CADIZ RESIDENT Ed Banks III is serving his community and the nation through his recent appointment on a countrywide board. Banks, a deputy warden at the Belmont Correctional Institution in St. Clairsville, was added to the 28-member North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents last August and most recently attended a conference by the American Correctional Association. He was on hand for the gathering in Grapevine, Texas, last month.

"These conferences provide a venue for the number of NAAWS members nationwide to get together and discuss organizational business matters as well as issues facing the field of corrections," he said. "In addition, our organization holds one training conference a year at various locations throughout North America.

Through networking, training and recognition NAAWS believes it can respond to the needs of the men and women who run the jails and prisons of North America.

"As an organization we are able to voice input into the legislation and standards that govern the manner in which we do business."

The board of directors and its elected officers are comprised of correctional officials from throughout the U.S. and Canada. Banks' selection was the first official act by new President Mark Saunders, who serves as warden of the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution in Lancaster. Banks and Saunders became acquainted through their involvement on the Adult Institutional Cabinet of the Ohio Correctional and Court Services Association. Banks' term on the NAWS board is indefinite.

"[Saunders] felt my appointment would assist in focusing membership efforts towards the large pool of deputy and associate wardens and superintendents throughout North America. The board of directors serves as a governing/advisory body for the organization. In addition, the board of directors has a specific constitutional role to advise the elected officials in matters that are brought before the organization."

Other board members represent South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Oregon, North Carolina, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Kansas. He said Saunders opted for more diversity on the panel, which primarily had been comprised of wardens.

"Serving on this board has provided me with the opportunity to establish relationships with correctional professionals from across the nation. I am very appreciative of the support I've received from my warden, Michele Eberlin, and the confidence Mark Saunders had in me to make the appointment. I plan to serve with the NAAWS board for many years and hopefully contribute positively to its mission."

Banks resides in his hometown with wife, Janel, and their daughters Lyndsey McGowan and Rebecca Banks. He is the son of Ed and Mary Banks of Cadiz. A 1991 graduate of Cadiz High School, he received an associate's degree in criminal justice at Belmont Technical College and a bachelor's degree in correctional administration and management from Bellevue University. He served with the Cadiz Police Department until 1994, when he accepted a post at the Trumbull Correctional Institution.

He transferred to Belmont a year later, taking a post as an officer. Banks rose through the ranks as a lieutenant, captain and major before becoming deputy warden in 2005.

He has also served with the Tri-County Help Center, Harrison County Community Sanctions Board and the Sally Buffalo Park Board.

Do you have news to share with your fellow BTC alumni? Send it to Erin Neeley, Coordinator of Development and Alumni Relations, for publication in Discovering Belmont and on the BTC alumni web page. To submit news by e-mail, [ click here ]. You may also mail news to Belmont Technical College, Office of Alumni and Institutional Advancement, 120 Fox-Shannon Place, St. Clairsville, Ohio 43950, or call (740) 695-9500, ext. 1189.
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