Schuylkill County Sheriff Joseph Groody will be sworn in Friday as president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association.

He is the first from the county to be afforded the distinction. The president serves for a one-year term.

“It’s a great honor. When I first became sheriff in 2008, I never anticipated I would even run for office,” Groody said Friday.

The dinner starts at 6 p.m. at the Valley Forge Casino Resort Event Center, Valley Forge.

Groody is still a chaplain of the association, a role has had since 2008.

He has also been a trustee and member of the board of directors among others. As president, he will run the meetings. His goal is continue to move the association forward in advocacy.

He has been sheriff since 2008. He has always had an interest in law enforcement.

His first unpaid unofficial job was as the captain of the safety patrol in the seventh grade at St. Joe’s Catholic School, Ashland.

“I’m going to be a cop someday,” he recalled thinking as a child.

He worked at a local Acme store before becoming a police officer.

Groody was a patrol officer and criminal investigator for 31 years with the Ashland Police Department before becoming sheriff, a job he didn’t envision doing. The previous sheriff became a commissioner and told him of the opening.

Groody said he enjoys helping county residents and others in their time of need.

He doesn’t question his career choice or what direction his life would have gone.

“Life is full of choices and you can never get mad at yourself for making the wrong choice because you don’t know,” he said.

Knowing what might have been is not possible, Groody said.