Per Mar’s Dory Retherford retires after 42 years

DAVENPORT, Iowa—Per Mar Security Services, a leading provider of total security solutions for residential and commercial clients, announced that Monitoring Center Manager Dory Retherford decided to retire as of July 1, 2022, after more than 42 years with the company.

Retherford started working at Per Mar in February 1980 as a third-shift dispatcher to gain experience in the security industry. She has held several positions throughout her career at Per Mar, including customer care agent, data entry, and manager of the Monitoring Center.

“Dory has been an incredibly dedicated employee throughout her 42 years at Per Mar,” said Brian Duffy, CEO. “She was hired by my mother and grew with the company into her current role, and Dory very well understands the critical importance of delivering on our promise of fast, continuous monitoring service around the clock. She has earned a great retirement.”

Not only did Retherford manage the Monitoring Center, but she also served on Per Mar’s Employee Charity Fund committee and volunteered at many events over the years.

“I like what I do. It is an important job and fulfilling. It gives a sense of security to the customers that we take care of every day,” Retherford noted. “There is always something great about getting an apprehension. The dispatchers are very important to our company. I have always been proud of them. I have great supervisors, assistant supervisors and dispatchers who do a heck of a job every day.”

Upon reflecting on her 42-year career at Per Mar, Retherford added, “I will miss the people. I enjoy the people that I work with. They have kind of been as much my family as my actual family. I consider myself fortunate because I have actually worked for all three generations of the Duffy family. I truly, truly, enjoy the Duffy family, so it’s been easy to stay.”

Another long-term employee of 21 years, Brad Dietz, has been promoted to Senior Manager of Customer Support. Retherford and Dietz have worked together for months in preparation for her retirement and his new role. As Senior Manager of Customer Support, Dietz’s responsibility is to oversee both Monitoring Centers as well as Customer Care in an effort to leverage their strengths and expand their responsibilities to increase customer satisfaction.

“Brad has been an incredibly valuable contributor to our customer satisfaction for a long time, with experience in both the Monitoring Center and Customer Care,” said Chris Edwards, President of Electronic Security. “He was promoted to lead the care team in the middle of the pandemic and has done an excellent job. We are very excited about him continuing to build on the good work Dory has done over the years.”