A Friday event will give folks a chance to say hail to the chief.

Frank Hooper, Gainesville’s police chief for more than a decade and a member of the department for 32 years, will be honored at an informal reception Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Gainesville Civic Center. The public is invited.

“Frank Hooper has been a prominent member of the leadership of our city and community since his appointment as chief of police in 1998,” said Gainesville City Manager Kip Padgett. “We wanted to host this celebration to give the many residents of Gainesville-Hall County and statewide a chance to say ‘thank you’ for a job well done.”

In November, Hooper announced his retirement effective Dec. 31. The Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police 2007 Outstanding Chief of the Year said the construction of a new public safety facility, scheduled to open next year, realized his final career goal.

Hooper, 51, joined the Gainesville Police Department as a 20-year-old in 1978, a year after his father, Roy F. Hooper Sr., retired as a captain at the department. Following his appointment as chief, he led three re-accreditations of the department from the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, with Gainesville police winning flagship designation for going above and beyond law enforcement standards.

In 2007, Hooper received the Rotary Club of Gainesville’s Lee Arrendale Award for Vocational Excellence.

Hooper, a Gainesville native, is a 1975 graduate of North Hall High School a 1978 graduate of the Northeast Georgia Police Academy.

He is married to his wife of 34 years, Teresa, and has two sons, Justin and Cody, and a granddaughter, Georgia.

City leaders say Hooper has a reputation as a police chief who stays visible and involved within the community.

“Frank’s loyalty, experience and dedication will be irreplaceable,” Padgett said.