DeKalb County has a new TWRA officer

July 3, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County has a new Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officer.

Colt Elrod of Cookeville joins long-time TWRA officer Tony Cross assigned to DeKalb County. Elrod has been a TWRA officer for two years. He and his wife of four years, Delaney, have a baby, Leo, who is just a few weeks old.

Elrod said he enjoys working in this field and hopes to stay for a long time.

“I’m originally from Mississippi. That’s where my mom’s family is from. We moved around a bit when I was growing up. My stepdad was in the military. I moved back to Cookeville and started school at Tennessee Tech in 2016. I graduated in 2020 and worked for a few years doing alumni stuff. Two years ago I got hired by TWRA and went to Chattanoga and was an officer for about a year and a half. It was a fun time in my life and I learned a lot, but I really like it here,” Elrod said.

Colt admitted that a career as a game warden was not always his life ambition.

“I grew up loving hunting and fishing, and people asked me when I was younger if I wanted to be a game warden someday, but I said I didn’t want to do that. When it came time for me to get a job, I knew I wanted to be in the wildlife industry. I had a friend who was an officer and tried to talk me into it, saying I would fit in with TWRA. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it would be a great way to get involved in the hunting and fishing community in the way I wanted, so I decided to give it a try. I got hired and ended up loving it. It was a perfect fit for me,” Elrod said.