Dear Friends,

I am truly humbled by the support that I received during my campaign and election process. Although we were unsuccessful in our efforts, I am very proud to have had the opportunity to run for the Office of Sheriff and want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each of you for your help, support, encouragement and friendship.

Now that the first phase of the process is over it is up to you, as citizens of Lowndes County and as taxpayers, to elect the most qualified candidate to be our next Sheriff. I have spent time with both Chris Prine and Freddie Taylor over the past three weeks to familiarize myself with their goals and objectives if elected. After much soul searching and prayer, I have concluded that I won’t endorse either of them. I don’t feel that my endorsement would help either candidate, but could easily cause a negative impact. I will, at this point, put my faith and trust in the voters to elect the best man for the job.

The future of our county’s law enforcement, of the employees of the Sheriff’s Office and of my service to Lowndes County will be in the hands of the next Sheriff. I am confident that the Lord has a master plan and I will follow it. Twenty years ago, when I began my law enforcement career, I did not do so to serve or please a particular boss.

I chose to do this because of my passion to serve the citizens of our county and to somehow make an impact in this community. As I have progressed through the years, I have worked for several different individuals and have always put forth a 100 percent effort. With that said, regardless of who I work for in the future, my passion to serve this community remains the same. I will continue to serve for as long as I am allowed and I trust that you and the rest of the voters will make the right decision on November 4th.

During the campaign and election process, I feel that I have gained a lot of maturity and have verified for myself that nothing is guaranteed except God and we must trust Him and follow His direction.

My faith is strong and my God is good. I am very proud that Pam nor I have done or said anything during the campaign that we would need to apologize for. Regardless of how difficult it became at times, we kept our heads up and avoided becoming negative towards others. Also, I realized that I don’t need a certain title or position to be who I am. I am happy with knowing that I have done what is right and I have served to the best of my ability. As far as a future bid for Sheriff, I will follow the Lord’s lead regardless of the path.

Both of the candidates, who remain in the race, are good men and very capable of carrying out the duties required of a Sheriff. I strongly suggest that each of you get to know the candidates and their qualifications. I believe it is important that you look at their leadership qualities, decision making ability and goals for the future.

By doing so, I am confident that the choice will become very clear. During my conversations with each of them, I have asked for only one commitment and that is for the new Sheriff to enter the office with no preconceived notions where the employees are concerned. I’ve asked that he allow for a period of evaluation where he may come to know each employee, their qualifications, their abilities and their potential. If you base future decisions on those attributes, no one should be disappointed.

I feel that it would be unfair to ask either of them to make individual commitments, which would be based on knowledge they have yet to have access to. Those of you who have spent any time with me know that I am very loyal and that loyalty is very important to me. But, please don’t allow your loyalty to me to cloud your judgment when making the decision as to which candidate would be the best choice.

I respectfully request that your decision be based on who you feel would best represent the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and who would be more beneficial to the employees as a whole, not just my future. I have told them both that I will serve and support whoever is elected for as long as he would like for me to do so. All I’ve asked is that, if they don’t wish for me to continue they give me a reasonable amount of time to find another means of income. I believe that both of them are fair men and will honor that simple request.

Once again, I thank you for all of your support, encouragement, loyalty and friendship. I am confident that our future remains bright and each of you will make the right choice. May God bless you all!

• J.D. Yeager is a resident of Hahira.