Richard Sale, chaplain consultant for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, was presented the John A. Price Award for Exemplary Chaplaincy by The International Conference of Police Chaplains during a June 28 ceremony in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Richard Sale, center, recipient of the John A. Price chaplaincy award, is congratulated by (from left) ICPC President Craig Hungler, Deputy Chief Alen Heidler, Chief Anson Shells of the Florence Police Department, and Wes McDuffie, incoming ICPC president.Sale is the first chaplain in the Carolinas and the mid-east region of the United States to receive the Price Award. Sale has devoted the past 30 years to chaplaincy, 27 of which have been in the field of law enforcement.
After retiring from an administrative position at Florence Darlington Technical College, where he taught criminal justice, Sale joined the staff of the SCBC. Currently, he is active with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and with the state Highway Patrol.
Chosen as a charter member in the first class of FBI chaplains, established in 1991, Sale was called into service in Oklahoma City in 1995 at the New York World Trade Towers in 2001, and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He has returned to Oklahoma City and New York several times to assist with critical incident stress workshops.
Sale entered law enforcement chaplaincy with the Florence Police Department in 1980, where he later established a chaplain’s program. He continues to serve Florence police and is also available to the city’s fire department. He was instrumental in establishing the chaplains program for the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
In presenting the award, Craig Hungler, president of the International Conference of Police Chaplains, commended Sale for his efforts in “establishing an uncommon rapport with the line officers through unstructured ride-along counseling.”
Hungler noted, “His chief (Anson Shells) comments that this chaplain can often be found on the lonely city streets after midnight to just show the cops that someone cares. This chaplain has done it all, from counseling officers and their families involved in minor domestic issues to comforting an entire agency, after a lieutenant in his department is killed senselessly.”
Highlighting that Sale was given the honorary rank of captain due to his high integrity and value to the Florence Police Department, Hungler added that “because of the outstanding person this chaplain is, the chief holds his friendship with immense value.”
A field traumatologist, Sale is trained in crisis incident stress management crisis intervention and has a master’s degree in counseling. An ordained minister, he also has served in hospital chaplaincy at Baptist Hospital in Columbia and at the McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence for 10 years.
Sale is a member of First Baptist Church, Florence, where he is serving as interim administrator.
The John A. Price Award, which recognizes excellence in ministry done on behalf of law enforcement personnel, is named after a chaplain for the Albuquerque, N.M., police department and co-founder of the International Conference of Police Chaplains.