Carbon County Sheriff Jeff Wood was named Employee of the Month for the month of August. The announcement came at the Carbon County Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, August 3 among Commissioners, family, friends and co-workers.
Wood always knew he wanted to be a police officer and wanted a career in the Carbon County area. He felt this was a good choice due to the fact that it would bring a different challenge every day. He began his career in 1992 as a Patrol Deputy with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office. Fast forward 22 years later Wood is now the Sheriff who has stayed true to his campaign slogan two years ago: honesty, integrity, transparency.
A typical day for the Sheriff is arriving at work at 7:00 am to go over emails, check calendar for the day, read reports of the events of the night before. As soon as he has completed his office duties he then tries to get out of the office. Usually his day ends around 4:00 pm if there are no late meetings scheduled. Wood added, “I believe the Sheriff is on duty 24 hours a day; so I never turn my phone off and keep up on after hour phone calls via cell phone.”
His greatest achievement since being elected as Sheriff is developing a Community Supervision Program to help low and moderate risk violators avoid incarceration and give them a chance to get back on their feet without the negative influences of the jail.
According to Wood the most challenging issue facing the Sheriff’s office is maintaining the employees, “Our employees are held to a high standard and must display the upmost level of integrity in their day to day duties. They are held accountable for their actions but it is also important for the community to understand they perform an extremely difficult task on a daily basis and have a different perspective developed for their safety then the public in general.”
Wood’s favorite aspect of his job is the community involvement whether it’s an appearance at annual events, visits to the local schools and/or coaching his daughter’s softball team, he truly believes Carbon County is a great community and fully supports its law enforcement officers.
For any individuals thinking about a career in law enforcement, Wood had some words of advice, “I would advise anyone entering this profession to start with school in the field of criminal justice. I would encourage them to take advantage of ride along programs and take every chance to observe all aspects of the job including the jail.”
Finally, what did Wood think about being named Employee of the Month, “I was totally surprised by the employee of the month award and honored to receive it. I think the county employees are like my second family and am proud of each and every one of them.”
When you see Sheriff Wood out and about in the community be sure to congratulate him on a job well done, most importantly thank him for his service