Corrections_Today_November_December_2021_Vol.83_No.6

His next task was welcoming a special guest, the 50 th Governor of the State of Tennessee: Bill Lee. Parker noted Lee “was an advocate in both his words and actions for the work we do in corrections and under his leadership Tennessee passed monumental criminal justice reform that will change the face of corrections for generations by breaking cycles of violence and keeping families intact.” Parker continued, “The legislation signed by Gov. Lee will change the trajectory of criminal justice in Tennessee by focusing on alternatives to incarceration, increasing educational opportunities and addressing the main issues that sent them to prison in the first place.” Governor Lee has a special connection to the corrections field as President Parker noted Gov. Lee had, 20 years before entering politics, been a volunteer mentor for men in prison with the Men of Valor Prison Ministry. These experiences shaped Governor Lee’s understanding of the cor- rections profession. “When pay raises for correctional employees in Tennessee had to be put on hold during the pandemic, Gov. Lee promised he would not forget them. He kept that promise and our staff received as significant pay raise,” continued Parker. “Welcome a true servant-leader, Governor Bill Lee,” Parker concluded. Governor Lee began by thanking President

Parker for his service noting he was “sad” when he found out Parker was leaving as head of the Ten- nessee Department of Corrections. He went on to share his personal experience with corrections: “Tony shared with you just a little bit of my interest in the transformation of lives through correction.” “I did work in a prison reentry program start- ing some 20 years ago long before I ever thought about politics or government. In that process of mentoring men as they reentered society, I learned an awful lot about how it is that you in this indus- try have a tremendous opportunity to serve the people we are called to serve to reduce recidivism, lower crime, reduce the cost to taxpayers and most importantly to be in the process of transforming people’s lives.” Lee explained how his personal experience with the world of corrections led him to important insights about corrections and its impact on the people it serves and the community it protects. “Whether it’s through a protracted incarcera- tion and the impact that has on a person or whether its in an alternative to incarceration that allows people to pay a penalty for their crime that is more appropriate to the future or whether it’s the way

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