by SC Reporter Reanna Haase
SC photos by Associate Publisher Chuck Larsen
Harold Law is retiring from his post as a building official after 20 years and ready to begin a new journey – building a lake-view home in the mountains of Tennessee and traveling the country.
“We have decided to fly to spots, rent a car and see those areas,” Law said about his retirement plans. He and his wife will start their travels this summer in the Northwest before going to the Southwest then the east coast. “(But) we are going to stay home in Tennessee and see the fall colors,” he said.
Law also plans on buying a trawler to travel along The Great Loop, a system of water ways which encompasses the entire Eastern portion of the United States, after his retirement home is built.
Harold Law retires after 20 years in the city’s building department. He will be recognized with a proclamation July 19 by Sanibel City Council.
Law watched the island grow up throughout his two-decade career. His job was to oversee all construction to ensure building codes and Florida building standards were being met. “I have been in just about everybody’s house and condo,” he said. “It’s like I’ve seen everything.”
Law has also been a part of many big projects, such as the opening of the Sanibel Recreation Center in December 2007 and both the remodeling of the old Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille and opening of Doc Ford’s current location on Island Inn Road.
“I have had a lot of fun on Sanibel,” he said. He enjoyed exercising with his younger colleagues at the Recreation Center on their lunch break. “They gave us a little more time at lunch a couple times a week to go workout…It was always fun to see the challenge they had in their face when they worked out with me,” he said.
Law’s career spanned five jurisdictions in Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida before settling on Sanibel. His last day was July 1 and he will be recognized with a proclamation July 19 by the city council. Law is proud of what the island is today, a very beloved place.
“When I came here in 2002, it was nice little barrier island with a couple of resorts,” said Law. “I believe in the last 20 years Sanibel has become an island that is a nice resort for everybody…it has really changed to make it a place to come and see.”
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