Recognizing Sheriff Gregory D. Countryman

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a dedicated husband and father, trailblazing Law Enforcement Officer and public servant, Sheriff Gregory D. Countryman. Sheriff Countryman was honored as the Community Service Person of the Year by the Controllers Civic and Social Club in Columbus, Georgia on December 3, 2022.

Born in Plains, Georgia, Countryman's family moved to Columbus, Georgia when his father was assigned to Fort Benning. He is a product of the Muscogee County School System, graduating from Baker High School in 1984. Although he struggled in his early life to overcome a learning disability, this challenge did not deter him from seeking higher education. He would go on to earn an impressive collection of degrees, including an Associate's Degree from Georgia Military College; a Bachelor of Science Degree from Troy State University; a Master of Public Administration Degree from Columbus State University; a Master of Arts in Practical Theology from Ohio Christian University and, finally, a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Counseling from Saint Thomas Christian University.

Countryman has been a dedicated public servant who has consistently gone above and beyond for the people of the Chattahoochee Valley region. He has dutifully served his community for thirty years as a highly respected law enforcement professional. As a Deputy in the Muscogee County Sheriffs Department, he served in the bureaus of Field services, Court Services, and the Fugitives and Jail Divisions. In 2004, he was elected to serve as the Marshal of Muscogee County, and he would go on to serve three terms.

As Marshal, Countryman was a visionary leader for law enforcement officials in Muscogee County and the state of Georgia. Desiring to improve public safety services beyond his community, he founded the Georgia Marshal Training Network, a non-profit organization to provide education and training to Marshals across the state and served as president of the organization. He believes that education is the passport to the future, and the future belongs to those who prepare for it today. With that vision in mind, he created the Junior Marshal Program for Middle School students which mentored and instilled within them the essential values of citizenship, leadership, education, fun, and teamwork. Since 2005, the Junior Marshal Program worked with nearly 2,000 young people, building lasting relationships between law enforcement and future generations, and making Muscogee County a safer place to live.

In 2020, Marshal Gregory Countryman made history by becoming the first African American to be elected Sheriff of Muscogee County, Georgia. After serving his community faithfully and effectively for over two decades, the people of Muscogee elected him sheriff with nearly 75 percent of the vote, demonstrating great trust in his ability to fairly enforce the laws and make our community safer.

It has been said that ``Service is the rent that we pay for the space that we occupy here on this earth.'' Sheriff Countryman has paid his rent and he has paid it well. In addition to serving as the top law enforcement official for the second largest city in the state, he has given dedicated service to various organizations in his community to include Omega Psi Fraternity, Inc.; Electric City Masonic Lodge No. 322; the Georgia Marshal Training Network; American Legion 267 (SAL Member); the Fraternal Order of Police; the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives; the Police Benevolent Association and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.

Knowing that public safety is a crucial and everchanging field, Sheriff Countryman has not rested on his laurels and has always tried to stay on the cutting edge of Law Enforcement Training and initiatives. He is a graduate of the Georgia Regional Command College Class No. 26, attended the FBI's Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (L.E.E.D.S) training, and served as a former Assistant Adjunct Professor at Georgia Military College where he helped effectively train new prospective recruits in the field of law enforcement.

Sheriff Countryman has served and achieved so much in his life, but none of it would have been possible without the grace of God and love and support of his wife, Angela, and their three sons, Christopher, Gregory, Jr. (a Muscogee County Deputy Sheriff) and William.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the more than 730,000 people of the Second Congressional District in recognizing, honoring, and commending Sheriff Gregory D. Countryman on receiving the Community Service Person of The Year Award from the Controllers Civic and Social Club in Columbus, Georgia. We commend and thank him for his selfless service to God, his community, and humankind.

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