Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater was in Colorado last week, where he completed participation in the 108th session of the National Sheriffs’ Institute (NSI) held in Aurora, Colorado. The NSI event is the only national executive development program designed for sheriffs. It’s a no-cost program co-sponsored by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA). Sheriff Vandewater is the first sheriff of Adair County to graduate from the NSI.

Vandewater joined 26 other sheriffs from across the country for training on contemporary challenges facing America’s sheriffs today. In light of those challenges, the sheriffs explored the role of the local sheriff in providing effective leadership for the public good in such areas as public safety, criminal justice system policy, community relations, and organization effectiveness and efficiency.

Hilary Burgess, NSA Manager of Training, said, “Sheriff Vandewater is a leader with vision for the Adair County Sheriff’s Office. It is an honor to have Sheriff Vandewater join the more than 2,500 graduates of the NSI since 1973.”

The NIC is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons. It is the primary federal source of technical assistance, training, and information services for state and local corrections. NIC provides a wide variety of services to the nation’s jails, most of which are the responsibility of sheriffs.

The NSA is a non-profit professional association located in Alexandria, Virginia. NSA represents the nearly 3,100 elected sheriffs across the nation and has more than 20,000 members, including law enforcement professionals, state and federal government employees, concerned citizens, students, and others. Since 1940, NSA has served as an information clearinghouse for law enforcement professionals. NSA also provides management training for sheriffs and their personnel in court security, crime victim services, domestic violence, homeland security initiatives, jail operations, and traffic safety. Additionally, NSA administers the highly successful National Neighborhood Watch and Triad programs.