Tony Aaron is married to Jennifer Aaron and has two children. His family has inspired him to continue to grow both personally and professionally. As a self-professed perpetual student of life he is committed to opportunities to grow personally, professionally, and spiritually.
Tony was born in the small town of Memphis, Texas. Soon after his birth his family moved to Brown County, Texas. He was raised with his parents and two older sisters. His sisters pretty much acted as his second and third mothers. So growing up he received a lot of great advice and life lessons from all four of his family members. Neither of his parents graduated from high school, but both taught him how to achieve success. His father was an entrepreneur and inventor who owned several small businesses and taught him the value of hard work and chasing your dreams. His mother worked as a childcare professional, in her 30s she obtained her GED and became a teacher’s aid, worked in the food service industry as the head cook, and eventually retired from the City of Brownwood as the Brown County Health Inspector. She instilled in Tony that you are never too old, underprivileged, or uneducated to set a goal, strive to achieve it, and reinvent yourself and your future as often as needed in order to obtain happiness.
Tony attended school in Bangs, Brownwood, and graduated at the top of his class from a private Christian high school in Brownwood. In the fall of 1991 he enlisted in the Army National Guard and attended basic and advanced infantry training at Ft. Benning, Georgia. He served in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves from 1991 to 1999. During this time most of his training was in infantry battle tactics and indirect fire artillery.
In 1993 after quickly developing signs of an illness, he was diagnosed with Non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The prognosis from the doctors indicated that the battle against cancer would be hard and possibly a losing effort. For the remainder of 1993, he was treated with chemotherapy and radiation at the MD Anderson Cancer Research facility in Houston, Texas. If not for MD Anderson and the healing power of God, this battle would have been lost.
Although he had already begun a life of military service, with the prayers and generosity of the Brown County community a seed was planted within him for a life of service to the community and others.
Following the victory of his illness in 1994, seeking to find his purpose in life Tony attended Indiana Bible College studying ministry and Christian education. In 1997, his pursuit of purpose led him to attend and graduate from Tarleton State University’s Police Academy as Salutatorian of his class.
His law enforcement career included working for the Comanche County and Brown County Sheriff’s Offices for the next 18 years and he remains a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office today. Working in criminal investigations and specializing in narcotics investigation, Tony worked on numerous state and federal cases executing numerous search warrants and apprehending hundreds of suspects across the nation. He has been qualified in both state and federal courts as an expert witness in drug trafficking and organized criminal activity. The last nine years at the Brown County Sheriff’s Office at the rank of Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain he was the administrator over the Enforcement Division. His responsibilities were human resources, budgeting, training, law enforcement and investigation, emergency operations, tactical operations and was the team leader of the Sheriff’s Office Tactical Team. He held certifications as an Environmental Enforcement Officer, Mental Health Peace Officer, Academic Instructor, Firearms Instructor, and Master Peace Officer Certification. Awards received as a peace officer include Outstanding Deputy of the Year 2005, Officer of the Year 2006, Sheriff’s Commendation “Going Above and Beyond” Certificate of Appreciation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and a Certificate of Appreciation from the Masonic Lodge No 270.
With the belief, “we should always be a student even when we hold a role of teacher”, in 2008 to 2011, Tony attended Howard Payne University and obtained his Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences with a Major in Criminal Justice. Balancing being a husband, a parent, a Captain, and a student he graduated as the “Non Traditional Student of the year and maintained a 4.0 GPA. Most importantly, becoming the first member of his extended family to earn a degree of higher education.
Tony’s belief in public service has not just been as a paid professional. In the past he has served as a volunteer for the Ron Jackson Facility of Texas Department of Juvenile Justice, Brothers Big Sisters, served on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Brownwood, the Pecan Valley Domestic Shelter, the Board of Trustees for the Brownwood Regional Medical Center, a member of the Natural Resources Committee, Law Enforcement Training Advisory Board, the Texas Municipal League Small Cities Advisory Council, and the Texas City Manager Association.
In 2014, he graduated from Sam Houston State University with his Masters of Public Administration, attended Texas A&M Mays Business School at the Center of Executive Development, and later that year became the City Administrator of Early, Texas
He never has and hopes he never will complete his life of education, and looks for ways daily to learn how to be a better person.
As City Administrator, Tony has developed a “Teamwork” mentality and environment for all the stakeholders of Early, Texas including the elected officials, employees, volunteers, partner organizations and its citizens. With the cooperation and engagement of the community, Early’s future is heading in a positive direction and the needs and expectations of citizens are being met. By instilling a servant leadership mindset, a proactive approach to problem solving, and by striving to reach strategic goals the organization has recently achieved great success for the community of Early. The story of success for Early, Texas has not yet been completed, but it has some exciting chapters so far and much more to come.