PENSACOLA, Florida - David Van Winkle, a Customer Service representative in the Fort Walton Beach, remembers when Deputy Bill Myers would drop by the Gulf Power office. Working as a part-time civil process server, the deputy would be seeking information on residents he would have to serve.

“He was very friendly and very cordial,” Van Winkle said. “He was just doing his job.”

So when the 64-year-old Okaloosa County sheriff deputy was shot and killed on Sept. 22 while serving a domestic violence injunction in Shalimar, it came as a shock to Gulf Power employees.

Myers left behind a wife, three sons and a granddaughter.

Recently, George Schenck, Corporate Security manager, presented a $1,000 check from Gulf Power to Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley as a donation to a fund that supports the Myers’ family.

“I told Sheriff Ashley that we just want you to know how much the Gulf Power family supports law enforcement,” Schenck said. “He said he appreciates that and would share it with his department.”

Pete Rose, a Staff Investigator at the Fort Walton Beach office, said he knew Myers while working in law enforcement before joining Gulf Power.

“It’s like a brotherhood,” Rose said. “It was a shock to hear he had been killed.”

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Gulf Power is an investor-owned electric utility with all of its common stock owned by Atlanta-based Southern Company. Gulf Power serves more than 447,000 customers in eight counties throughout Northwest Florida. The company’s mission is to safely provide exceptional customer value by delivering reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible electricity while strengthening our communities. Visit online at MyGulfPower.com or on the company’s Facebook page. News information can be found at GulfPowerNews.com.