Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club Executive to be Honored at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Roland J. Corvington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in St. Louis announced Mr. Bill Wilkerson as the recipient of the 2009 Director's Community Leadership Award (DCLA).

Mr. Wilkerson is the Executive Director of “Reach Out St. Louis!” an initiative of the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club. The initiative, which was launched in 2008, aims to curb the 21 percent -25 percent drop-out rate at four St. Louis public high schools: Beaumont, Sumner, Roosevelt, and Vashon.

Wilkerson attracted a diverse group of area resources to address the problem. Specifically, he aligned each high school with a university, church, company/corporation, and a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department contact. He also developed a strategy which involved tracking and analyzing data in which students were showing early warning signs of dropping out.

In addition to today’s local ceremony, the FBI will fly Mr. Wilkerson to Washington, D.C. where Director Robert S. Mueller, III will personally present him the special award at a national awards ceremony on March 19, 2010. Last year’s national ceremony was the first time award recipients were flown to FBI headquarters for the event. Here’s a link to the video from last year’s national awards ceremony: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/march/dcla_032009

The DCLA was formally created in 1990 as the principle means for the FBI to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts in combating crime, terrorism, drugs, and violence to help keep America and its kids safe.

The FBI can only conduct investigations and protect the American people from crime and acts of extremism if it has the support and understanding of the American people. That's why the Special Agents in Charge of each of the 56 field offices work so closely with their communities and community organizations. When these Special Agents in Charge get tremendous support from people in their communities, they can nominate the person for the award. Every year, each of the 56 FBI field offices nominates one recipient for the award.

The following is a list of the past local DCLA recipients. (Years that are not listed did not have a recipient nominated from the St. Louis Division.)