WASHINGTON - Sharry A Dedman-Beard, Public Information Officer/Law Enforcement Coordinator and Amy K. Veatch, Paralegal Specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Tennessee were two of 160 recipients recognized by Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director Monty Wilkinson at the 32nd annual Director’s Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 1, 2016, in Washington D.C.
The Eastern District of Tennessee was one of 33 districts represented at the ceremony which was held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.
In her prepared remarks, Deputy Attorney General Yates said, “The achievements being recognized today reflect the breadth of the department’s responsibilities, and some of our most significant challenges. From dismantling dangerous gangs, drug cartels and human trafficking operations to tackling political corruption, white collar crimes, and international terrorism, these awardees have taken on our toughest cases. And the citizens of our country are safer because of their work."
“We honor the truly talented and dedicated legal and administrative personnel in the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and our law enforcement partners who everyday touch lives in our communities, protect the American people, and work to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice," said Director Wilkinson.
Sharry A. Dedman-Beard received the 2016 Director’s Award for Superior Performance in Public Affairs. She was recognized for her extraordinary efforts in coordinating the media response in July 2015, when a homegrown violent extremist shot and killed five soldiers at a Marine recruiting station and National Guard facility in Chattanooga. Ms. Dedman-Beard worked closely with the U.S. Attorney, FBI, and other federal, state and local public information officers to facilitate the controlled release of information to international and domestic media representatives. She consulted with the public affairs contacts at EOUSA and the Department’s National Security Division; composed press releases; organized press conferences; and served as a contact for those state and local political and public figures that were anxious to be a part of the response and investigation. She was also recognized for demonstrating her expertise in media relations by her response to the press in other high profile criminal cases throughout the district. Her relationship with the district’s media and law enforcement agencies and her expertise enhanced the public relations efforts of the U.S. Attorneys’ office.
Amy K. Veatch received the 2016 Director’s Award for Superior Performance in a Litigative Support Role. Ms. Veatch was recognized for her outstanding organizational and technological skill in preparing discovery, trial exhibits, and electronic presentations of evidence at complex trials in the Chattanooga Division. Specifically, her management of a recent high profile case demonstrated her unsurpassed value to the office. She led discovery and preparation of 502 electronic trial exhibits, which stemmed from her tackling the inventory and management of 275,000 pages of medical records seized from several pill mills. She devised a medical reports tracking system for data from multiple agencies, spanning several years of investigation. She also created timelines, maps, summary charts, and edited audio and video exhibits taken from hours of video surveillance, undercover recordings, and 60 days of wire interceptions of thousands of pertinent calls. The defendant’s conviction and 280-year prison sentence - and the resulting chilling effect on would-be pill mill operators in the district and elsewhere - were made possible by Ms. Veatch’s technological and organizational expertise, intelligence, and heartfelt commitment to the mission of the Department.
“These awards are tangible proof of the respect that Sharry Dedman-Beard and Amy Veatch have earned through their dedication to the mission of the Department of Justice in the Eastern District of Tennessee. Our district takes great pride in their achievement and accomplishments, and joins the Director in thanking them for their service to the United States," said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr.
EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country. For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
