Recognizing Lieutenant Colonel John Darr

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a loving husband, dedicated father, seasoned law enforcement executive, dear friend of longstanding to my wife Vivian and me, Lieutenant Colonel John Darr. An event celebrating his remarkable career in law enforcement was held on Thursday, February 23 at the Saint Luke Ministry Center in Columbus, Georgia.

The journey of Lieutenant Colonel Darr began in Fort Benning, Georgia. He attended Hardaway High School and Columbus State University.

Lieutenant Colonel Darr began his career with Muscogee County Sheriffs Office in 1988 serving in a variety of bureaus to include The Fugitive Apprehension Bureau, The Jail Bureau, Patrol Bureau, Court Bureau, and Investigative Bureau.

Because of his vast experience and his penchant for service, Lieutenant Colonel Darr ran for and was elected Sheriff of Muscogee County in 2008. He was subsequently reelected in 2012. During his tenure as Sheriff, Lieutenant Colonel Darr was a visionary leader who organized various community outreach programs. One of the first programs that he initiated was a program called project lifesaver. This program was the first of its kind in Muscogee County.

The program provided tracking bands to families of program individuals with cognitive disabilities to Autism and Alzheimer's. A compassionate community servant, Lt. Col. Darr helped to secure funding for bands for families that could not afford them as well as provided training for his deputies to be able to locate these individuals if they were in distress. He also found resources to promote these two programs by having an Autism Patrol Car and the All Cancer Support Vehicle.

Lt. Col Darr was also committed to reducing the recidivism rate at the Muscogee County Jail.

Always the visionary, he began several initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life for inmates while housed at the jail. These initiatives include the Veterans Dorm, the Fatherhood Dorm, and the GED Dorm.

The Veterans Dorm was the first such initiative in the country and provided vast resources for those Veterans who were incarcerated. It helped them to deal with the ever-present issues of PTSD and substance abuse. In short, this initiative helped to prepare these Veterans for life after incarceration.

The Fatherhood Dorm initiative focused on inmates being able to be present fathers after their release from incarceration. This initiative focused to improving the literacy of fathers so that after their release they would have the literacy skills to better themselves and to be able to read to their children. Finally, the GED Dorm helped incarcerated individuals to obtain their GED's.

Because of these initiatives and his focus of Mental Health, Lt. Col Darr was responsible for the removal of a Federal Consent Decree that the jail had operated under since 1999.

Lt. Col Darr's remarkable service as Sheriff ended in 2016. He always looked for ways to help himself and his community. He came back at the Lt. Col for jail operations under current Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman.

John Darr has held many titles in his life, but the most befitting is that of Servant. It has been said that ``Service is the rent that we pay for the space that we occupy here on this earth.'' John Darr has paid his rent and he has paid it well.

Lt. Col Darr has accomplished much in this life, but none of it would have been possible with the love and support of his wife Linda and their four children: Rachael, Michelle, Courtney and Troy.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join my wife Vivian and me along with the more than 765,000 people of Georgia's Second Congressional District in extending our sincerest appreciation and best wishes to Lt. Col John Darr on the occasion of his retirement from the Muscogee County Sheriff's Office and remarkable career in Law Enforcement. To God be the Glory.

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