[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1222-E1223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNIZING SHERIFF GREGORY D. COUNTRYMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 6, 2022

  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.

[[Page E1223]]

  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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