Woodburn Independent Online

Hlad promoted to commander

• By: Charissa Bernard  
• Published: 11/3/2009 9:27:32 AM

Photo By: Photo courtesy of Marion County Sheriff's OfficeEric Hlad

SALEM — Mt. Angel native and Marion County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Eric Hlad (pronounced “lad”) was promoted Oct. 28 to the position of commander for the enforcement division.
 
Formerly the acting sergeant in charge of judicial security and background investigator, Hlad’s new position opened up through a chain reaction of promotions. When Jason Meyers was recently promoted to Marion County sheriff, Troy Clausen took his place as undersheriff and Hlad is now stepping into Clausen’s vacated commander position.
 
“The promotion process involved the sheriff and undersheriff meeting with a number of employees within our office, other collaborators, outside agencies, community members and Eric himself,” said MCSO Public Information Officer Lt. Sheila Lorance.
 
“As they talked to people it became clear Eric was the right choice for the position and he was selected.”
 
Raised in Mt. Angel with his older sister and younger brother, Hlad attended Mt. Angel schools through high school and was very involved in athletics. After high school, Hlad graduated from George Fox University and, in 1991, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and became a combat medic with the 82nd Airborne. He was stationed in both the Republic of Panama and the Middle East. 
 
Hlad was hired as an enforcement deputy with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in 1996. Since that time, he has worked in many different areas of the Sheriff’s Office, including on patrol, on the threat assessment team, as a survival skills instructor, and, most recently, in the judicial security unit. Hlad was also an entry team leader for the Marion County Interagency S.W.A.T. team for over 10 years.
 
“Commander Hlad demonstrates strong leadership skills, a great vision and an outstanding understanding of how the enforcement division ties into the overall mission of our office and in our community,” said Sheriff Jason Myers. “He possesses excellent communication skills and has built very positive relationships with our judges, courts and other public safety partners.
 
“Commander Hlad has great ideas and will be a welcomed addition to our leadership team.”
 
Hlad was sworn into his current position Oct. 28 by Sheriff Meyers and is now responsible for daily operations of the enforcement division. He and the three other division commanders are the third line of command under the sheriff and undersheriff.
 
Hlad said he plans to maintain the positive partnerships within the community which have been established over several decades of hard work by the dedicated employees of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
 
Hlad lives in Salem with his 13-year-old son.

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