The Alabama Sheriffs Association has a new President.

The group swore in Houston County’s Donald Valenza to the top position at its winter conference in Opelika. It will be the first time that a sheriff from Houston County has served as president of the association.

Even though he will be taking on new responsibilities, Valenza said his main focus will not change.

“Houston County is my first priority,” Sheriff Valenza said at the conference.

In his new role, Valenza will be responsible for providing assistance to the 66 other sheriffs throughout the state should the need arise, specifically in times of disaster.

Valenza joined the Houston County Sheriff’s Department in 1979. He has served in multiple roles within the department and at one point was a member of Houston County’s first ever SWAT team in the 1980’s. He has been sheriff of Houston County since 2014.

Valenza is replacing Sheriff Shannon Oliver of Franklin County, who served as association president in 2023.

The Alabama Sheriffs Association is a nonprofit instituted in 1889 that encourages educational, social, and charitable activities among the state’s sheriffs.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.