Shelby sheriff to receive Vulcans community award

Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego is this year’s recipient of the Servant Leadership Award in the Spear Category of The Vulcans Community Awards. Samaniego, along with all of this year’s recipients, will be recognized during this year’s Vulcans Community Awards dinner on Nov. 2. 

The Vulcans Community Awards defines servant leadership as the selfless service to others and is awarded to someone who has stood for the community by serving others, according to its website. Samaniego said he feels the same way.

“I think that, first of all, you have to have a service heart and get a feeling of accomplishment when you help people,” Samaniego said, speaking to his own work as a service leader in the community. 

Helping others has always been his motivation throughout his career, Samaniego said, but his role in law enforcement came about almost unexpectedly. He received his undergraduate degree in social work from the University of Alabama, and through those courses he stumbled across a class on criminal justice during his junior year. 

“I started doing volunteer work at my home sheriff’s office in Madison County,” Samaniego said. “I really fell in love with it.”

After graduation, Samaniego continued to pursue a career in law enforcement. He has worked with the Tuscaloosa Police Department, Birmingham City Police Department and now the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. He started in the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department as chief deputy until Sheriff Chris Curry retired.

“I was a good No. 2 and totally supportive of Sheriff Curry, [but] I never really stepped out front,” Samaniego said. “I chose to run [for sheriff] and at that time it became evident that I was going to have get out of my comfort zone and be political [to] inform the citizens of who I was.”

Because of the support Samaniego felt from his department, he said he decided to run and take on the position of Shelby County Sheriff. He was elected in 2014. 

Samaniego said he has since enjoyed every minute of his time as sheriff. 

“Something that is very attractive about this job [is that] you don’t really know what you’re going to be doing everyday,” Samaniego said. “It’s usually the same parameters, but it’s going to be something different, with different people and different circumstances.”

While Samaniego may deal with a variety of challenges, he said he approaches all situations with the ideals of a servant leader. Even though he recognizes that he uses this approach though his self-described “servant’s heart,” Samaniego said he was still surprised to learn that he received the Servant Leadership Award. 

“I was a little intimidated once I did research on the award to see who had received it prior to me,” Samaniego said. “Quite honestly, the men and women who have won this award in the past are outstanding individuals. Just to be named in that same category, I am very humbled by it.” 

Samaniego gives a lot of the credit of his department's success to the men and women on his staff who have adapted to his work ethic and mindset. He believes there is a shared understanding in the group of leading witha servant’s heart. 

“If everybody just [associated] my name with being a fair servant and a good law enforcement officer, I would be very satisfied,” Samaniego said. 

The Vulcans Community Awards dinner will take place at The Club in Homewood. Tickets can be purchased at visitvulcan.com or by calling 933-1409.