TNDAGC announces leadership transition

The Tennessee District Attorney’s General Conference (TNDAGC) has announced the retirement of its current and the selection of a new executive director.  

Guy Jones will retire from his position as executive director, which he has held since July 2020. Prior to that, Jones spent more than two decades as deputy director of TNDAGC during which he managed legislative approval of conference initiatives to strengthen reporting and punishment of child sexual abuse, broaden homicide to include deaths due to illegal drug trade, create greater protection for domestic violence victims, and multi-year efforts to enact Elder Adult Protection laws, among many others.   

During his time as deputy director, Jones He guided three public education efforts, including the nationally recognized “Meth Destroys” campaign, for which the Conference received a Silver Anvil Award awarded by the Public Relations Society of America. He was the 2010 recipient of the Conference’s highest honor, the Patrick H. McCutchen Award, for advancing the goals of the Conference.     

Before joining TNDAGC, Jones served in all three branches of state government. He is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and Nashville School of Law. He will step down from the role in July.  

The new executive director will be Tenth Judicial District Attorney General Stephen Crump who presently represents Bradley, Polk, McMinn, and Monroe counties. Crump will serve in the role until 2024 when it will then be the choice of TNDAGC to reappoint him.  

Crump has served as the district attorney general for Tennessee’s Tenth District since July 2014 when he was appointed to the role by Gov. Bill Haslam and was then elected in August of that same year to fill the eight-year term.  

Crump began serving as a prosecutor in 1997 when he was appointed an assistant district attorney general by then District Attorney General Jerry Estes. He was later made team leader for the South Team of the district and served in private practice from 2006 until 2014.  

During his role has DA, Crump has sought to increase efficiency and accountability in the office and implemented guidelines that set minimum sentencing recommendations in violent crime, drug trafficking offenses and home burglaries. He also has created a Gang Task Force and a Cold Case Task Force to deal with violent and unsolved crimes. Most recently, he created the Special Prosecutions Unit to deal with complex cases and violent crimes.   

An active member of TNDAGC, Crump recently served on the executive committee of the conference and has served on the organization's justice and professionalism committee. He also chairs the legislative committee and serves as an advisor to the Tennessee General Assembly in this capacity.