GAME WARDEN CHAPLAIN CHAT

This month, I had the honor of interviewing a dear friend, Assistant Commander Cody Jones.  When Cody graduated from the Academy, he and his family joined the church I was pastoring in Austin.  He was, literally, the first Game Warden I had ever met.  But he and his family became dear friends of ours. Also, it was the dream of many that the Chaplaincy Program become a reality and that is how I came to be the Lead Chaplain for Texas Game Wardens and State Park Police Officers.  Because Cody became the Administrator of the Chaplaincy Program as well as the CIT (Peer-support Team), I thought it would be a good idea for you to hear Cody’s heart to help and facilitate our officers with the difficult challenges our officers come up against routinely.

The podcast for this month is and interview with two wonderful Game Wardens who partner in leading our Critical Incident Team.  Of course, these are also two very large personalities who make me laugh when I am with them – very gregarious people.

I wanted to hear from their hearts why they see leading our CIT is such a crucial area of service.  But I also wanted each of you to know that there is this very important resource dedicated specifically to you and your needs in a time of crisis.  We have about 30 CIT members around the state.  This number includes Texas Game Wardens and State Park Police Officers.

I think you might learn something from them that will help you reach out to our CIT if you ever find yourself in a peer-to-peer need.  They will explain about the privacy issues, as well, so you can feel comfortable knowing that your issues stay with you and your peer.

Please listen as they explain in great detail what CIT means for you when you need them.

This month I had the privilege of interviewing Major Brent Satsky of our LE Special Operations.  Anyone that know Brent will know that he is a man full of information and someone who cares deeply about his Game Wardens and his Staff.  I believe you’ll enjoy his interview and learn much more about our Special Operations work done on behalf of the people of Texas and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

As all of you know, we have a new Colonel, Chad Jones.  I had the honor of sitting down with Chad a few weeks ago and finding out about his life, history with our Game Warden assignments and other issues close to his heart.  I think you’ll enjoy hearing what he has to say – especially his love of family, job and what each of you do for our Law Enforcement Division and its future.

This podcast deals with “Stress” and will be the first in a series of podcasts dealing with Stress.  Also, I had the opportunity to interview Chief Wes Masur of our State Park Police Officers.  I know you’ll want to hear what this wonderful man has to say!

There are many things we can learn from our dogs!  K-9 Ruger, our now retired K-9, is a dog we can learn much from these days in how to deal with so many of the issues of our lives.  Listen to Captain Christy Vales as she describes Ruger and all he has to teach us over all the years of his service.

This month I had the honor of interviewing Colonel Grahame Jones just one month out from his retirement.  I only wish I had done this with Colonel Craig Hunter!  You have the opportunity to listen to his heart as he leaves the job he dreamed of – not being Colonel,  but being a Texas Game Warden.  We also deal with a little of the COVID-19 situation and how we are called to ” . . . be strong and courageous!”

There is nothing about “Greif” that we look forward to dealing with.  However, each of us must deal with it sooner or later.  We will all face loss, and with loss we will all face the emotion of “grief.”

Even if you are not going through Grief, or are just coming out of it, please forward this and the references contained in the podcast to those who are just now going through grief.  What you can do to help your loved-one in this time will not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

With my very deepest love and concern for each of you,

Its that time of year – when stores are crowded, checking accounts get much smaller and some of us struggle with things that have happened through the year that make this year’s holiday season a little less than it used to be.  But, there is good news! Listen, and see what I mean.

One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve travelled around the state and spoken to our Texas Game Wardens – now more than ever, Game Wardens don’t know each other like they did when there were even fewer of them.  So, I want to spend a few podcasts interviewing Game Wardens so those of you who may know their names can now put a story to their names.  This month, I interview one of the most humble Game Wardens I’ve met, yet.  I know there are many who are humble, but let this Game Warden – Darrin Peeples – give you an example of what I mean.  I hope you get some good information about him in this interview.

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