St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne became the President of the National Sheriff’s Association for the second time he was officially sworn in to his second term on Jan. 26, making him the first two-time president in the organization’s near 83-year history.
Champagne was sworn in at a special ceremony at the Sheriff’s Office’s Training and Special Services Center in Luling. He will be serving out the unexpired term of retiring NSA President William Bohnyak of Orange County, Vermont.
Champagne previously served as the NSA president during 2016-17 term.
“I am excited about making history as the first repeat president,” Champagne said. “I am confident that my previous experience will help me assist the organization in being effective across the country in getting the sheriffs’ message out and providing support to our 3080 sheriffs.”
Last year, Champagne became the 1st Vice President of the organization after being sworn in at the NSA’s annual conference in Kansas City.
Though he is serving out Bohnyak’s term, this summer Champagne will be reinstalled as NSA President to serve a term of one full year. It represents the first time any sheriff has been elected to serve twice as president in the NSA’s 82-year history.
He’s said that NSA events have helped him look up and see the bigger picture.
“Sometimes, sheriffs tend to stay focused on local politics and I truly believe it prevents them from viewing the management of a sheriff’s office as a long-time proposition that must be continually re-evaluated lest the agency becomes stagnant,” he said. “True change and improvement takes time. A large organization cannot be turned on a dime. It takes planning, vision, and the ability to self-critique. Leadership courses have really only come into vogue in recent years and I have fully embraced it agency wide. It is ongoing and has without a doubt made us a better crime fighting and service-oriented agency.”
He said his involvement with the NSA has also kept him informed on technology improvements for law enforcement.
Champagne has served as a NSA board member for 19 years and has held virtually every leadership position within the organization, including chair of the Legal Affairs Committee.
The National Sheriffs’ Association was chartered in 1940 and is a professional association dedicated to serving the Office of Sheriff and its affiliates through law enforcement education and training, and through the provision of general law enforcement informational resources. The NSA represents thousands of sheriffs, deputies and other law enforcement, public safety professionals, and concerned citizens nationwide.
Through the years, the NSA has provided programs for sheriffs, their deputies, chiefs of police, and others in the field of criminal justice to perform their jobs in the best possible manner and to better serve the people of their cities, counties, or jurisdictions.
The National Sheriffs’ Association headquarters is located in Alexandria, Virginia and offers police training, police information, court security training, jail information and other law enforcement services to sheriffs, deputies, and others throughout the nation. NSA has worked to forge cooperative relationships with local, state, and federal criminal justice professionals across the nation to network and share information about homeland security programs and projects.
It’s not the first time Champagne has reached a historic milestone.
In 2020, he became the longest tenured sheriff in St. Charles Parish history as he was sworn in for his seventh consecutive term, surpassing former sheriffs Lewis Ory and Leon Vial Sr., each of whom served approximately 23 years in the position.
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