[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 4, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IN HONOR OF JAMES W. MELE FOR 30 YEARS OF COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

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                          HON. TOM McCLINTOCK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 4, 2018

  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague Mr. 
Denham, to honor the service of Sheriff James Mele for his 30 years of 
outstanding leadership in Tuolumne County.
  In 1988, he joined the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office as a Jail 
Deputy Recruit. In just two years he was promoted to Jail Sergeant and 
then upon graduation from POST Academy in 1990 to Deputy Sheriff. He 
was a member of the SWAT team and was promoted to Investigator where he 
was appointed to a drug task force called ACNET. After serving as an 
Investigator he was promoted to Sergeant. As a Sergeant he supervised 
in patrol and then as a Narcotics Sergeant in 2003, and Investigations 
Sergeant in 2005.
  Elected Sheriff in 2006, Jim devotedly served the citizens of 
Tuolumne County for another 12 years. As Sheriff he founded: the Crisis 
Negotiation Team, the Public Information and Community Outreach team, 
and the Rural and Agricultural Crimes Unit. He reinvented the K9 
program and initiated the Risk, Vulnerability, Assessment, Strategy for 
school violence. Jim fought for the Sheriff ``J.H'' Dambacher Detention 
Center scheduled to open in 2019.
  Jim earned his BA in Criminal Justice Management at the Union 
Institute & University in 2000; his Executive Master of Leadership from 
the University of Southern California in 2014; and in 2017 graduated 
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy in 
Quantico, Virginia.
  Jim was awarded the California Association of Tactical Officers 
``Darrell F. Gates Memorial Police Executive of the Year.'' As Sheriff, 
he served as a member of the California State Sheriffs Association, The 
California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System 911 Board, and the 
California Narcotics Officer Association.
  Alongside his service to keeping his community safe, Jim has also led 
several laudable activities: as a Sonora High School football coach, a 
youth baseball and soccer coach, a Bishop in his Church, a High 
Councilman of Girls Camp Liahona, a member of the Civic Advisory Board 
at Adventist Health and Sonora Rotary, and a Scout Master In the Boy 
Scouts of America; bolstered by his experience of achieving the rank of 
Eagle Scout.
  Mr. Speaker, Sheriff James Mele has an incomparable record of 
protecting and serving his community. He has set an example of 
outstanding leadership for us all.

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