Sheriff Mark Melton
Appling County, Georgia
Meet Mark Melton, Sheriff of Appling County, Georgia.
Mark Melton was elected Sheriff of Appling County, Georgia in May of 2016. He took office on January 1, 2017. He was born and raised in Lakeland, Georgia. He is the son of Shirley Melton and the late Jack Melton, the 5th of their five children. Sheriff Melton has lived in Appling County for over 30 years. He has been married to Dawn Carter Melton since 1991 and they have one daughter, Marley Mikell Melton. He has faithfully attended the Baxley Church of God for 30 years and has served as an Elder on the Pastor’s Council. He also works with his Church’s youth group as a Sponsor and Mentor.
Sheriff Melton graduated from Valdosta State University in 1985 with a degree in Criminal Justice and began his law enforcement career with the Department of Corrections as a State Probation Officer. He was appointed office manager for the Appling and Jeff Davis office in Baxley. In 1998, he was promoted to Compliance/Training Coordinator and assigned to the Southeast Regional Office in Waycross. He advanced to the position of Field Training Officer with the Probation Training Unit. He was again promoted to the Statewide Program Coordinator for all Specialized Probation Supervision, commuting to and from “Headquarters” in Atlanta. Since 2006 until taking office, Sheriff Melton was employed by the Brunswick Circuit District Attorney as the Investigator assigned to Appling, Jeff Davis, and Wayne County.
Throughout Sheriff Melton’s career, he continued his education and attended numerous training programs. He has completed over 4,000 hours of training through the Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (POST). Sheriff Melton is “POST” certified as a Senior Instructor and is qualified to teach all general law enforcement classes and many high liability classes including Firearms, Defensive Tactics, Cap Stun Weapons, Emergency Medical, and CPR/First Aid. He is a certified Armorer for Glock, Sig Arms, and Smith & Wesson. In addition, Sheriff Melton has completed executive level management training programs through the Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the Department of Corrections “Leadership Institute.” He has also continued his studies in Law Enforcement Management by attending the Columbus State University, Law Enforcement Command College.
Sheriff Melton has had the opportunity to participate in two very special assignments during his career. He was team leader in an undercover capacity during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games held in Atlanta. In 2004, he was assigned to a security detail for the G8 Presidential Summit in Savannah, under the direction of the Governor of Georgia.
Since obtaining his first teaching certification, Sheriff Melton has taught thousands of hours for various law enforcement agencies across the state. Since the late 1980’s he has conducted citizen gun safety and awareness classes, both privately and in conjunction with the Appling and Jeff Davis County Sheriffs’ Offices. Additionally, he has been a Criminal Justice Instructor for Altamaha Technical College. As an employee and Instructor with the District Attorney’s Office, his teaching endeavors have been centered on law enforcement in the five counties of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit; Appling, Jeff Davis, Wayne, Glynn, and Camden.
