Department of Commerce
NOAA Fisheries Service
- Office for Law Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2005

NOAA FISHERIES OFFICE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT'S OFFICER
RICK HAWKINS NAMED AS A NOAA EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR FOR 2005

Enforcement Officer Rick Hawkins has been named employee of the Year by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He was recognized at a ceremony at NOAA Headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. on Thurs, 19 May.

Hawkins received the honor for his initiative and development of a Conservation Education Corps (CEC) to support NOAA Fisheries Service Office for Law Enforcement. He has been an NOAA Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) enforcement officer since 1999, and has served his entire time in the Southwest Division.

The CEC arose from public requests for information and resources that overwhelmed the single OLE COPPS Officer. The Southwest Enforcement Division's noted the NOAA's and NOAA Fisheries Service's lacked to resources to keep with the demand to participate in numerous outreach events. This lack of resources forced the OLE and NOAA Fisheries missing opportunities to disseminate NOAA information and engage the marine industry, and the general public in open dialogue.

In 2003, Officer Hawkins envisioned a "corps of volunteers" that would enable the OLE to reach more of the public while maintaining agents and officers on their primary mission of protecting and conserving our nation's living marine resources.

First and foremost these volunteers from the Federal RSVP were trained to support OLE's mission in outreach & education, freeing up agents and officers to conduct investigations and patrols. They did this by conducting outreach and education sessions for public schools that would have otherwise required and agent or officer.

Hawkins' proactive approach to outreach and education has vastly increased the OLE's reach. Using an initial start-up of approximately $1,600, the first class of CEC Volunteers graduated on December 11, 2003 and have already conducted 19 presentations to over 1,400 students. (as of March 2005). With the incorporation of the CEC also came the approval by the Long Beach Unified School District to incorporate the educations materials into the 4th grade curriculum.

The Columbia, S.C. native has over six years of law enforcement experience with the OLE. Prior to coming to NOAA, Hawkins served as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and was involved in the investigation of the Exxon Valdez accident, post-Sept 11th port security operations, as well as tours in the Middle East for "Operation Desert Storm" and the Adriatic for "Operation Sharp Guard." After 12 years of active duty, he moved to the Reserves in 1999, where he now serves as a Marine Inspector and Investigator in Long Beach, Calif. area.

Although his primary role is to conduct patrols and investigations, including outreach patrols at the volatile Children's Pool in San Diego, he is also assigned as the primary focal point for the OLE's outreach and education in the Southwest

"I enjoy my work, the people I work with and I'm proud to do what I do," stated Hawkins.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.

NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service) is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's living marine resources and their habitat through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries provides effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries, please visit: www.nmfs.noaa.gov.