SEARCH Salutes 2018 Annual Award and Years of Service Honorees

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/ August 3, 2018

SEARCH presented two of its top honors at its 2018 Annual Membership Group Meeting in Washington, D.C., held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City July 24–26.

Top Leadership

In ceremonies Tuesday, July 24, SEARCH Chair Brad Truitt recognized two national leaders for their contributions that exemplify SEARCH ideals of improving information use, management, and exchange among justice and public safety agencies:

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) received the 2018 Justice Policy Leadership Award to salute his tireless efforts to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), enhance information sharing capabilities, and advance criminal justice reform at the national level. The award was accepted by Mr. Carter Burwell, Chief Counsel to Senator Cornyn on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Donna Uzzell, Special Agent in Charge, Statewide Investigation Services, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, received the 2018 O.J. Hawkins Award for Innovative Leadership and Outstanding Contributions in Criminal Justice Information Systems, Policy and Statistics. The award is SEARCH’s highest practitioner honor and is the only nationally recognized honor for leadership in the field of criminal justice information management.

Ms. Uzzell was nominated for the award by six previous Hawkins Award recipients, and was feted at an awards dinner the evening of July 24. She has been Florida’s appointed representative to the SEARCH Membership Group for 21 years and is known for her ceaseless advocacy to protect vulnerable populations and support national justice programs.

Special Recognitions, Years of Service

Chair Truitt also recognized SEARCH Members and Staff for special achievements and for years of service to the organization, with significant length of service achieved in 2018:

Dawn Peck, Criminal Identification Bureau Chief for the Idaho State Police, was recognized for her 12 years of service as Idaho’s SEARCH representative and for her nearly 30 years of service in state government. Ms. Peck is preparing to retire in mid-August and was presented with a resolution from the SEARCH Board of Directors.

Timothy Lott, who serves as Director of SEARCH High-Tech Crime Training Services and Director of Operations, was recognized for his efforts as Interim Executive Director between May and November 2017, when SEARCH was conducting a national recruitment for a new Executive Director.

SEARCH Members honored for years of service were Mr. David Steingraber (At-Large), 15 years; Mr. Curtis Wood (Massachusetts), 10 years; and Ms. Rickeya Franklin (Ohio), Ms. Alice Moffat (Utah), and Mr. Matthew Ruel, all of whom have served on the Membership for 5 years.

SEARCH Staff honored for years of service were Ms. Christine Lee, Webmaster, 15 years; Ms. Leticia Davidek, Controller, and Mr. Mo West, Information Sharing Specialist, 10 years; and Mr. Dean Chatfield, High-Tech Crime Training Specialist, and Ms. Diane Lacy, Information Sharing Specialist, both 5 years.