Charlotte Woman Wins FBI Award

John Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the FBI, has chosen Ms. Paula Fricke as the 2013 Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA) recipient for North Carolina. Ms. Fricke is the president of Trips for Kids Charlotte, a local non-profit organization.

In alliance with other youth organizations, Trips for Kids Charlotte provides mentoring to 10-15 year old children through bicycling experiences. The Trips for Kids Charlotte vision is to use biking as the tool to prepare children for success by focusing on character building traits like respect, honesty, and teamwork.

The program also features an opportunity for participants to earn their very own bike. The Earn-A-Bike Program challenges children to complete a series of lessons in basic bike mechanics and bike safety. Bikes not used in the Earn-A-Bike Program are sold to the public and the proceeds are used to support the Trips for Kids Charlotte program.

Since 1990—through the Director’s Leadership Community Awards (DCLA)—the FBI has publicly recognized the achievements of individuals and organizations who have gone above and beyond the call to service by making extraordinary contributions to their communities in the areas of terrorism, cyber, drug, gang, or violence prevention and education.

Ms. Fricke will be recognized by FBI Charlotte employees on Saturday, November 16, 2013, at Colonel Francis Beatty Park located at 4330 Weddington Road, Matthews, North Carolina. Attendees should arrive at the park by 9:45 a.m. The award presentation begins at 10:00 a.m. Please RSVP by 4:00 p.m., Friday, November 15, 2013, by calling 704-672-6766 or e-mailing shelley.lynch@ic.fbi.gov

You can learn more about the program by visiting www.tripsforkidscharlotte.org

Ms. Fricke will receive the award from FBI Director James Comey in a national ceremony to be held at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in April 2014.