Hamilton County, TN – On Monday, April 16th, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond will host a School Safety and Security Analysis Meeting for local elected officials and community stakeholders to discuss general school safety.

The meeting will take place at the Westin Hotel in Chattanooga from 8:00 am – 11:00 am. During this time, a facilitated discussion will be held featuring input from local elected officials, HCDE officials, representatives from the juvenile justice system, as well as mental health advocates.

The primary speaker will be nationally renowned School Safety Expert, Michael Yorio. Currently, Mr. Yorio serves as President of SSI Guardian, LLC, and Senior Vice President of Security for School Specialty, Inc. Mr. Yorio is a former defense industry executive who is credited with founding SSI Guardian, the nation’s leading school safety and security firm and wholly owned subsidiary of School Specialty, Inc. Most recently, Mr. Yorio led the 21st Century Safe School initiative addressing institutional safety from an evidence based

best practice approach focusing on the social, emotional, mental, and physical factors.

Members of our local media will be invited to cover this private morning event. Media relations will be coordinated by HCSO Public Information Officer Matt Lea. All media wishing to cover this event should RSVP their participation.

Please note, any reporters wishing to cover the event must be in the room set up by 7:45 am. This meeting will not be open to the general public.

Later that afternoon, Sheriff Jim Hammond will join the Tennessee Professional Educators Association to host a Town Hall meeting from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm at East Hamilton Middle High School. The meeting will be open to the general public and members of our local media are encouraged to attend and cover the event. The publicity and media relations of the Town Hall will be coordinated by the Tennessee Professional Educators Association.

During both of these events, there will be numerous opportunities for interviews and B-Roll at specific intervals. Please RSVP your media agency by emailing HCSO PIO J. Matt Lea at jlea@hcsheriff.gov.