Forsyth County's longest-serving female sworn deputy currently working
FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Lieutenant Donna Ballard has proudly worked at the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office for almost 30 years.
However, she didn't always wear a badge.
'I got hired on here in the administration section,' she said.
She was an administrative assistant.
Being a sworn officer didn't cross her mind until some of those water cooler conversations piqued her interest.
'The deputies would come to my desk and talk about their day… everything that they did, who they helped, and who they arrested and what all they had to do, and every day, I started getting the feeling more and more, I said, 'Wow, I think I need to do this,'' Ballard said.
She told her boss that she wanted to go to basic law enforcement training.
'He was not happy because that was the question they asked me – did I ever want to be a sworn officer, and I said 'no,' but once I got in there and seeing all the deputies and how they reacted and what their days were like and the helping people, I knew I wanted to do it,' she said.
She was hired in 1996 and was in rookie school in 1999.
Today, Ballard is the longest-serving female sworn deputy currently working with FSCO.
'It was harder back in the day because there wasn't as many women in law enforcement and so you just had to prove yourself that you could actually do it,' she said.
One of the secrets to Ballard's longevity is being a people person.
'I love to get to know people and what they're like and what they do, and this is the perfect job to get to know people…the good and the bad. If you're out on a call, you'll see both sides, but there again, you also get to help them.'
Ballard has cherished helping people through community outreach, including as the coordinator for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics and through the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office Explorers program.
Explorer Post 975 introduces local teens to criminal justice careers.
'It is exciting to sit there and see that you had some assistance in helping them go even from 14 years old to train them and mold them to become what they are today and so now I'm working alongside a couple of them, several of them, actually…. which is fantastic,' Ballard said.
Ballard will retire from FCSO on August 1 with 30 years of service.
She says she has gotten everything she wanted out of her career and more.
'Did I do right by the citizens, the community, and I think I did,' Ballard said.
'I just feel like I've done what I should have done, and I don't think I could have done it any better.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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