GULF SHORES, Ala. — After scouring through more than 100 resumes from all over the country, the City of Gulf Shores is ready to announce the new Chief of Police. Edward Delmore will be introduced today at a special called council meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Delmore brings with him an impressive background and history in law enforcement. He will be replacing Chief Arthur Bourne who retired from the Gulf Shores Police Department in December. Bourne had been part of the city’s police force since 1976.

Delmore, 49, has been a police officer since 1982. He holds a MA degree from Webster University in St. Louis, Mo. and a BA degree from Western Illinois University. In addition, he is a graduate of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va. and is currently an adjunct instructor for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, where he has instructed thousands of police officers and administrators throughout the United States.

Delmore began his years of service as a member of the Chester Ill. Police Force. Two years later, he joined the police department in Collinsville, Ill. In 1989, he was assigned as an undercover narcotics investigator with the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern, Ill. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant and named Collinsville’s Policeman of the Year in 1990.

In 1992, Delmore created and supervised a highly successful criminal interdiction unit that seized record amounts of illegal narcotics and other contraband from drug traffickers.

For the past five years, has served as Police Chief in Fairview Heights, Ill.

“I am extremely honored to be selected to serve as the police chief in Gulf Shores,” Delmore said. “Along with my family, I am looking forward to becoming a member of this beautiful and progressive community.”

Delmore is married with three grown children. His wife Ann has served 22 years as a police officer.

“We had an excellent crop of interested candidates and we took care in background work,” said Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft. “Recruiting at this level is not just about the right credentials, but finding the individual who can best succeed in our newly restructured city organization. In Ed Delmore, we found both and we look forward to his starting on May 25.