Sheriff’s specialty: shattering glass ceilings

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After her precedent-setting election as sergeant-at-arms of the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA). Chester County Sheriff Carolyn 'Bunny' Welsh poses with NSA President Danny Glick. sheriff of Laramie County in Wyoming. Photos courtesy of Sheriff Welsh

After decades of smashing gender barriers, Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh is showing no sign of relinquishing her hammer.

Chester County Sheriff Carolyn 'Bunny' Welsh is shown at the National Sheriffs' Association's annual conference, which was held recently in Baltimore.
Chester County Sheriff Carolyn 'Bunny' Welsh is shown at the National Sheriffs' Association's annual conference, which was held recently in Baltimore.

Her latest accomplishment: being elected sergeant-at-arms of the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA). Her swearing-in at the annual National Sheriffs’ Association Conference in Baltimore, Md., earlier this month marked the first time a woman has been elected to the executive level of the NSA in the organization’s 75-year history.

Welsh, Chester County’s sheriff since January 2000, has served on the NSA Board of Directors for four years, and she also serves on the Ethics Training and Accreditation Committee and the Legislative Committee. She is past president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association and has been named to the Hall of Fame of the International Police Association.

“Sheriff Welsh brings experience, good judgment and great talent to the NSA board,” NSA President Sheriff Danny Glick said in a Chester County press release. “We are pleased to work with her on issues affecting sheriffs throughout the nation. She has shown an enthusiasm and a willingness to work with all levels of government for the betterment of the citizens of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and other counties throughout the country.”

The NSA represents more than 3,000 sheriffs nationwide as well as former sheriffs, deputies and other members of law enforcement. To be eligible to vote, members must be present at the conference.  More than 1,000 attended this year’s gathering, said Susan Crow, NSA's director of communications; she said the vote for Welsh was unanimous. According to its website, the NSA has more than 20,000 members.

Welsh said she was honored by her selection to the post. “This is a prestigious board with many talented sheriffs from all over the United States,” she said. “They are an outstanding group of dedicated public servants who work for their constituents in each and every county all over the nation.”

Alex Collins poses with Chester County Deputy Sheriff Harry McKinney (from left), Chester County Sheriff Carolyn 'Bunny' Welsh, Underwood and Chester County, S.C. Sheriff Alex Underwood.
Alex Collins poses with Chester County Deputy Sheriff Harry McKinney (from left), Chester County Sheriff Carolyn 'Bunny' Welsh, Angel Underwood, and her husband, Chester County S.C. Sheriff Alex Underwood.

She said one of the highlights of the conference was a surprise reunion she helped to orchestrate involving Alex Collins. The 10-year-old West Chester boy made headlines in December after his mother helped him enter an online contest with a dream prize: a day hunting and fishing with the Chester County Sheriff.

Welsh was so touched by the boy’s heart-tugging entry that she contacted the “other Chester County sheriff,” Alex Underwood, who was the one who was sponsoring the contest. Although his jurisdiction was Chester County, S.C., Underwood, aided by Welsh, arranged to have the boy flown there to claim his prize. It was the first of several encounters between the pair as well as the beginning of an enduring friendship.

“He [Underwood] had no idea we were bringing Alex; it was very cool,” Welsh said, adding that other sheriffs from across the country who had read about the boy’s adventures with Underwood also enjoyed meeting him. The boy known as “Little A” – since he and Underwood share the same first name – may have also served as a good luck charm.

Welsh said that after she decided to run for sergeant-at-arms, she resigned from her seat on the NSA’s board of directors. The vacancy prompted Underwood to throw his hat into the ring. “There were five sheriffs running for two spots on the board,” Welsh said, adding that Underwood got one of them.

She said she is looking forward to her new post and enjoys the diversity of the membership. She said some members run departments with half a dozen deputies while others oversee 1,000. “We all work together, and we all learn from each other,” she said.

Welsh’s litany of notable female firsts dates back to 1982 when she founded Hercon, which became the first construction firm owned by a woman to receive a major PennDOT contract in 1984, resulting in the completion of a $700,000 overpass over I-95 in Chester. By 1995, she became the first woman president of the Chester/Delaware Homebuilders Association.

Chester County Sheriff Carolyn 'Bunny' Welsh says sheriffs typically bring an item from their state to share. Her contribution included Hershey bars.
Chester County Sheriff Carolyn 'Bunny' Welsh says sheriffs typically bring an item from their state to share. Her contribution included Hershey bars.

Then, inspired by her father, the late John R. Welsh, an Upper Darby councilman, she entered politics. She became Chester County’s first female sheriff and the only female sheriff in Pennsylvania when she won election in November 1999. She subsequently attended a male-dominated national training class in Colorado for first-year sheriffs and became the first woman to be elected class president.

In August 2009, Welsh became the first woman to take the helm of the 90-year-old Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association. This past May, she became the first female sheriff to represent the National Sheriffs’ Association during the Defense Department’s Bosslift program, a stint that took her on a refueling mission aboard a Boeing C-135 Stratolifter.

 

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