MOULTRIE, Ga. — One choice to stay at the Hahira Boys Ranch in his early teens led Channing McDowell to a life of success.

McDowell was born in Albany, Ga., and for most of his childhood, raised in Leesburg, Ga. From the time they were born, he and his two younger brothers were raised by his grandmother and great-grandmother until both passed when McDowell was around 12 or 13.  

McDowell and his brothers became wards of the state. His mother had a drug addiction, and he did not know his father. So, McDowell and his brothers were sent to the Hahira Boys Ranch. 

“There’s not very many foster families that’s willing to accept three boys at one time. So, we got put in Hahira at the Georgia Sheriffs’ Boys Ranch, and I was there from 12 or 13 all the way up until high school,” McDowell stated. 

Upon their arrival to the Boys Ranch, McDowell and his brothers were split into different living areas. It was a new start. It was different. 

McDowell recalled his first moments of the Boys Ranch and said, “When I first got to the boys ranch, I hated it. Because one, that is not home. But the longer I was there, the more I saw opportunities that it provided for me and all of the advantages it really had if you were willing to take those advantages and work them to your benefit.” 

After about two years of being at the Boys Ranch, McDowell and his brothers were set to be adopted by a family in Florida. While his two brothers went, McDowell chose to stay. He went on to attend Lowndes County High School where he played football, shot archery with 4-H, and eventually graduated with his high school diploma. 

By the time McDowell had graduated high school, he had made up his mind that he wanted to become a police officer. 

McDowell stated he always wanted to work in narcotics. Growing up, his mother was not in his life due to drug addiction. Because of that battle he had to face growing up, he said, he chose to stay on the right path and had good people around him to keep him on that path and make sure he accomplished his goals. He wanted to prevent someone else from having to grow up the same way he did. It was his driving force.

Because he originally thought the entrance age to becoming an officer was 21, McDowell first worked a couple of jobs at places such as Zaxby’s and Gander Mountain. Then, after he turned 21, he applied to work in the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office — where he worked in the jail for about two years. 

In 2014, he moved to Moultrie and applied to work with the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office. McDowell stated how it was hard leaving Lowndes because that’s where he saw himself in terms of years. Furthermore, it was a big adjustment coming from a big sheriff’s office to a smaller one because they both operate differently. However, Moultrie isn’t too far from Valdosta, so he’d still visit the friends he made there.

The Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office sent McDowell to the police academy, and he served as a deputy for about a year and a half. During that time, McDowell knew he had to stand out and make cases if he wanted to be promoted to work in narcotics investigations. So, that’s what he did, and within that year and a half of hard work, he got the promotion to narcotics investigations. 

McDowell said he loves his job, colleagues, and the work they do for the community. 

“Moultrie is a lot bigger than I thought it was,” McDowell stated. “In my mind growing up, Moultrie was this little small town that we beat up in football every year — and now it’s roles reversed,” he said. “It’s a good community. I enjoy working here. I’ve made some really close friends — friends that I’ll probably have for the rest of my life here.”

As McDowell explained, the drug team doesn’t work regular hours. Yet, it’s just the nature of their job. They don’t know when things will move — whether it’s two in the morning or another time. 

McDowell recalled one instance that stood out in his career. There was a young man they arrested for selling drugs, who may have been younger than 20. The young man came from a good background and lived at home, although his parents were unaware of his drug involvement. He said the young man was sentenced to probation and completed it. 

The young man and his father both told McDowell and his team that since they made the arrest, the young man completely changed his life. He was doing everything he needed to do. He was working and he wasn’t the same kid he was. The man’s father told them that they were the intervention his son needed at the time. If they had not arrested him, he could have continued down that path. 

While McDowell stated how he knows not everyone who they arrest will change their life around, they will help those who want help. 

“It gets impossible to pull somebody out of that lifestyle,” he said. “…Luckily we were able to change his life for the better. And that’s what we want to do with everybody that we arrest, talk to, or have any encounter with — we want to make their life for the better.”

Aside from his career, McDowell shared his excitement as he and his wife, who he met through a close friend in Moultrie, recently welcomed their firstborn child into the world. He stated how staying at home has been his hobby, and how it will be interesting as he learns. 

McDowell is thankful for the Boys Ranch and the choice he made those years ago. 

“Everything I’ve been able to accomplish in my life, it all starts with the Boys Ranch and everything they’ve done for me.” 

He stated how he loves the boys ranch — it’s his heart. He said they taught him the difference between a want and a need — something he stated many people do not know the difference between. 

McDowell said he persevered and obtained the career he wanted. He created his own family, and was recently able to find and connect with his father, with whom he has been building a relationship. 

About three years ago, McDowell’s youngest brother moved up to Moultrie with him after getting onto a wrong path involving drugs. After several redirectings, his brother is now in the military and on the right path.

“He is doing what he is supposed to now,” McDowell said. 

McDowell said he is grateful for the Boys Ranch, his colleagues, his lessons from Shaun Eilders (director of child care and resident director for the Georgia Sheriffs’ Boys Ranch), and also Sheriff Rod Howell, who is a huge supporter of the Boys Ranch. 

“Everything you do has a consequence or a repercussion to it,” McDowell said. “It doesn’t matter how small you think something is today, you never know what it could amount to tomorrow — that’s one thing that I’ve always looked at that I learned at the Boys Ranch. Everything you do has a consequence or repercussion — whether it be something good or bad.”