Officer Jennifer Drake Set to Retire After 21 Years of Service
At the Hendersonville City Council meeting on March 5, 2026, Mayor Barbara Volk and Chief Blair Myhand presented Officer Jennifer Drake with her badge and service weapon in appreciation of her 21 years of dedicated service to the City of Hendersonville. Serving more than two decades in law enforcement is an accomplishment in itself, but equally inspiring is the legacy she leaves as a trailblazer who has inspired future generations of women in the law enforcement profession.
“We honor Jennifer’s years of exceptional service and recognize her as our most-senior officer,” said Police Chief Blair Myhand. “She has been a protector of our community for many years. With her retirement, we bid farewell to our most experienced full-time officer and great School Resource Officer.” Although there have been women with more total years of service as employees, Jennifer Drake is the longest-serving full-time female officer in Hendersonville Police Department’s history.
Officer Jennifer Drake joined the Hendersonville Police Department in September 2004. Prior to becoming an officer, she worked as a CNA at Pardee Hospital and in a doctor’s office. Over her 20-plus year career, Officer Drake has worked as a patrol officer, often as the only female in the department, a K9 Officer, a Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) instructor, and, for the past three years, a School Resource Officer assigned to Hendersonville Elementary School.
She came by her career in public service honestly. Her father, William T. “Bill” Drake, served as Chairman of the Henderson County Board of Commissioners, in addition to being a small business owner. Inspired by her father and an uncle who was a police officer, Jennifer has worn HPD’s badge with pride for many years.
“The qualities that make a great officer are someone who understands the meaning of the badge and the oath we take,” said Officer Drake. When asked about what wearing the badge means to her, she shared that it has been especially meaningful to serve in the town where she grew up. She emphasized that the actions officers take reflect not only on themselves, but on the entire profession and their fellow officers.
She credits early supervisors like Leon Worthy, Tim Griffin, Andre Massey, Bruce Simonds, and others for supporting her growth and encouraging her throughout her career. One accomplishment of which she is extremely proud is becoming a nationally accredited K9 trainer through the North American Police Work Dog Association (NAPWDA). The lengthy accreditation process required significant commitment and testing, but it also resulted in Officer Drake becoming the only female officer in North Carolina to obtain the title of trainer at that time.
Earlier in her career, there were far fewer women serving on Hendersonville’s police force as there are today. For many years, Jennifer was the only female officer.
“I expected the job to be exciting and challenging,” said Officer Drake when reflecting on her expectations compared to the reality of the job. “This job has proven to be what I had expected and more. There have been calls that were very difficult – physically, mentally, and emotionally – the types of things that the majority of officers never experience, and I thank God every day that they don’t, and hopefully never will.”
She continues to see the impact of her work on the community; in the lives of elementary school students she serves and treats “as my own” as well as in the lives of adults she interacted with while on patrol.
When asked if she had any thoughts on how she’d like to be remembered or advice for young people entering the profession, she said, “I hope that my colleagues remember me by knowing that I always had your back on calls and that if you needed anything, I was there.” Her primary advice to anyone considering a law enforcement career is to be certain it is what they truly want to do. “We all need to accept that in this job we may or may not make it home that day.”
Although Officer Drake’s time with HPD is coming to an end, her influence and legacy will continue. While some children of law enforcement follow in their parent’s footsteps, both of Officer Drake's daughters are deputies working in Henderson County. Brittany Maybin currently works as East Henderson’s School Resource Officer, and Kayla Brezillac is a Master Deputy serving as a Deputy in the Henderson County courthouse.
“Seeing how proud my mom was to put on her uniform every shift played a big role in me working in law enforcement,” said Deputy Brezillac. “It was cool growing up to tell everyone my mom was a cop because that is not common. I always dreamed of when I was old enough to have kids that I wanted them to be proud of what mom does for a living to have the same experience I did.”
Deputy Brezillac joined the explorer program in high school, which Officer Drake assisted with, and enrolled in Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) at age 20. She worked for Laurel Park Police Department for seven years as a patrol officer before joining the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, where she has worked for the past four years as a Detention Officer, School Resource Officer, and Bailiff.
“The most unique opportunity I have had in law enforcement is being able to answer calls for service with my mom,” said Deputy Brezillac. “When I worked for Laurel Park, I worked closely with the Hendersonville Police Department and was lucky enough to work the same shift as her. It was a cool experience to be able to answer calls as backup for my mom. That's something that not many mother and daughters can say they have done.”
Deputy Brittany Maybin also takes pride in her mother’s career and how her example has shaped her into the Deputy she is today. Deputy Maybin started her career in emergency services with the Henderson County Rescue Squad and has a wide array of experience having worked as a 911 Telecommunicator and Detention Officer for the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and as a Police Officer for the Blue Ridge Community College Police Department. Her current role as East Henderson’s School Resource Officer allows her to have a positive influence on high school students.
“The advice I give to young people wanting to go into law enforcement is to keep training once you are employed somewhere,” said Deputy Maybin. “There is always something to learn in this profession.” One of the greatest lessons she learned from her mom is that “if you want something bad enough, keep fighting for it.” She also shares how important it is to be a good listener and that listening and learning how to talk to people can often de-escalate bad situations.
Both of Officer Drake’s daughters continually encounter people who have been positively impacted by their mother. Deputy Brezillac tells a recent story about getting out of her patrol car when someone called out, “Officer Drake,” mistakenly thinking she was her mom.
“I turned around and the young lady said, ‘Oh, I am so sorry. I thought you looked like Officer Drake and I was excited.’ I told her it was perfectly fine because she is my mom. We talked for a minute, and I mentioned that mom was retiring soon. She said, ‘No, that can’t happen. She needs to stay around.’”
Kayla asked if the young woman would like to speak with Officer Drake by phone. She began to tear up and said she would. Kayla called her mom and put her on speaker so they could talk.
“This lady proceeded to tell mom how much she means to her and that, had it not been for her, she would probably be dead by now. She talked about details from the call, and the words that stood out the most were when she said, ‘Thank you for caring and thank you for doing your job. You saved my life. I am now clean and sober, and I'm doing great—I even have a job.’ That one conversation sums up what kind of career my mom had. I'm sure I will continue to be called Officer Drake and hear stories of my mom's career for years to come because that's just who she is.”
Even though Officer Drake won’t miss the long hours, crazy shift schedules, and missing holidays with her family, she will miss seeing her students at school, the camaraderie of fellow officers, getting to know business owners, and seeing people when she conducts security at events.
We wish her the very best as she enjoys more time with her mom and her grandbabies, and going camping with her husband, David, in retirement. We thank Officer Drake for her years of dedicated service to the Hendersonville community.