Your good Spirit
lead me on solid ground.”
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