PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A Southeast Texas nonprofit is stepping up to host a benefit for a Port Arthur dispatch legend who recently devastating news.
Ralph Odom, 62, has been a dispatcher for the Port Arthur Police Department for 45 years. He was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Strength and perseverance are qualities Odom developed during his time in the Marine Corps. Now he's counting on his community to support him in his fight against cancer.
Port Arthur Guns and Hoses Benevolent Fund is hosting a benefit for Odom on Saturday, December 23, 2023 at the Walmart on Memorial Boulevard. It starts at 8 a.m.
Odom bases his life around the core values of honor, courage, and commitment.
"I like helping people out and doing what I can for the citizens of Port Arthur," he said.
Odom got his first taste of what it was like being a dispatcher during his time in Guam while serving in the marines. When he returned stateside, he knew this was his calling.
"They asked me if I wanted to find another job elsewhere. I told them I'd go down to the dispatch. That's all I've ever known!" said Odom.
During his 45 years as a dispatcher saving lives, he also raised a family.
He received the devastating news of his diagnosis in November.
"I have b-cell lymphoma, advanced. MYC and stomach cancer." he said. "They started giving me chemo due to the fact that the cancer has spread quite rapidly."
Now, multiple back-and-forth visits and inconsistent treatment cycles at M.D. Anderson in Houston are causing Odom and his family unbearable stress.
"It makes you very tired, weak... all of your bones feel like they're broken," he said.
Odom says he goes to Houston for treatment three times a week.
Odom's colleagues and the community are now standing behind him just as Odom has done for them the past 45 years.
"I couldn't ask for no better group of people," Odom said.
Among the group is Port Arthur Police Chief Tim Duriso. He's known Odom for almost forty years.
"We all love Ralph. He's one of those guys that comes to work early and stays late. He helps whoever is in need of help," Duriso said.
First in, last out and always faithful, Odom has all the makings of a true marine a well as a local hero.
"Just imagine being a dispatcher for that long. How many lives he's saved... Ralph's definitely a hero," said Duriso.