The United States Secret Service honored 61 of its employees during the 5th annual Director’s Awards
program held April 6.
This program formally recognizes the outstanding achievements, professional accomplishments, and
exemplary service performed by Secret Service employees.
“The employees we are honoring today represent the true spirit of the U.S. Secret Service,” said Acting
Director William J. Callahan. “Our agency has exemplified an extensive history of selfless sacrifice, heroic
courage, and commitment to excellence. Each of these employees is being honored for their steadfast
integrity, their unwavering public service, and for their outstanding allegiance to the investigative and
protective missions of this agency. “
The awards were presented in four categories: Individual/Group Lifesaving Award, Valor Award, Impact
Award, and Employees of the Year.
The honorees included 32 Lifesaving Award recipients, five Valor Award recipients, 21 Impact Award
recipients, one Special Agent of the Year, one Uniformed Division Officer of the Year, and one Administrative,
Professional, or Technical Employee of the Year for their exemplary performance during calendar year 2016.
Lifesaving Award Recipients:
The Lifesaving Award recognizes employees who have performed a lifesaving act without placing themselves
in danger. The act may occur on or off duty, involving medical service or assistance.
Uniformed Division Captain Andrew Ackley received a Lifesaving Award for providing CPR and helping to
save the life of a unresponsive individual who had suffered a heart attack.
Uniformed Division Officer-Technician Eric M. Hadzima received a Lifesaving Award for calmly
persuading a distraught individual who was contemplating suicide to climb down from the railing of bridge.
Security Specialist Jason L. Wiser received a Lifesaving Award for his swift and decisive actions to render
aid and control the scene of a motorcycle accident where the victim suffered numerous life-threatening
injuries.
Special Agent Timothy Sturgell received a Lifesaving Award for providing CPR and resuscitating an
individual he pulled out of a swimming pool who had drown and who was unconscious and not breathing.
Sturgell was also presented the American Red Cross Lifesaving Award.
Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge Channing B. Irvin received a Lifesaving Award for quickly
performing the heimlich maneuver on an individual in a restaurant and disloding a food particle that was
critically embedded in the individual’s throat.
Uniformed Division Officer-Technician Joseph Vadala received a Lifesaving Award for his immediate
actions to control the scene of a vehicle accident, render first aid to the victim, and assist in removing a tree
from the top of the vehicle that had pinned an unconscious individual inside.
White House Medical Unit Lieutenant Colonel James J. Jones, in support of the Presidential Protective
Division, received a Lifesaving Award for providing emergency medical aid to a Special Agent who collapsed
on a mountainside trail and two students on an academic expedition who were suffering from high-altitude
cerebral edema and malnutrition.