News
Release
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Date: June 14, 2007
Contact: Michael
A. Sanders
New Orleans PIO
Number: 504-840-1070
New Orleans DEA Special Agent in Charge William Renton, Jr. Receives Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award
JUN 14 -- (New Orleans, Louisiana) – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced today that Special Agent in Charge (SAC) William J. Renton, Jr., of the New Orleans Field Division was among four DEA employees receiving Presidential Rank Awards for 2006.
Each
year,
since
the establishment
of the
Senior
Executive
Service
(SES),
the President
has conferred
Distinguished
Executive
and Meritorious
Executive
on a very
select
group
of career
members
of the
SES who
have provided
exceptional
service
to the
American
people
over an
extended
period
of time.
These
senior
executives
are outstanding
leaders
who consistently
demonstrate
strength,
integrity
and a
relentless
commitment
to public
service.
Through
their
personal
conduct
and results-oriented
leadership,
they have
earned
and kept
a high
degree
of public
confidence
and trust.
They have
demonstrated
their
success
in balancing
the needs
and perspectives
of customers,
stakeholders,
and employees
with organization
results.
Executives
from across
the country
are nominated
by their
agency
heads,
evaluated
by citizen
panels,
and designated
by the
President
of the
United
States.
The Presidential
Rank Awards
are prestigious
and unique.
In a ceremony today at the Great Hall of the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, Mr. Renton was recognized with a Meritorious Executive Rank Award, given for sustained accomplishments. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales presented the award to Mr. Renton in recognition of his leadership in the law enforcement communities in Southern Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Bill Renton, a native of the metropolitan area, has been the Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Field Division since June 2004 and played a critical role in helping the area recover from the effects of both storms. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina’s passage, Mr. Renton established two immediate priorities; first to locate and provide assistance to DEA employees and their families and second to assist area law enforcement in the maintenance of order and the rescue of citizens stranded by wind and water. After an evaluation of the needs of DEA employees and DEA’s local law enforcement colleagues, an air bridge was established between DEA Aviation HQS in Dallas and a small airport in Gonzales, Louisiana. Command centers were established in Mandeville, Louisiana and Gulfport, Mississippi and supplies were flown into the area, transported to the forward command centers and distributed to employees and state and local law enforcement in New Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and St. Tammany Parishes in Louisiana and the entire coastal law enforcement community in Southern Mississippi. Similar activities occurred in Western Louisiana directed by SAC Renton in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita.
Through the efforts of Drug Enforcement Administration personnel under the direction of SAC Renton, over 3,000 citizens of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area were rescued from flooded properties and taken to safety. One of the most successful rescues conducted by DEA involved a three day operation at the St. Moritz Nursing Home in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans where 70 elderly and infirm patients were located. These residents were found suffering from severe dehydration and were undernourished. DEA personnel provided provisions and emergency medical care, as well as security, while being fired on by armed looters. After three days, these individuals were healthy enough to be placed in high water vehicles and transported to safety.