Sheriff Smith Attends North Carolina Sheriff's Spring Meeting

The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association hosted sheriffs, sheriffs’ personnel, and other state and federal officials from across North Carolina this week at their annual Spring Meeting in New Hanover County.

The Association’s annual Spring Meeting is an opportunity for sheriffs and their personnel to attend training classes and panel discussions on a variety of topics. This year, training topics focused heavily on the lessons learned from Hurricane Helene and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association’s Statewide Disaster Assistance Network (SDAN). SDAN is a program created and operated by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association that allows sheriffs’ offices to request and offer aid to other sheriffs in the event of a disaster or civil unrest.

Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina late last year. Sheriffs from all regions of the state were involved in the recovery efforts through SDAN. Many of them were invited to be panelists at this year’s Spring Meeting. They discussed the impact Hurricane Helene had on their communities, how other sheriffs came to their aid, and how they were able to provide help to their fellow sheriffs.

Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith attended the event. “This week has been full of great learning opportunities for me and my fellow sheriffs.” Sheriff Smith commented, “The Spring Meeting is our first opportunity each year to meet with our fellow sheriffs. I am grateful to the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association for the information and instruction provided about SDAN this year. As we all learned from Hurricane Helene, disaster can strike any community. SDAN is a truly valuable resource for sheriffs in such circumstances.”

“Since we cancelled last year’s Fall Meeting due to Hurricane Helene, Spring Meeting is the first opportunity sheriffs have had to come together since the storm,” noted NCSA President Sheriff Mike Roberson of Chatham County. “As communities across the state are still recovering from Helene, events like this meeting allow sheriffs to continue to evaluate what we learned and what we can do better when there is another event similar to Helene. Our Spring Meeting and other Association events are a great way to facilitate “sheriffs helping sheriffs” like we saw this past fall!”

NCSA Chairman Sheriff Darren Campbell of Iredell County thanked New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon for hosting Spring Meeting in his county once again. “The Association extends its heartfelt appreciation to New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon for welcoming sheriffs and other officials to the area for another successful meeting!”

Sheriffs in attendance also took a moment to celebrate the recipients of this year’s Lifetime Defender of Public Safety Award. This year’s recipients recently concluded their service as members of the NC House of Representatives:

• Representative George Cleveland

• Representative John Faircloth

• Representative Jason Saine; and

• Congressman Tim Moore, who currently serves in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Lifetime Defender of Public Safety Award is given to former members of the North Carolina General Assembly who have recently left office and who have dedicated their legislative career to defending the constitutional Office of Sheriff and promoting public safety for all North Carolina citizens.

Sheriff Dustin Smith

Cherokee County, North Carolina