Baldwin County Sheriff Hoss Mack reflects on long career, looks forward to next chapter

BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. ( WKRG ) — The boxes are packed, the office walls are bare, and the man who has been the face of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office since 2007 is saying goodbye.

“There comes a time when you need to pass the torch. There needs to be new energy, there needs to be new ideas.”

For Sheriff Huey Hoss Mack that time is now.

“It is emotional, but I’m really very excited. God has blessed me with the experience so my goal is to I want to share that experience with the other 67 sheriffs in the state.”

It is a career that could have gone in a different direction. His family moved from Atmore to Baldwin County when he was 6 months old. He grew up in Robertsdale, played football, graduated high school, and because the funeral industry was the family business that seemed to be the natural path, “My Dad and I had the proverbial father-son conversation and he said you need to do something else.”

That summer in 1982, his grandfather was murdered and that changed everything. “That kind of put me on the path that led me here to where I am today.”

He joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1989 and never looked back.

Once he announced his retirement to become the Executive Director of the Alabama Sheriff’s Association a lot of folks were looking back honoring his career, remembering the lives he has touched and the leadership he provided that built the sheriff’s office into what it is today.

“When I came to work with the sheriff’s office in 1989 we had 50 or 51 deputies. We have 180 now.”

Saying goodbye is never easy, and despite the tears, he’s ready for the next chapter.

“If I can transition from the blessings of Baldwin County and if I can help these other sheriffs I will consider that a success and I look forward to that challenge.”

He is forever grateful for the trust of the people he served and for the brotherhood of the law enforcement family. “It’s been a great ride,” a ride that officially ends at midnight on August 31, 2024.

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