RELATED VIDEO: Capt. Majdoch and police department gather for annual photo on the eve of his retirement

MOUNT PLEASANT - For nearly three decades, James Majdoch has been the chief of the Mount Pleasant Police Department. It's a job he's done exceptionally well, according to those who work for him.

Which is why it will be very hard for the village and its officers to say goodbye.

Majdoch is retiring this week after spending almost half his life serving the people of Mount Pleasant. Looking back on the 27-year experience, he is proud of many accomplishments and has only a few regrets. While he looks forward to the future, he is excited about new possibilities, but acknowledges he will miss the friends he is leaving behind.

"I'll miss the people the most," Majdoch said.

Being a police chief isn't an easy job. It can be difficult to balance the needs of your officers, the needs of the department and the needs of the community. But according to his officers, Majdoch has handled the job with grace.

"I've been with the department for 17 years and ever since the beginning (Majdoch's) always been very understanding," Officer Bill Klaus said. "He's had a great deal of professionalism and integrity on the job. He's earned the respect of everybody. He'll definitely be missed. We all liked working with him."

Almost the entire department gathered this past week at the village hall to pose for a department photo, with Majdoch front and center.

"It's been a pleasure and a joy to serve 27 years with the chief," said Capt. Tom Petersen at the event. "I'm hoping this department can continue with the same traditions and values that he's instilled in all of us for the next 10 to 20 years."

In return, Majdoch is like a proud father when it comes to his police force.

"We've gotten so many written letters complimenting our guys on the department," he said. "There are so many more written compliments from people versus people who make formal complaints. To me, it's just amazing. Having good people is very rewarding."

To say that Majdoch has had a big part in shaping the Mount Pleasant Police Department would probably be an understatement. When he was hired in 1980 he was the chief of four full-time officers. Today, he leads more than 40. The once rural town of Mount Pleasant has exploded over the past 30 years into a busy village.

"The streets are just more crowded," Majdoch said.

He said the village has always tried to keep a good balance of industrial, commercial and residential growth. But the commercial growth, in particular, has boomed in recent years. "Commercial business tends to be a high demand on municipal services," he said.

Majdoch said one of his only regrets is not being able to have the department grow faster and start programs that would better meet the community's needs. "We were chasing the growth rather than keeping up with it," he said.

Majdoch came to Mount Pleasant well prepared to lead the department through the enormous changes its seen over the past 27 years. He started his career in law enforcement 10 years earlier as an officer for the Village of Greendale. Six years later he took a job as the police chief, and only officer, for a little burg in Outagamie County called Black Creek.

"It was a small community," he said. "When I first got the job, it was just me. You learn to wear every hat. It gives you a wonderful background to step into a place like Mount

Pleasant."

Majdoch knows that his 27 years as police chief are the exception to the rule. On average, people only stay in the job for seven to 10 years at most. "The job tends to wear on you," he said.

But through it all, he's had his family. When Majdoch first took the job in Mount Pleasant his wife and children were still living up north while their house there was on the market. "I was putting in 24-hour days," he said.

"We found a house down here," he said. "I was still putting in long hours and my wife said, 'Excuse me, we're here now.'"

It got his attention, and has always kept him grounded. "The most important thing is still your family," Majdoch said. "That helps you do your job well."

Majdoch and his wife have a daughter in New Orleans, a daughter in Racine, and a son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters in Ohio. "I'm very proud of all of them," he said. "If I could pick my best accomplishment, that would be it. But my wife has a lot to do with that one."

One of the first things Majdoch would like to do in his retirement is to head down to New Orleans and continue working on his daughter's house. She was a victim of Hurricane Katrina two years ago.

But he hasn't decided what type of work he'd like to do.

"I don't have a particular thing that I have to do," he said. "I've looked at a number of things. I was considering architectural drafting for a while."

Perhaps the only thing Majdoch, 58, is certain of is that he's not ready not to work. "I don't want to just sit in a boat somewhere, drop a line in the water and wait for something to bite. I'd like to do that sometimes, but not all the time. It doesn't fit my personality."

The search for a new chief

MOUNT PLEASANT - The Mount Pleasant Police and Fire Commission started advertising online for the open chief position in December. So far they have received about 40 applications, according to David Weiss, chairman of the commission. They are accepting applications until Feb. 29, and will give mailed applications another week after that deadline to arrive.

All five members of the commission will be involved in the selection process, Weiss said. No deadline for making a decision has been set.

Weiss, speaking not as the chairman but as an individual, said he would like to see someone with the skills Majdoch brought to the department - strong management and leadership, a willingness to go an extra step to help people and team-building abilities.

"If I could photocopy Jim Majdoch, I would do that," Weiss said.