OLIVETTE, MO—Today, March 26, 2019, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Richard Quinn presented the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse—St. Louis Area (NCADA) for its efforts to prevent opioid and heroin addiction. In particular, the St. Louis chapter came up with bold and dramatic public service announcements (PSA) that aired during four Superbowls reaching more than one million local viewers each time.

The PSAs were meant to be provocative and unsettling to watch to serve as a wake-up call. The first two featured suburban victims to dispel the misconception that the problem was only in poor urban neighborhoods. In 2018, the PSA evolved to show that families are not helpless by directing viewers to TalkAboutItSTL.com, which gives parents age-specific talking kits to start conversations with their children.

SAC Quinn made the surprise announcement at NCADA—St. Louis’ headquarters in front of its staff and board members. He said, “NCADA came up with a creative way to raise awareness with more than one million people about the devastating opioid epidemic. But their lasting impact is the hard work they do day-in and day-out to prevent the harms of alcohol and drug use through education, intervention, and advocacy.” Executive Director Nichole Dawsey accepted the award on behalf of NCADA.

NCADA also provides training and guidance to grassroots community organizations, and fosters collaboration to amplify their collective efforts.

When it comes to intervention, its Transitional Counseling Program has great success helping schools, students, and their families address the question of “now what” after a substance–related incident at school.

On May 3, 2019, there will be a national ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. FBI Director Christopher Wray will personally present the award to NCADA and the other honorees selected by each of the FBI field offices across the country.

Past St. Louis honorees (years not listed did not have a recipient):

• 1990 Joseph Cunningham, former St. Louis Cardinals baseball player
• 1991 Martin Mathews, Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club
• 1993 The late Jean Leible, Neighborhood Activist
• 1995 Pastor Harry Douma, Camp Penuel
• 2005 Martin Mathews (two-time honoree)
• 2006 Karen Aroesty, Anti-Defamation League
• 2007 Pastor B. T. Rice, New Horizon Seventh Day Christian Church
• 2008 Dave Sinclair, Dave Sinclair Auto Group
• 2009 Bill Wilkerson, “Reach Out St. Louis!”
• 2010 Dr. Stephen Bander, Bander Center for Medical Business Ethics
• 2011 Anthony Thompson, Kwame Building Group
• 2012 Kimberly Ritter, Nix Conference & Meeting Management
• 2013 Angel Baked, social enterprise program empowering inner city teens
• 2014 Wehrenberg Theatres
• 2015 Emerson, Ferguson Forward Initiative
• 2016 Shubert Design Furniture
• 2017 Danny Ludeman, President & CEO, Concordance Academy of Leadership