More than 300 people watched Tuesday night as Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight was sworn in as the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association's president for the next year.

"I would like to thank all of my fellow sheriffs, for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to serve as your president," Knight told the capacity crowd at the Association's 87th annual Training Conference at the Marriott Raleigh City Center.

"As president, I pledge to you to continue to protect the powers of the sheriff ... and to treat each citizen with dignity and respect. ... I feel humbled for the opportunity you've given me tonight," Knight added in his remarks to the dozens of assembled sheriffs.

Knight was joined by his wife Margaret and their two children, James Jr. and Jamina, as retired Superior Court Judge Frank Brown gave the sheriff the oath for the association's presidency for 2009-10.

District Attorney Robert Evans looked on and was confident that the Association presidency was in good hands.

"The association is in great hands, as Sheriff James Knight is a great leader," Evans said.

Former Edgecombe County Sheriff Phil Ellis also attended Tuesday and after the ceremony said glowing things about his one-time employee.

"He did an excellent job, and everybody loved (Knight)" as a DARE program officer, Ellis said, and that it was Sheriff Knight's efforts that made it work as well as it did in Edgecombe.

Ellis added that if "we had a situation to arise with racial overtones, I knew I could count on James to check it out, smooth things out and get to the bottom of it.

"He knew how to talk to folks, black and white," when it came to Edgecombe County, he said. "Without question he'll do an excellent job."

Craven County Sheriff Jerry Monette, immediate past president of the Sheriffs' Association, told the crowd he was "honored and privileged to pass this mantle on" to Knight to hold for the next year. Monette noted that he had "enjoyed many a night near Pinetops" as his wife Debbie, a Pinetops native, and he spent time in "a little piece of heaven in Edgecombe County."

Along with his own gavel, Knight was presented a special edition .45-caliber revolver fashioned after the one carried by Wyatt Earp, issued to each association president.

When Knight received his firearm, Monette quipped that "all sheriffs like guns."

Several other Edgecombe County officials, including Commissioners Leonard Wiggins, Evelyn Powell and Jon Felton and County Manager Lorenzo Carmon, attended.

Wiggins, the board chairman, said, "We've got an excellent sheriff, and we're pleased that the hundred sheriffs also recognize that. As a board, we are honored."