In March 1995, the new sheriff of Mecklenburg County (North Carolina), Jim Pendergraph, created a new position and filled it with David Rhew, a local news personality. Rhew, as Director of Communications, was charged with improving the agency's image within the community and with conveying the purpose and mission of the agency. He soon discovered, however, that there was also a need for improved communications among correctional staff. In December 1995, Rhew initiated and facilitated the meeting of small focus groups within the agency. He randomly selected 50 officers, sergeant and below, and civilians, who composed the first round of participants. Officers from all areas of the agency were included to ensure equal representation. The group of 50 was further broken down into five groups of 10, who met for 1 hour each week for 4 weeks. The focus groups were an opportunity for personnel to know one another better and to voice concerns and feelings about their work. The first tangible result of these focus groups was the increased effectiveness in the dissemination of memos. It was decided that memos were not reaching the line staff sufficiently, that supervisors were responsible for relaying information to the staff, and that supervisors should be held accountable for that task. In addition to the focus groups, Rhew conducts a survey at the end of each month to solicit input as to how communication and departmental performance might be improved. Staff and administration are currently working on other ideas for improving communication within the agency. Some of these ideas are described in the final section of this article.