It is with great honor and humility that I begin my service as your elected Sheriff. I want to take this opportunity to give you some historical background on just what the office of Sheriff is and how important it is to the public that we serve.

The office of Sheriff can be traced back to Alfred the Great in England in the late 9th century. The word Sheriff is derived from the English term "shire-reeve" which stands for keeper of the county.  A function that the Sheriff is dedicated to over a thousand years later. The first known elected Sheriff in North America occurred in Virginia in 1651. When Indiana adopted its constitution in 1816 the Sheriff was made a constitutional office under Article 6. Section 2. As such the Sheriff is the highest elected law-enforcement officer in the county in which the people have a voice to elect.

With this knowledge, I want to assure the citizens of Barry County that I hold the oath of office to be a sacred honor. My prayer is that by working together we will continue to make Barry County a place that people will want to live and raise their families.