Sheriff P. J. Tanner will be the guest speaker at the Tuesday, June 10 meeting of the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association meeting which will be held in the Beaufort Realtor’s Association headquarters located in the Palmetto Business Park on Lady’s Island Drive.

Sheriff Tanner, a lifelong resident of Beaufort County, joined the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department in 1982. He rose through the ranks to serve as Commander of the Southern Division of the Sheriff’s Department.

In 1995, following his service with the Sheriff’s Department, he became a member of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety where he served in a variety of assignments.  Returning to Beaufort in 1998 he was elected as sheriff of Beaufort County, reelected in 2002, 2006, 2010 and is presently unopposed in his request for reelection in the upcoming November General Election.

Sheriff Tanner was selected as the 2009 South Carolina Sheriff of the Year by the S. C. Sheriff’s Association and served as President of the Association in 2010.

He has been requested to include the following in his discussion with our members:

• Impact on law enforcement of recent state personal gun laws expanding who can carry a personal weapon and where they can be carried?

• What is the justification for requesting an increase of the Sheriff’s 2015 budget?

• As the economy recovers in Beaufort County is there a reduction in local crime?

• Current role of the Sheriff’s Office in regard to illegal immigration?

• Most significant challenge facing the Sheriff’s Office in the next decade.

• In this era of tight money, should a metropolitan type of law enforcement be considered in northern Beaufort County?
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