My name is Steve Cannon. I am the Executive Director for J.A.I.L. Ministry, Inc. and Chaplain for the Bell County, Texas Sheriff’s Department. I have served in this position since November2003; first with Sheriff Dan Smith, and for the past two terms with Sheriff Eddy Lange.
I have known and worked with Chaplain Tim Eldred over the past 14 years. We first met during a Chaplain’s Committee meeting planning session for the National Sheriff’s Association. My former Sheriff, Dan Smith had requested that I participate as a member of the NSA Chaplain’s Committee.
Over the years Tim and I became more than fellow Law Enforcement Chaplains with NSA. We became very close friends. Working side by side each year in Washington D.C., and each summer at the annual NSA Conferences it was obvious that Tim had a servant’s heart and the needle on his compass pointed to Sheriffs. The executive board for NSA realized it too, as Tim was selected as the NSA Chaplain of the Year in 2012.
Years of working alongside Sheriff’s, Chiefs of Police and other First Responders during and after critical incidents became the training ground for Tim. It is important to note that Tim and I are Christian Chaplains.
God has called Tim Eldred to minister to and be a servant to Sheriff’s. Once during a crisis situation my Sheriff asked, “What can I do to help the Officers in my department?” If you need an answer to a question like that, Chaplain Tim Eldred would be a great place to start.
In Christ,
Steve Cannon
Executive Director / Sheriff’s Chaplain
J.A.I.L. Ministry, Inc. / Bell County, Texas Sheriff’s Department