This retired K-9 officer, single mom and basketball coach is all about taking responsibility and helping others.

Jacksonville distribution center Mail Center Lead Person Jazmia Thompson doesn’t mess around when it comes to work.

“If I’m doing a job, I feel like, ‘Let’s get it done and be successful at it,’” said Jazmia.

Pair that can-do attitude with a passion for helping others, and you get an associate who wants to be of service, both at Publix and while following in her father’s footsteps as a law enforcement officer.

A different kind of service
“My dad passed away when I was younger, and he was my hero,” Jazmia said. “I knew anything he did, I would do.”

So, for more than 15 years, Jazmia served in 3 different agencies in the north Florida area, including the Florida State Prison in Raiford, the Baker County Sheriff’s Office in Macclenny and a facility treating individuals who had committed violent crimes. For the last 3 years before she retired, Jazmia served as a K-9 officer whose partner was trained to sniff out money and tobacco, 2 things residents were not allowed to have at one of the state-run facilities where she worked.

“No one thought I would [become a K-9 officer],” said Jazmia. “I remember going to the academy, and they wanted photos of me because they’d never seen a Black female want to be a K-9 officer. It was weird to me because I just like dogs!”

After a few years, though, she began to feel like she was ready for something new. Jazmia and her sons, who are 7 and 17 years old, are huge sports fans, and all 3 of them are involved with local teams. As an officer, she found herself missing or leaving her older son’s games to go to work, and she didn’t want her younger son to go through the same thing.

Basketball, the Bible and her boys
That love of sports is another thing she got from her dad. Jazmia started playing basketball when she was 7 years old and loved it from day 1. She continued to play through middle school, high school and part of college. Now, she coaches the girls basketball team at Baker County High School.

“I wasn’t sure about taking the [coaching] job at first,” she said. “But I decided to try. I’m very structured in the way I work with them. It’s more like a mentor position.”

In addition to her full-time job at Publix and part-time job as a coach, Jazmia and her boys attend church every Sunday.

“I’m big on church. My boys know even if they want to go somewhere Saturday night or stay at a friend’s house, they have to make sure they get to church,” she said. “I was raised in it. I know where my help comes from.”

Although she has her faith and a good family support system to lean on, Jazmia believes raising her sons is her ultimate responsibility.

“I sacrifice to make sure they have what they need,” Jazmia said. “As long as God gives me breath in my body, I will get up every morning to take care of them. But I wouldn’t trade it.”

The Publix difference
Jazmia’s twin sister, Jazmier, has been a Publix associate for 17 years, so Jazmia knew if she ever decided to retire from law enforcement, she would want to work for Publix. And in 2019, she was hired as a security officer at the Jacksonville distribution center.

In her current role at the mail center, Jazmia enjoys taking responsibility for making sure mail and packages are delivered on time and to the right associates. She also likes being able to move around and find ways to help wherever she can lend a hand.

“Anywhere I can be of assistance, helping is what I love to do,” she said. “At the end of the day, mail is just one thing. Everything is about Publix, so we’re all family. Whatever needs to be done, I’ll take care of it.”

And she hopes to make Publix her 2nd retirement after a long career.

“I just love the people here,” Jazmia said. “I like the opportunities and being able to help others.”

Publix is a family — a big, 230,000-person one — with backgrounds from across the country and around the world. This article is part of a series featuring associates from a variety of backgrounds, age groups and cultures, and we love sharing their successes. We hope our articles help you learn a little more about your fellow associates who make up our Publix family.