I’m a long-time resident of Washita County and a member of the 1987 graduating class of Sentinel High School. My wife, Jennifer Kamphaus Rozell, and I share four children. I have invested many years in Washita County including working for the Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy and a Reserve Deputy as well as teaching at Sentinel High School. We have a successful farming operation and raise cattle and wheat.
For 27 years, I was a school teacher and Principal. Twenty of those years, I also worked in Law Enforcement. My Law Enforcement career started in 2004 with the Department of Corrections as a Probation and Parole Officer. I have worked as a Probation Officer, a Sentinel Police Officer, a Washita County Reserve Deputy and am currently a full-time deputy.
These experiences have provided me with a well-rounded Law Enforcement background along with a business background. I bring a strong work ethic, good business, and good budgeting skills to the Sheriff’s Office with my background in the family farm and administration while working as a Principal at the North Fork Correctional Facility and completing my Master of Education from SWOSU.
It will be a privilege to be able to serve our Washita County as your Sheriff. My commitment is to serve the citizens of our county, continue to maintain our budget in a responsible manner, and build our Sheriff’s Department to benefit our citizens to continue to improve our area so we can be proud of where we live and choose to raise our families.
I will work to ensure our tax dollars are used wisely and efficiently in all areas of the Sheriff’s Department to improve our department and maintain our existing infrastructure.
I will ensure our Deputies are out in the county keeping our citizens safe and protecting their property. I will ensure that the Sheriff’s Office has a good working relationship with other Law Enforcement agencies to keep Washita County a safe place to live.
I am the only candidate in the race that pays property taxes. I know the struggle of paying property taxes and living in rural America. I will manage the budget wisely and efficiently.
Total Fulltime 10 years 7 months Cleet Certified 20 years
Total 21 hours of 63 hours required
I prepared myself for this job by taking some of the required classes once a Sheriff takes office. The classes must be done within one year of taking office. I paid at my own expense to take the courses to prepare myself so I could hit the ground running upon taking office.
I have been CLEET certified since 2004. I have 896 hours of CLEET training. I am a CLEET certified instructor. I have a Masters of Education from SWOSU.
My wife Jennifer and I run a wheat and cattle operation. We have recently built an Airbnb business. In my younger years, my family owned and operated a successful grocery store in downtown Sentinel. I was the Principal at the North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre in August of 2016 to January 2022. I developed the educational department’s yearly budget and implemented protocols to stay within the state's budgeted monies. I was responsible for writing policies and making sure state and local policies were followed by the teachers I supervised. I have the administrative experience necessary to run the Sheriff’s Office in a productive efficient manner and communicate effectively with personnel. I have the experience necessary to write grants to provide the Sheriff’s Office with additional opportunities the budget will not provide. I have worked for some great Sheriff’s and have picked up management styles from each Sheriff I will utilize to run the Sheriff’s Office.
