February 23rd the Dallas Rotary Club and Safer Dallas Better Dallas hosted the 14th Annual Dallas Police Department Distinguished Service Award and Public Safety Leader Award Luncheon.
This event is to honor extraordinary individuals who, often behind the scenes, have demonstrated Rotary’s motto of ‘Service Above Self” for their efforts in fighting crime in Dallas.
Hon. Adam. McGough
Dallas City Councilman Adam McGeough is the 2023 Public Safety Leader Awardee. Mr. McGough is known for his years of extensive work as a civil servant bringing better quality of life to Dallas residents. In his four terms as Councilman, he has tirelessly served as the District 10 representative serving Northeast Dallas, including Lake Highlands and Hamilton Park and numerous efforts to improve Dallas.
Adam serves as the Chair for the Public Safety Committee and is a member of the Economic Development; Government Performance & Financial Management; Workforce, Education, & Equity; Ad Hoc General Investigating & Ethics; and Ad Hoc Legislative Affairs Committees. Additionally, he is the mayor’s appointee to the Regional Transportation Council, the chair of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition and the vice chair of TEX-21, a grassroots organization focused on improving transportation infrastructure in Texas.
In 2015, he was named by the Dallas Morning News "Council Rookie of the Year," for his leadership in negotiating revisions to the Dallas City Code to improve minimum property standards, leading improvements to nuisance-abatement laws, negotiating a compromise on the Trinity River Project and for his drafting a compromise agreement for the privatization of Fair Park. In June 2016, Adam released the #ALLinD10 Accountability Plan to improve quality of life and spur economic development. Adam remains committed to working collectively and strategically serving the City of Dallas through his unique ability to mobilize communities and coalesce leaders. Prior to his service on City Council, Adam served as Chief of Staff to Mayor Mike Rawlings and Chief of the Community Prosecution Unit for the City of Dallas. In addition to his civic accomplishments Adam also serves as a Volunteer Chaplain for Lifeline Chaplaincy.
Sergeant Matthew Terry
Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia selected Sergeant Matthew Terry to receive the 2023 DPD Distinguished Service Award for his work, dedication, and tenacious attitude regarding the law enforcement profession and the example leadership style that he has displayed throughout his career.
Sergeant Matthew Terry has served in the Dallas Police Department for 17 years. During that time, Sergeant Terry has received 97 commendations, 7 certificates of merit and 2 Police Commendations. Starting as a patrol officer in northeast Dallas, he quickly became well known for his hard work and professionalism. He asserted himself as a standout by assisting veteran officers assigned to the Northeast Crime Reduction and Deployment team. He would help by any means necessary providing intel and enforcement for this group. Sergeant Terry’s next adventure led him to METRO unit. This unit was tasked with taking down criminal networks and arresting wanted individuals. Sergeant Terry worked side by side with homicide detectives, providing them with intelligence, and then assisted by being able to place suspects in custody by many different means. Upon his promotion to Sergeant, he became the supervisor of the Southeast Patrol and quickly earned the reputation as the go-to Sergeant with an incredible work ethic. His diligence and creativity in law enforcement led him to be assigned to the Federal Task Force known as Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force
17 members of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force were also awarded recognition for their tireless commitment and personal sacrifice. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a coordinated effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement and community leaders to reduce violent crime in a designated area. The goal of Project Safe Neighborhoods is to strategically prevent violent crime in the places we call home, not to simply increase the number of arrests or prosecutions. In 2020, this group, along with Sergeant Terry, was awarded an FBI Achievement award from Washington D.C. and won Unit of the Year. The PSN Task Force had success in 2022 with a reduction in violent crime. That success was due in a large part to the dedication of 17 men and women who were instrumental in 2022.
The PSN Task Force had success in 2022 with a reduction in violent crime. That success in large part was due to the dedication of 17 men and women. They are as follows:
Dallas Police Department
Sgt. Matthew Terry
Detective and ATF Task Force Officer John Brow
Detective and DEA Task Force Officer Marcella St. John
Detective and FBI Task Force Officer Calvin Scudder
Senior Corporal Jacob Holmes
Senior Corporal Joseph Meno
Senior Corporal Roberto Blanco
Officer Matthew Gronau
Officer Gabriel Guerra
Officer Carlos Mandes
Officer Daisy Mendoza
Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives
Special Agent Tonya English
Texas Department of Public Safety
Lt. Chris Armstrong
Special Agent Danny Dao
Special Agent Cody El-Khoury
Special Agent Jay Stone
Special Agent Tommy Wallace
Hon. Adam. McGough
Dallas City Councilman Adam McGeough is the 2023 Public Safety Leader Awardee. Mr. McGough is known for his years of extensive work as a civil servant bringing better quality of life to Dallas residents. In his four terms as Councilman, he has tirelessly served as the District 10 representative serving Northeast Dallas, including Lake Highlands and Hamilton Park and numerous efforts to improve Dallas.
Adam serves as the Chair for the Public Safety Committee and is a member of the Economic Development; Government Performance & Financial Management; Workforce, Education, & Equity; Ad Hoc General Investigating & Ethics; and Ad Hoc Legislative Affairs Committees. Additionally, he is the mayor’s appointee to the Regional Transportation Council, the chair of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition and the vice chair of TEX-21, a grassroots organization focused on improving transportation infrastructure in Texas.
In 2015, he was named by the Dallas Morning News "Council Rookie of the Year," for his leadership in negotiating revisions to the Dallas City Code to improve minimum property standards, leading improvements to nuisance-abatement laws, negotiating a compromise on the Trinity River Project and for his drafting a compromise agreement for the privatization of Fair Park. In June 2016, Adam released the #ALLinD10 Accountability Plan to improve quality of life and spur economic development. Adam remains committed to working collectively and strategically serving the City of Dallas through his unique ability to mobilize communities and coalesce leaders. Prior to his service on City Council, Adam served as Chief of Staff to Mayor Mike Rawlings and Chief of the Community Prosecution Unit for the City of Dallas. In addition to his civic accomplishments Adam also serves as a Volunteer Chaplain for Lifeline Chaplaincy.
Sergeant Matthew Terry
Dallas police Chief Eddie Garcia selected Sergeant Matthew Terry to receive the 2023 DPD Distinguished Service Award for his work, dedication, and tenacious attitude regarding the law enforcement profession and the example leadership style that he has displayed throughout his career.
Sergeant Matthew Terry has served in the Dallas Police Department for 17 years. During that time, Sergeant Terry has received 97 commendations, 7 certificates of merit and 2 Police Commendations. Starting as a patrol officer in northeast Dallas, he quickly became well known for his hard work and professionalism. He asserted himself as a standout by assisting veteran officers assigned to the Northeast Crime Reduction and Deployment team. He would help by any means necessary providing intel and enforcement for this group. Sergeant Terry’s next adventure led him to METRO unit. This unit was tasked with taking down criminal networks and arresting wanted individuals. Sergeant Terry worked side by side with homicide detectives, providing them with intelligence, and then assisted by being able to place suspects in custody by many different means. Upon his promotion to Sergeant, he became the supervisor of the Southeast Patrol and quickly earned the reputation as the go-to Sergeant with an incredible work ethic. His diligence and creativity in law enforcement led him to be assigned to the Federal Task Force known as Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force
17 members of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force were also awarded recognition for their tireless commitment and personal sacrifice. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a coordinated effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement and community leaders to reduce violent crime in a designated area. The goal of Project Safe Neighborhoods is to strategically prevent violent crime in the places we call home, not to simply increase the number of arrests or prosecutions. In 2020, this group, along with Sergeant Terry, was awarded an FBI Achievement award from Washington D.C. and won Unit of the Year. The PSN Task Force had success in 2022 with a reduction in violent crime. That success was due in a large part to the dedication of 17 men and women who were instrumental in 2022.
The PSN Task Force had success in 2022 with a reduction in violent crime. That success in large part was due to the dedication of 17 men and women. They are as follows:
Dallas Police Department
Sgt. Matthew Terry
Detective and ATF Task Force Officer John Brow
Detective and DEA Task Force Officer Marcella St. John
Detective and FBI Task Force Officer Calvin Scudder
Senior Corporal Jacob Holmes
Senior Corporal Joseph Meno
Senior Corporal Roberto Blanco
Officer Matthew Gronau
Officer Gabriel Guerra
Officer Carlos Mandes
Officer Daisy Mendoza
Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives
Special Agent Tonya English
Texas Department of Public Safety
Lt. Chris Armstrong
Special Agent Danny Dao
Special Agent Cody El-Khoury
Special Agent Jay Stone
Special Agent Tommy Wallace
More information on the PSN see https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/project-safe-neighborhood-psn-revitalized-2018
As the keynote speaker and recipient of the 2022 DPD Distinguished Service Award, DPD Executive Assistant Chief Lonzo Anderson applauded these two extraordinary leaders and the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force. He went on to recognize the impact of the many years of support and participation of The Rotary Club of Dallas and Safer Dallas in numerous activities with the Dallas Police Department and Community events. Rotary supported and served in projects such as providing meals at community block party, setting up Color with Cops Booths at community events and National Night Out. As further examples, Rotary provided over 1500 books to the John Neely Bryan Elementary School Book Fair, supported Heroes and Helpers, Cookies for Cops and provided coats for DPD Health and Safety Day. Video highlights can be seen at https://youtu.be/xJvFo96wces
To demonstrate Rotary Club of Dallas’ commitment to supporting the Dallas Police Department’s efforts to promote peace and safety, Rotarians Brent Holtz and Dana DeVance presented a check to Safer Dallas for $57,052. This will fund police community outreach programs and unmet needs of the Dallas Police Department. These funds were raised at the Rotary Club Charity Golf Tournament held each year benefiting the Safer Dallas organization. This year the tournament will be May 1. For details and how you can join in this effort see: https://www.dallasrotarycharitygolf.org