Beau Sneddon

Beau Sneddon, a 26-year veteran county corrections officer, has been named warden of the Butler County Prison.

Sneddon, who had been serving as acting warden since Joe DeMore resigned in July, was appointed warden Tuesday, Aug. 15, by the county prison board.

The board will forward a salary recommendation of $103,659 for Sneddon to the salary board, which meets Aug. 30.

“Thank you very much. I look forward to working with you,” Sneddon said after the board unanimously approved his appointment.

Since he started as a part-time corrections officer at the age of 20 on July 1, 1998, Sneddon became full time in December that year and gradually rose through the ranks. He became deputy warden in 2014 and held that title until he was named acting warden.

He said he considered it an honor to be among the seven highly-qualified candidates the board selected to interview from a pool of about 30 people who applied for the position.

“The Prison Board went through an extensive process in the search for a new warden. During our interview process, we met with some incredible individuals who displayed various levels of experience in corrections,” said Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe, who is prison board chairman. “The naming of Beau Sneddon, who has been a longtime employee of the prison, was an excellent choice to lead the prison”

Sneddon said the prison has a well-trained staff that he wants to maintain.

“Keep moving forward the way we’re moving forward,” Sneddon said. “Keep our staffing good, keep our training good. We have literally some of the best corrections people working here. It really is true.”

He said he never imagined becoming a warden and is not planning to seek any other job.

“Long term, I’m 46 and this is going to be it for me. I always planned on staying until I don’t have a job anymore,” he said.

Sneddon is a member of the Pennsylvania Prison Warden’s Association, Pennsylvania County Corrections Association and vice president of the Butler County Police Chiefs Association. He is a previous member of the American Correctional Association in which he successfully completed the certified correctional executive program.

He said he also plans to continue working with the prison’s mental health service contractors to address the growing issue of inmate mental health.

“We provide mental health care that I never imagined we’d provide 20 years ago. That’s the way things have evolved and changed,” Sneddon said.

The prison’s inmate health care provider PrimeCare Medical Inc. also provides mental health care and has psychiatrists and other professionals at the prison. Glade Run Lutheran Services and the Center for Community Resources also are part of the countywide effort to address mental health issues, he said.

“A lot of inmates have mental health problems. We work with agencies to improve their lives,” Sneddon said.

Sneddon is a lifelong county resident who graduated from Knoch High School in 1995. He and his wife, Angie, reside in Butler.

DeMore, who was hired as the warden in 2015, is now the director of corrections for Volusia County in Florida.

Also on Tuesday, the board hired five corrections officers to fill vacant positions. Jakob Matthews, Jacob Walker and Ryan Truax were hired as part-time officers and Joshua Pogue and Travis Redick were hired to work irregular hours.