Randy Watts

Randy Watts was born and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Carlisle High School and Shippensburg State College, where he obtained a degree in Business Administration. He became involved in the emergency services in 1970, and was the Fire Service Coordinator for Cumberland County from 1980 to 1985. He subsequently retired from a thirty-year career in safety and risk management in the insurance industry.

During his college years he worked as a dispatcher for what was then Cumberland County Control, and came to know a number of police officers at that time, including Richard Phelps and Paul Walters. He has written over 50 books on local history, and in 2016, found information on the death of Pennsylvania Railroad police officer John L. Beisser, which he shared with the Foundation. In October 2016, a ceremony was held to dedicate a marker to Beisser at the Memorial site, and Randy was the quest speaker. Since that time, he and his wife Laura, have provided research assistance and support to the Cumberland County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation.