“ It ’ s about serving and helping people , and that ’ s what you do ,” Kavanaugh said . “ I recall that , carrying that from my father and my grandfather .”
For Grant , he said seeing his family and his father take pride in helping others made him want to join public service , even as early as 9 or 10 years old .
“ I knew that I had it in me to do ,” Grant said . “ I ’ ve got family members that are police officers , my brother is a corrections officer in Clark County . I knew I had a hankering for it . I ’ d go down to the firehouse on Walnut street and hang out there . Had a liking for what they were doing .”
MARVIN GRANT For 20 years , he served Jeffersonville Police in different capacities . Shawn Grant said his dad , Marvin , inspired him , supported him and helped him follow in his footsteps .
Growing up , Shawn said Jeffersonville was always kind of a small town , so everyone knew his dad was a police officer . Watching him go out on calls and come back with stories . He said it always felt like public service was going to be a part of his life .
“ I ’ d always talk about this and my mom always had these aspirations for me to be a firefighter ,” Shawn said . “ Public safety was in my family , everything we did was centered around public safety .”
He said Marvin served as a detective , a squad leader , and retired as a major in 1990 or 1991 . He died in 2011 .
While public safety wasn ’ t where he began his career , he said it was always on his mind . He said seeing his dad in uniform always caught his attention , and he thought policing might be his career , too .
“ You know , you ’ re in your 20s and things just seem cool to you ,” Shawn said . “ I thought ‘ man , that ’ s something I ’ d want to try .’”
FIRE CHIEF SHAWN GRANT
After working as a welder at Jeffboat following high school , Shawn told his dad he wanted to join the police force , but Marvin had other advice for him .
“ I told him ‘ I think going to try something different ,’ and I was going to apply for the police department ,” Shawn said . “ He turned around in his chair and he said ‘ no , you want to be a fireman ,’ and now I ’ ve been here 25 years . It ’ s been a long , hard road , but a very rewarding one .”
Another incident at Jeffboat helped solidify his dad ’ s advice in his mind — a fire broke out at work and the Jeffersonville Fire Department responded . He said when he saw the fire truck whip around the
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