Walking the halls of West Henderson High School is our brand new School Resource Officer (SRO), Steve Ridgeway, who is here to put his talents to work. Ridgeway may be here to protect our student body and team of excellent teachers, but he keeps himself just as busy outside his 9-5. With an extensive background in law enforcement, there isn’t anyone more prepared for this job. He has dealt with extreme cases involving homicide, assaults, and everything in between, making him over-prepared, and the best choice to fill the shoes of beloved former SRO, Mitch Jacobsen.
A jack of all trades is the perfect way to describe Ridgeway since he has experience in every realm imaginable. He describes himself as a “big mechanic guy,” and a very skilled welder. Doing it all from construction to plumbing, he is up for any unexpected challenge. One of his favorite parts of doing it all is being able to pass these skills down to his kids. Along with family reunions and fundraiser events, he gets most of his joy from loved ones and staying active. Described as an “all-around spectacular guy” by peers, Ridgeway remains involved in his community, especially at his church, Upward Christian Fellowship here in Hendersonville. You can find him in any corner of the church working hard and staying involved. Ridgeway is always happy to help, whether it is leading a group or back on the cook line.
When he was young, he enjoyed art and even designed the cover for his high school yearbook. Playing hockey and dabbling in other sports like basketball and baseball were also common free-time activities for him. These lessons of dedication, teamwork, and chasing opportunities have led him to his career path now and continue to inspire his future.
Hundreds of training hours, hard-earned certificates, and years of dedicated work have gotten Ridgeway to this point. He began his path by earning his certificate in Basic Law Enforcement Training (BELT) at Blue Ridge Community College and furthered that to higher achievements. He told us, “I’ve earned my Advanced Law Enforcement certificate and my specified School Resources Officer one as well. I have certificates in investigation and community policing that were crucial to my past roles. The SRO certificate took about 1200 hours of specific training and 3200 hours of training for all of that.”
Ridgeway’s lifetime of hard work has paid off to make him an exceptional law enforcement officer, and a lovely asset to West Henderson. The school and staff are lucky to have a leader like him and thankfully the feelings are mutual. He states, “I love being the SRO here and everything about West Henderson. I love the students, the admin, and the entire staff.”
