[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S13939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RETIREMENT OF NOAA SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, EUGENE PROULX

 Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I rise today to express 
appreciation and congratulations to Eugene Proulx on the occasion of 
his retirement as the Special Agent in Charge of the Southeast 
Enforcement Division of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service. For 
over 28 years, Gene has dedicated himself to the protection of our 
nation's oceans and living marine resources. His service of 3 years 
with the United States Coast Guard and 25 years with the National 
Marine Fisheries Service's Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) have been 
exemplary, and he is being appropriately honored for this service at an 
event to be held on December 21st in the Southeast region.
  His commitment and leadership with the OLE have been reflected 
through his service as a Special Agent, National Training Coordinator, 
Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Deputy Special Agent in Charge, and 
as Special Agent in Charge and Acting Chief. Gene's service as a 
Special Agent in Charge included assignments in both the Southwest and 
Southeast Divisions in addition to his many years of service as an 
agent at various duty posts in the Northeast Division as well as 
several assignments to Headquarters in Silver Spring as both an agent 
and as the Acting Chief of the Office for a period of three months.
  Gene has been the example of a public servant who routinely gives 100 
percent towards his responsibilities. His enthusiasm, dedication and 
energy level are widely known. His corporate knowledge, fisheries 
expertise, common sense, interpersonal skills and gracious humility are 
all traits that are exemplary and have facilitated his contributions to 
NOAA and our nation's resource missions. The accomplishments of the 
Office of Law Enforcement in the areas of Vessel Monitoring Systems, 
Sanctuaries Enforcement, Accreditation, and Cooperative Enforcement 
were all strongly facilitated through the support of Gene's vision and 
leadership.
  Gene's work with the national Cooperative Enforcement program and the 
State Joint Enforcement Agreements have provided a long-lasting 
foundation for this important program. In particular, the state of 
South Carolina and its fisheries resources have benefited greatly 
through his work. In large part, Gene was responsible for convincing 
South Carolina that working jointly with NMFS could serve to 
substantially improve protection of our fishery resources far beyond 
the level we could achieve working separately. His initiative led to a 
Joint Enforcement Agreement that is improving the management and 
protection of South Carolina's precious marine resources. This program 
has proven so successful that it is now the ``gold standard'' model of 
marine resource enforcement, and it is being established in coastal 
states around the nation. These cooperative programs and relationships 
will be the legacy of Gene's leadership.
  In closing, although we hate to see him go, I once again wish to 
congratulate Agent Proulx on his exemplary career. Through his tireless 
efforts, he has made a difference in protecting the marine resources of 
South Carolina and the Nation.

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