Boyd Kennemore was recently promoted to Ashdown, Ark., police chief.
Former Ashdown Police Chief Mark Ardwin has retired.
Ashdown Mayor James Sutton praised Kennemore and said he preferred to hire a police chief from within the department.
Kennemore was named 2017 Little River County Officer of the Year by the Arkansas attorney general.
He has been serving as captain of the Ashdown Police Department.
He joined the Ashdown Police Explorer Program at age 14.
When he turned 21, he was hired as a deputy for the Little River County Sheriff's Department.
He resigned as a deputy and joined the Ashdown Police Department as a patrol office in 2010.
Kennemore was promoted to sergeant in 2012.
In 2014, Kennemore became an investigator and was part of the criminal investigation department.
He was promoted to lieutenant in 2015.
In 2017, he was promoted to captain and has completed the crime scene technician program.
He also has served as the training officer, patrol captain and executive assistant for Ardwin.