[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7070]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR OF SHERIFF JERRY M. MODENA, SR.

                                  _____
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 15, 2015

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and 
solemn remembrance that I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding 
public servant and courageous leader of the Macon, Georgia community, 
Sheriff Jerry M. Modena, Sr. Sadly, Sheriff Modena passed away on 
Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Funeral services to celebrate his life will be 
held on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at Mabel White Memorial 
Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia.
  Sheriff Jerry Modena was widely known in his community as a 
compassionate leader committed to fighting crime and making Bibb County 
a safer place to live. Throughout his entire career with the Sheriff's 
office, Sheriff Modena gave one hundred percent of his heart to his 
line of duty.
  Prior to joining the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Modena 
served our country honorably as a paratrooper in the United States 
Army. In 1964, at the age of 23, he joined the Sheriff's office and 
remained there for over forty years. In 2001, he was elected Bibb 
County Sheriff and remained Sheriff for three terms before stepping 
down in 2012. Even after leaving the Sheriff's Office, he remained 
heavily involved and concerned for the wellbeing of the community.
  From the beginning of his career, Sheriff Modena was determinedly 
committed to the safety and welfare of those he was charged to protect. 
Described as firm but fair, he not only had a positive impact on each 
individual he encountered, but he also had a tremendous and everlasting 
impact upon his community. He is celebrated for creating substations 
around Bibb County and for championing the cause of the mentally ill in 
the Bibb County Jail, reserving 200 beds for those with mental health 
issues in his newly expanded 966-person lockup that opened in 2007.
  Perhaps one of Sheriff Modena's greatest accomplishments is his 
invaluable leadership in overseeing the merge of the Sheriff's Office 
and the Macon Police Department. He was also regarded as a mentor and 
guide to many in the Sheriff's Office. He taught others the importance 
of transparency in law enforcement, the need to be accessible to the 
community, and the importance of engaging with the people one serves.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``No individual has any right to 
come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him 
distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.'' Sheriff 
Modena's impression on this earth extends beyond himself to the very 
wellbeing of the Macon community, and for it he will be remembered by 
the community for time to come.
  Mr. Speaker, my wife Vivian and I, along with the more than 730,000 
people in Georgia's Second Congressional District, salute Sheriff Jerry 
M. Modena, Sr. for an outstanding career in law enforcement, his 
significant contributions to Bibb County, and his lifelong dedication 
to serving his community. I ask my colleagues in the House of 
Representatives to join us in extending our deepest sympathies to 
Sheriff Modena's family, friends and loved ones during this difficult 
time. We pray that they will be consoled and comforted by an abiding 
faith and the Holy Spirit in the days, weeks and months ahead.

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