By Megan Alley
Sun Staff
New Clermont County Sheriff Steve Leahy was sworn into his post by outgoing Sheriff A.J. “Tim” Rodenberg at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2017.
Leahy ran unopposed and was elected in November 2016.
Seventy of the Sheriff’s Office’s 80 Deputies were also sworn in during the ceremony, which was held at the Performing Arts Center at Amelia High School, located at 1351 Clough Pike.
“I want to thank everybody for showing up,” Leahy said during his opening remarks. “When I originally planned to do this, I thought this would be something really unique, really cool to do.”
He added, “Something I look back, I’ve been with the Sheriff’s Office for about 26 years, and I wish I could look back on my first time … that we would have had something like this.”
Rodenberg is retiring after 20 years of service.
“I couldn’t have had a better event to be at such as this, and wearing my uniform for the last time,” he said during his pre-ceremony remarks, adding, “I want to thank Steve for honoring me with this; it’s a great honor for me to be here to do this – highlight of my 20 years.”
He went on to thank his family, friends and the Sheriff’s Office staff.
Before the swearing in ceremony, Leahy also thanked his family, friends, campaign team as well as the Sheriff’s Office staff.
He went on to introduce his command staff, which is Chief Deputy Chris Stratton, Jail Administrator Joseph Palmer, Captain Jeff Sellars overseeing Court Services, Captain Paul Kamphaus overseeing Road Patrol, Captain Greg Moran overseeing Investigations, Chief Administrative Officer Jim Malloni, Captain Michael McConnell overseeing Jail Security Operations and Captain Bill Hogue overseeing Jail Programs and Services.
Leahy went on to announce that he was changing the Sheriff’s Office motto from “Lead by example,” to “Committed to Excellence.”
He also said that he was changing the Sheriff’s Office mission statement to “The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office is committed to providing fair and impartial service to our community. We take pride in our professionalism and maintain the highest standard through honesty and integrity while preserving the respect and dignity of the citizens that we serve.”