*Editor’s note: This article is an abridged version of the article “Maries County Sheriff candidate Morgan leans on Army skills” that appeared in the July 10 edition. It has been edited for space. More coverage of the sheriff’s election will appear in next week’s edition.

VIENNA — Mark Morgan, 46, is the Republican nominee for Maries County Sheriff. He currently works as a sergeant with the Belle Police Department.

Morgan grew up in Tennessee. His journey to Maries County began when he joined the United States Army at 25 years old to give his family more opportunities than they had while he was working as a truck driver.

In the Army, Morgan used the truck driving skills he developed and became an 88M Motor Transport Operator. Training for the role included loading and unloading procedures, GPS systems, radio communication, vehicle and convoy security and defense, hazardous material transportation and vehicle recovery operations. He served on three deployments to Iraq.

“When I retired, the Army would have moved me anywhere I wanted to move to,” he said. “I liked Missouri. It seemed like home to me. My kids graduated from Vienna High School. My family was tired of moving. We really liked the area. We liked the rural community. So we decided to stay here. It’s a lot like Tennessee where I grew up. There’re just no mountains.”

Morgan said his time in the Army helped him develop many skills, such as leadership, management, critical thinking and stress inoculation, that helped inform his law enforcement work and potentially his work as sheriff.

While Morgan was still on active duty in the Army and stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, he heard about a part-time police academy hosted in Waynesville by the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association. He completed the 11-month program in 2015.

“It was something I wanted to do before I joined the Army,” he said about beginning his career in law enforcement.

Morgan began as a voluntary reserve officer with the Crocker Police Department. When a part-time position opened up with the Vienna Police Department, he applied and got the job. When Morgan began working for Vienna, he met many of the Maries County Sheriff’s Office deputies. The new connections led to him joining the sheriff’s office as a reserve deputy in 2016. Upon his medical retirement from the Army in 2018, he joined the sheriff’s office full-time. He worked as a road supervisor and K-9 handler and reached the rank of lieutenant before leaving the sheriff’s office in October 2022.

In November 2022, Morgan took his current position as a sergeant with the Belle Police Department. He is also a K-9 handler for Belle.

Morgan said he has studied criminal justice for more than 20 years across several different training programs and has accumulated approximately 130 credit hours.

“I’m a field training officer,” he said. “A police marksman. Obviously a certified K-9 handler. I’ve taken countless classes pertaining to crime scene investigation, shooting analysis investigation, interview and interrogation techniques.”

Morgan said his years of experience in law enforcement have taught him about how the reality of police work differs from public perception formed through depictions in popular media.

“Cop shows have very high-action scenes,” he said. “They don’t show all the countless hours of dealing with very minor incidents or just countless hours on patrol.”

Morgan said his biggest motivation for his campaign is to bring the county together. He emphasized his approach to community-oriented policing and making sure the public knows the officers and deputies serving them.

“I want to have a sheriff that’s transparent, who’s at the sheriff’s office and available,” he said. “To have a sheriff who is actually running the office and places the needs of the community above his own. I really think we need that desperately in Maries County.”

Morgan has been married to his wife Lori for 25 years. They have two children. In his free time, he enjoys hunting, fishing and driving his 2015 Jeep Wrangler. He is a member of the American Legion, VFW (Riders), the Fraternal Order of Police and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.