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Answering his heavenly calling, Aaron Vaughan is running for the role of Sheriff of Washington County.

Vaughan has lived in Washington County for most of his life, and he wants to give back to his community. From a law enforcement perspective, Vaughan said service to the community looks like getting in the trenches with our local communities to close the gaps and divides that we may see.

Born in Tulsa, Vaughan lived in Colorado and Pennsylvania for a while before he moved to the Bartlesville area when he was eight. Vaughan graduated Bartlesville High School in 2002. He said northeast Oklahoma is the best place in the nation to live.

After high school, Vaughan served for 13-years in the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Vaughan was in the 45th Infantry Brigade and spent time in Afghanistan in 2003-2004. He said his law enforcement career began when he came back.

In 2006, Vaughan started out with the Bartlesville Police Department. Vaughan said there are similarities between law enforcement and military service. He said in both walks of life, there are plenty of responsibilities. He said the tasks to care for the community and how those tasks are carried out are very similar.

Vaughan served with the Bartlesville Police Department for a year before serving seven years with the Dewey Police Department. Vaughan said the BPD jump started him into the world of law enforcement. He said the officers at the BPD and those that serve the Bartlesville community are great at what they do, and they taught him a lot in the year that he was there.

As time progressed and Vaughan went to the City of Dewey, the police work was night and day. Vaughan said the size of the department and their structure was different, but that change helped him to grow in understanding people to a greater extent. He said in law enforcement, they interact with hundreds of people daily, and being able to communicate effectively with the communities that he has been blessed to be a part of has helped him tremendously in his walk.

When Vaughan was serving in Dewey at a full-time capacity, he received an associate degree at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. From there, he went on to get his bachelor’s degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma. Vaughan said he got his bachelor’s degree with the mindset that he was going to be a leader someday.

Six years ago, Vaughan left the Dewey Police Department to work at Phillips 66 in downtown Bartlesville. Vaughan said the transition wasn't easy because he still felt a greater calling to serve; he felt as if he had a heart dedicated to helping people. He said the transition was a personal thing as he tried to do something different for his family.

Now the goal for Vaughan is to get back into law enforcement and do more for his community than he had done previously. Vaughan said he has been married for almost 10-years, and without his wife's support, he would not be running for sheriff. He said his wife's guidance and love, and her drive to see him succeed, drives him.

Vaughan and his wife pray and talk, and put their trust and faith in God. Four children (a one-year-old, a six-year-old, and a 10-year-old) keep them occupied when they are home. Vaughan has a 14-year-old daughter that does not live with him and his wife. Vaughan said he is truly blessed to be where he is, and he says he does everything with God and his family in mind.