Cox, 53, is the lieutenant in charge of administrative services for the Bell County Sheriff’s Office. Most of his time is spent with files - both electronic and hard copy - and those who work with the files.
He deals with budget management, manages personnel procedures and maintains the sex offender registration records for the county.
Sheriff Dan Smith appreciates the work Cox has put in for the sheriff’s office. This past month marked 25 years of service for the unassuming Cox.
During that time Smith has come to rely on Cox’s gift for organizing and remember dates.
On Nov. 7, during a morning meeting, Cox let his propensity for remember dates get the best of him. He notified the sheriff that it was his 25th anniversary on the job and during that time he had not taken a single discretionary day of leave.
That’s 40 hours of leave a year that Cox has left on the table. He joked with leadership in the sheriff’s office that his commitment had cheated him out of 1,000 hours of leisure he could have had on the county’s dime.
“It was a joke,” Cox said. “I have no small children at home and that’s what those discretionary days are really for. I get three weeks vacation a year and with holidays, that’s all I need.”
As he readied himself to take off for Thanksgiving weekend, Cox said, “I’ll be off for four days - four days. I’ll be ready to see the office come Monday morning.”
After 25 years as a faithful employee, Cox had to have known that opening his mouth about such an accomplishment would bring on some good-natured ribbing. He just didn’t expect it would be taken to the level that Smith took it.
And because Cox is committed and focused, he never even saw it coming.
Soon after Cox’s comments, Smith devised a scheme where Cox would be publicly recognized for his accomplishment during a commissioners court meeting.
The only hurdle was finding a way to get Cox to the meeting. Smith did so by telling him commissioners wanted to speak with him about a budget issue.
Even though the budget item was not placed on an agenda, Cox was oblivious to the scheme until County Judge Jon Burrows began offering a thank you and congratulations to him for his service.
“I’d been had,” Cox said. “I guess they thought that was newsworthy. I’m allergic to most antibiotics, so I guess it’s good I don’t get sick often.”
In 25 years of dealing with the management of county law enforcement records, Cox has seen a lot of changes.
“When I first came to work for the Sheriff’s Office, a ‘hard drive’ meant having to go Lubbock in one day to pick up a prisoner.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is that come Monday Cox will be hard at work while somebody in some organization somewhere has to take a day of discretionary leave.
