Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell to Address Southwest's 2012 Graduates

The Honorable Mark Luttrell, mayor of Shelby County, will deliver the commencement address to Southwest Tennessee Community College's Class of 2012 on May 5, at 10:30 a.m. at the Landers Center in Southaven, MS.

Mayor Luttrell was born in Jackson, Tennessee, and spent his early years in Bells, Tennessee. He moved to Memphis as a teenager and graduated from Bartlett High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Union University and a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Memphis.

His first job after college was teaching history at Bradford County High School in Starke, Florida. He served two years in the Army, stationed in Louisiana, Texas and Germany. Returning to Memphis, Mayor Luttrell began his career in criminal justice at the Shelby County Penal Farm serving as the vocational training director.

He joined the United States Bureau of Prisons in 1977 and served with that organization until his retirement in 1999. He also served as warden of federal prisons in Texarkana, Texas, Manchester, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee. He was then appointed director of the Shelby County Division of Corrections and served there until his election as sheriff in 2002 and again in 2006.

During his tenure, the Shelby County Jail men's and women's divisions were removed from federal court oversight and went on to receive national accreditation by the American Corrections Association. The jail medical units also received separate national accreditation certifications.

Additionally, the law enforcement division of the Sheriff's Office was also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies. As sheriff, he graduated from the FBI National Executive Institute (NEI) and in 2009 was named "Sheriff of the Year" by the National Sheriffs' Association. He was also selected as Lawman of the Year for the Kiwanis' Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee Districts.

Now Mayor Luttrell continues his desire to help Shelby County become one of the most effective and efficient governments in the nation.

He is a member of the Germantown Kiwanis Club and serves as a board member of the Memphis-Shelby Crime Commission, Operation Safe Community, Memphis Second Chance, University of Memphis Arts and Sciences Advisory, Union University Alumni Advisory and a member of Second Baptist Church.

Mayor Luttrell is a Leadership Memphis graduate and a distinguished recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award of the University of Memphis, College of Arts and Sciences.

He and his wife, Pat, have three children; Lynnette, Mark and Margaret and five grandchildren.

###

Photo caption: Mayor Mark Luttrell