2014 Conference Speakers:

Topic: High Risk Transportation—

Medical Transports

Speakers: Joe Avary and Don Ben-

son— U.S. Marshall’s Retired

Topic: Human Trafficking—The role

in corrections

Speaker: Heath Kane—Davidson

County Sheriffs’ Office

Topic: PREA Audits for local Jails

Speaker: Chief Brian Bivens—Knox

County Sheriffs’ Office

Topic:: Mental Health Services in

the Criminal Justice System . Speakers: Melissa Sparks, Dr. Jeff

Feix, Elizabeth Ledbetter TDMHSAS

Topic: Intake and Classification

Speaker: James Chipp —National

Sheriffs’ Association

Topic: Prisoner Discipline

Speaker: Glenn Ercanbrack—

National Sheriffs’ Association

Topic: TN SAVIN

Speaker: Gary Cordell

Impacting the Jail Environment:

C. Stephen Byrum PhD

2014 FALL FTO CONFERENCE

AGENDA Monday, September 8

th

5:30-7:00pm

Early Registration ONLY

Convention Center Lobby

5:30-6:30pm

Meeting with FTO’s

(Training Waiver Agencies)

MUSIC ROAD HOTEL AND CONFERENCE CENTER 303 HENDERSON CHAPEL RD. PIGEON FORGE TN

TENNESSEE CORRECTIONS INSTITUTE

303 Henderson Chapel Rd. Pigeon Forge, TN

September 8 - 11

Tuesday, September 9th

6:00-8:00am - Breakfast

Hotel Guest Breakfast Room

8:00-9:30am - Registration

Convention Center Lobby

8:00-11:00am - Vendor Hall

Technology Exposition

11:00-12:30pm - Awards Luncheon

1:00-4:30pm - Breakout Classes

4:30-6:00pm - Regional Training Meeting

7:00-11:00pm - Vendor Reception

Wednesday, September 10th

6:00-8:45am - Breakfast

Hotel Guest Breakfast Room

Vendor Hall—Tech. Expo

9:00-10:15am - Breakout Classes

10:30-11:45am - Breakout Classes

12:00-1:00pm - Lunch

1:15-2:15pm - Breakout Classes

2:30-3:30pm - Breakout Classes

3:45-5:15pm - Large Class

Thursday, September 11th

6:00-8:45am - Breakfast

9:00-11:00am - Large Class

11:00 –12:00pm - Evaluations Final Door Prize

and Dismissal

Crimes Tribunal. Mr. Avary’s skills and

expertise are in: Counterterrorism, Govern-

ment, Security Management, Evidence,

Internal Investigations, Crisis Manage-

ment, Security Operations, Crime Preven-

tion, Personal Protection, Protection, Crim-

inal Law, Security, Fraud and Policy. Mr.

Avary has a BS in Criminology from the

University of Albuquerque and Master-

work in Public Administration at the Uni-

versity of New Mexico.

Joe Avary is the owner of Avary Consulting.

He is a retired Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal

from the U.S. Marshals Service where he

served in the Middle District of Tennessee

as well as the District of Nebraska. Joe was

responsible for all operational and adminis-

trative responsibilities within both districts.

Mr. Avary is also a former Chief Inspector

with Interpol (Lyon, France) at the Interna-

tional Notices Branch where he performed

as a Law Enforcement Liaison for the War

Steve Byrum is a native of Athens, Tennes-

see. He studied in the public schools of

Athens and McMinn Country before matric-

ulating at the University of Richmond,

Maryville College, and Tennessee Wesley-

an College. Dr. Byrum graduated from

Tennessee Wesleyan in 1969 with a Bache-

lor’s Degree (cum laude) in Philosophy and

Religion. He then received a Masters of

Divinity Degree from Southern Seminary

(with honors), and completed his graduate

work with a Masters of Arts and a Doctor-

ate of Philosophy in philosophy from the

University of Tennessee, Knoxville (with

highest honors). Dr. Byrum has completed

post-graduate work at Vanderbilt Universi-

ty, Princeton University (on 2 occasions),

and Spellman College. He has received

grants from the National Endowment for

the Humanities, National Science Foun-

dation, and Tennessee Committee for the

Humanities, and received the Tennessee

Wesleyan Distinguished Alumnus of the

year in 1993. Dr. Byrum is the author of

over 40 books and more than 100 periodical

articles. A primary focus of Byrum’s pro-

fessional career has been the work of Rob-

ert S. Hartman, PhD, with whom he stud-

ied during his graduate work at the Univer-

sity of Tennessee. Byrum has furthered

Hartman’s original work, and has created

various applications of the Judgment As-

sessment for business, industry, and educa-

tion. He has also developed a national repu-

tation as a speaker and seminar leader relat-

ing to topics of workforce selection, leader-

ship development, and crisis/change/stress

management.

Training Academy, Chief Deputy in both

the Middle and Eastern Districts of Ten-

nessee, and the United States Marshal in

both the Eastern District’s of Virginia and

Tennessee. Chief Benson served as a

Team Leader for the Critical Incident

Response Team, responding to the Ruby

Ridge shooting, Oklahoma City Bombing

and the 9-11, World Trade Center attacks,

receiving the Marshals Service highest

award, the Director’s Award for his in-

volvement and service during those

events. Chief Benson has a Bachelors of

Science Degree in Law Enforcement

from the University of Tennessee.

Donald R. Benson retired as the Chief

Deputy United States Marshal for the

Eastern District of Tennessee, Knoxville,

Tennessee, in June 2002, after 26 years in

federal law enforcement. Chief Benson’s

law enforcement career began in 1973

with the Rockford Police Department,

Rockford, Tennessee, and continued with

the Maryville Police Department,

Maryville, Tennessee, until his employ-

ment as a Deputy United States Marshals

in 1976. Chief Benson worked as an In-

spector for the Witness Security Program,

Inspector/Instructor at the Marshal’s

Page 2

Joseph R. Avary

C. Stephen Byrum, PhD

Don Benson

2014 FTO CONFERENCE

see. Heath has multiple letters of Accommoda-

tion in his file from schools, ACA, Career Days,

etc. The main project that he has been doing for

years is a Red Cross Blood Drive that is called

“The Battle of the Badges”. Heath meets with

people from the Metro Police Department, Metro

Fire Department and the Nashville Chapter of the

American Red Cross to get this event in place. It

is now held at the Tennessee Titan Stadium and

is the largest producer of pints of blood for a

single day event in Tennessee Valley Region and

was even aired on 104.5 The Zone (a sports sta-

tion in the Nashville Area). Heath is married to

Sarah and has 3 children, Jackson, Elijah, and

Samuel. Heath has dual BS degrees in Psycholo-

gy and Political Science from MTSU, and a Mas-

ter’s Degree from Cumberland University in

Public Service Management.

Heath Kane started employment with the

Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in April of

1991. Heath worked as a Correctional Of-

ficer from April 1991 until August 1991,

when he started working as a Case Manager

and worked as a Case Manager from April

1991 until April 1993. He worked in Classi-

fication from April 1993 until October

1993. Heath then promoted to Training In-

structor in November of 1993 and has been

an Instructor since that time. Next year will

be 20 years in the Davidson County Sheriff’s

Office Training Division. Heath has twice

been Employee of the Month in March 2004

and June 2011.In 2012 Heath was the recipi-

ent of TCI’s “Facility Trainer of the Year”

award. And in 2013 Heath won the Red

Cross “Hometown Hero-Outstanding Volun-

teer” of the year award for Middle Tennes-

Brian is a graduate of the University of Ten-

nessee with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Soci-

ology, with a concentration in Criminal Jus-

tice. Brian began his career with the Knox

County Sheriff’s Office in 1994 as a Correc-

tions Officer at the Knox County Jail. In Oc-

tober of 1995, he was promoted to Assistant

Intake/Release Supervisor as a Corporal. In

November of 1996, he was promoted to In-

take/Release Supervisor and Classification

Supervisor with the rank of Sergeant. Also in

1996, Brian received his POST certification

when he graduated the Knox County Sheriff’s

Office Regional Law Enforcement Training

Academy. In 1998, he was promoted to Lieu-

tenant and was given the position of Intake/

Release Director. In September of 2001 Cap-

tain Bivens was named the KCSO Accreditation

Manager. In December 2002, Brian received

the promotion to Assistant Chief and become

the Facility Commander for the Knox County

Sheriff’s Detention Facility. In 2006, Brian was

named the Facility Commander over the Knox

County Jail. In October of 2014, Brian will be

overseeing his sixth American Correctional

Association Audit of the Roger D. Wilson De-

tention Facility (formally the Knox County

Sheriff’s Detention Facility) and the first Amer-

ican Correctional Association CORE Audit for

the Knox County Jail. In November of 2014,

Brian will oversee the first Prison Rape Elimi-

nation Act (PREA) audit for all three Knox

County Correctional Facilities.

ration, a Nashville based holding compa-

ny and as Chief Operating Officer of

Clayton Associates, a Brentwood, Ten-

nessee based Venture Capital Firm.

Mr. Cordell has served as Chairman of

the Board of Goodwill Industries, Chair-

man of the Better Business Bureau of

Middle Tennessee, Board member of

Park Center, Alumni Board member for

Leadership Nashville, and currently

serves on the Board for Crime-Stoppers

of Nashville. He also served as Campaign

Manager for former Governor Winfield

Dunn.

He and his wife Kathleen have five chil-

dren and reside in Franklin, Tennessee.

Gary Cordell joined the Tennessee Sheriff’s

Association in December of 2013 as the

statewide SAVIN Coordinator. SAVIN is the

automated victim notification system that

allows victims of crime to tract an inmate’s

status while in the County jail system.

Prior to coming on board with the Associa-

tion, Mr. Cordell served as the Director of

Division of Consumer Affairs for the state of

Tennessee where he implemented the first

statewide initiative to link County Sheriffs to

state agencies in an effort to improve commu-

nication and to build a distribution network

for identity theft and scam prevention printed

materials. Before coming to state govern-

ment, he had a successful career in the private

sector as President of Cherokee Equity Corpo- Page 3

Heath Kane—Instructor Davidson Co. Sheriffs’ Office

Chief Brian Bivens—Knox County Sheriffs’ Office

Gary Cordell—Tennessee Sheriffs’ Assoc.

state. Prior to joining the staff in the

Division of Substance Abuse Ser-

vices, Office of Criminal Justice

Services, she had been a Mental

Health Program Specialist where

she was responsible for the devel-

opment, implementation and over-

sight of the criminal justice/mental

health liaison projects and the Ten-

nessee Mental Health and Criminal

Justice Training Program. Addition-

al state experience includes, work-

ing in the Department of Finance

and Administration, Office of Crim-

inal Justice Programs as a Program

Manager.

Ms. Ledbetter has a long history of

working in state government con-

centrating in the field of mental

health/substance abuse services and

criminal justice. Currently she

works in the Department of Mental

Health and Substance Abuse Ser-

vices, Division of Substance Abuse

Services, Office of Criminal Justice

Services as the Recovery Drug

Court Administrator. In this role

she is responsible for the implemen-

tation and oversight of the Recov-

ery Drug Court programs across the

Dr. Jeff Feix earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology

from the University of Kentucky and completed an

internship at the Harvard Medical School in 1989.

He has worked in the public sector as a therapist, a

forensic psychologist and a sex offender treatment

provider in Massachusetts and Virginia before com-

ing to Tennessee as the Director of Forensic and

Juvenile Court Services for the Department of Men-

tal Health and Substance Abuse Services in July of

for Forensic Services and as Unit Coor-

dinator at Middle TN Mental Health

Institute for a total of 21 years of state

experience.

Melissa Sparks has served as the

TDMHSAS Director of Crisis Services

and Suicide Prevention since Septem-

ber 2009. Melissa is a Registered Nurse

and graduated from MTSU with her

Master’s in Science Nursing degree in

2011. Prior to her current role, Melissa

served as the Standards Coordinator for

Hospital Services, Forensic Specialist

Page 4

Elizabeth Ledbetter—TN Dept. of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services

Dr. Jeff Feix— TN Dept. of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services

Melissa Sparks RN, MSN—TN Dept. of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services

2014 FTO CONFERENCE

Dr. Jeff Feix— TN Dept. of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services

VOLUME 1 , ISSUE 1

lative issues, contract monitoring which

includes inmate management, jail safety

and security and jail operational practices

and procedures. He is a certified correc-

tional and law enforcement officer for the

State of Utah. He is a certified Jail Com-

mander for Utah Sheriff’s Association

and instructs in many venues on inmate

classification, intake and release, griev-

ance procedures, PREA and other legal

based correctional standards. He has

provided expert testimony/ reports to

include staffing pattern and programming

reviews.

Glenn G. Ercanbrack is the Director of

the Inmate Placement Program for the

Utah Department of Corrections. Glenn

is an innovative leader with over 19 years

experience working in many levels and

divisions within the Utah Department of

Corrections to include Captain, Investiga-

tor, Probation and Parole Agent. He has

also been the Director of the Northern

Utah Community Correctional Center a

150 bed work release center. Since Feb-

ruary 2008, he has been assigned to over-

see 21 county jail contracts worth over 30

million dollars annually. Glenn is re-

sponsible for policies, procedures, legis-

James Chipp, is a Correctional Adminis-

trator for the Utah Dept. of Corrections

and a retired Captain\ Jail Commander

for the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.

He has 30 years of experience in the field

of corrections. James started as a correc-

tional officer at the Weber County Sher-

iff’s Office and advanced through the

ranks of Sgt., Lieutenant, and Captain in

his 21 years of service at Weber County.

James is currently assigned as the Con-

tract Monitor Supervisor, responsible for

the inspections and audits of the opera-

tions for the county jails that contract

with UDC.In his career of 30 plus years,

all of James’s experience involves work-

ing in a county jail or coordinating with

county jails. He has served as a Jail In-

spector for the Utah Sheriffs’ Association

and the National Institute for Jail Opera-

tions. James is a certified instructor for

the Utah POST Corrections Academy and

has provided various training subjects at

numerous Sheriffs’ Offices through the

State of Utah. In addition to instructing

throughout Utah, James has taught and

presented in various states including Ala-

bama, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and

Michigan. He assists in training and in

coordination for the Utah Jail Command-

ers’ Association and the National Insti-

tute for Jail Operations. James has served

for the past 19 years as a committee

member for the Utah Sheriffs’ Associa-

tion Annual Training conference and

currently is a committee member on the

National Sheriffs’ Association Jail Train-

ing Advisory Committee.

Middle: Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson,

Sumner, Dickson, Cheatham, Davidson,

Wilson, Hickman, Williamson, Rutherford,

Macon, Trousdale, Wayne, Lewis, Law-

rence, Giles, Maury, Marshall, Lincoln,

Moore, Bedford, Franklin, Coffee, Cannon,

Smith , DeKalb, Clay, Pickett, Jackson,

Overton, Fentress, Putnam, White and Mor-

gan.

East: Cumberland, Warren, Grundy, Mari-

on, Van Buren, Sequatchie, Bledsoe, Ham-

ilton, Rhea, Meigs, Bradley, Roane,

Loudon, McMinn, Polk, Monroe, Blount,

Training Waiver Agencies have a meeting On

Monday Sept. 8th at 5:30 pm to discuss training

locations as well as in-service training for 2015.

All agencies currently operating under a training

waiver must attend.

A Regional Training Meeting will be held for

all other agencies Tuesday Sept. 9th at 4:30 pm to

discuss training schedules and locations:

West: Shelby, Tipton, Fayette, Lauderdale, Dyer,

Lake, Obion, Weakley, Gibson, Crockett, Hay-

wood, Madison, Hardeman, Chester, McNairy,

Hardin, Perry, Decatur, Henderson, Carroll, Hen-

ry, Benton, Houston and Humphreys.

Knox, Sevier, Cocke, Jefferson, Grainger, Un-

ion, Anderson, Scott, Campbell, Claiborne,

Hancock, Hawkins, Hamblen, Greene, Sullivan,

Washington, Unicoi, Carter and Johnson.

The Tennessee Chaplains’ Association will

be hosting a meeting at the Music Road Con-

vention Center from 9 am to 11 am on Tuesday

September 9th. All persons interested are wel-

come to attend. RSVP: (615) 898-7847 or

(615) 642-6193.

Page 5

Glenn G. Ercanbrack—National Sheriffs’ Assoc. NIJO

James Chipp—National Sheriffs’ Assoc. NIJO

Notifications

“Working with Tennessee “Working with Tennessee “Working with Tennessee “Working with Tennessee

Jails to Provide a Jails to Provide a Jails to Provide a Jails to Provide a

Professional Corrections Professional Corrections Professional Corrections Professional Corrections

Environment"Environment"Environment"Environment"

500 James Robertson Pkwy. Nashville TN. 37243

TENNESSEE CORRECTIONS INSTITUTE

NASHVILLE OFFICE

BETH ASHE – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LANCE HOWELL - DEPUTY DIRECTOR

JOANNE POGUE - ADMINISTRATION

WILLIAM WALL – TRAINING COORDINATOR

JEAN LIGON

DEBBIE BURNS-HATHAWAY

TCI PERSONNEL

Phone (615)741-3816 Fax (615)532-2333

www.tn.gov/tci

DETENTION FACILITY SPECIALISTS

WEST

BOB BASS—DFS/CCP COORDINATOR

CARRIE FORGUSON—DFS

EDDIE DOWDY—DFS

MIDDLE

MILLER MEADOWS—DFS

JOE FERGUSON—DFS

JERRY SCOTT—DFS

EAST

ROBERT KANE—DFS

DENISE MESSER—DFS

TONYA WEST—DFS