C.R. “Rusty” Hewes is an account manager with First Coast Security. He can be spotted most often at Independent Square where he manages the security staff.
WHAT DO YOU DO AS ACCOUNT MANAGER?
“I oversee the security for all the Capital Partners property and all of First Coast’s commercial side. I schedule the guards, do the billing and post instructions.”
HOW MANY PEOPLE WORK FOR YOU?
“One hundred, on average. I used to manage 570 officers for another security firm, but we were downsized.”
HOW IS THIS FIRM BETTER?
“We’re a relatively new company. We opened in 1998. We have less turnover than any other security company in the five-county area because of our benefits and higher rate of pay. Their training is taken from the state and when on site, they are closely supervised. Since September, the pay scale for security officers has gone up. We scrutinize the people we hire. We want high caliber folks and we’re willing to pay for it. We pick and choose the accounts we want, too.”
WHAT CLIENTS DO YOU HANDLE?
“Mostly corporate — BellSouth, the Ed Ball Building. We don’t do any motels because it’s hard to manage and hard to keep people there.”
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THIS LINE OF WORK?
“In 1980, I came to Jacksonville looking for a job. I met somebody I knew from the military. He was with Enforcement Security Corporation so I started as a regular officer and in four years, moved up to zone commander. A couple of years later, I became chief, which is a lot of responsibility. I moved up to operations manager, then branch manager.”
WHERE ARE YOU FROM ORIGINALLY?
North Hampton, Mass. “It was too cold up there for me. After Vietnam, I couldn’t stand the cold.”
HOW LONG WERE YOU IN THE SERVICE?
“Six years in the Army.”
HAVE YOU WORKED IN ANY OTHER FIELD?
“I was in construction running bulldozers. I’ve done concrete work and some carpentry. In February 2001, I decided to go to school [Enterprise Integration] for computers. The economy was bad when I got out of school so they didn’t need any technicians. I came back to security and will stay as long as I live.”
WHAT DRAWS YOU TO IT?
“I like working with people and it’s something different every day. It’s something I enjoy doing.”
WHAT’S MOST REWARDING ABOUT YOUR JOB?
“To be able to take somebody on the low end of the pay scale, bring them into the company and give them a chance to shine. Good employees are good for the building and good for downtown.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING FOR YOU?
“Dealing with people. Everybody has their own personality quirks. We’ve had a variety of people come in here, including the lieutenant governor, the mayor and congressmen.”
DO YOU THINK DOWNTOWN IS SAFE?
“Going back 20 years, downtown was very unsafe. It was a life-threatening situation. In the last 10 years, there has been such a turnaround, mainly due to the sheriff and the mayor trying to make it safe. We work with SHADCO to discuss downtown security with property owners. We want to revitalize, keep it clean and help the homeless find places to stay. I won’t say I’ve never had any altercations but nothing worth mentioning in the last decade. I look at downtown as part of my neighborhood. I live in a very quiet neighborhood. There’s very few problems down here anymore.”
WHERE DOes he LIVE?
Lakewood is home to Hewes and his wife Helen. They have three sons, Robert, Christopher and Gil.
ANY PET PEEVES?
“A uniform appearance at work. I like my officers to look good. This is a nice building.”
WHAT DOes he DO
FOR FUN?
Action movies, science fiction television and classic or western literature are his favorite pastimes. He also enjoys playing on the computer with his grandson, fishing and walking along the Southbank Riverwalk.
— by Monica Chamness