CHARLESTON, SC – May 5, 2015. On May 1, 2015, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) honored the Rev. Dr. Dallas H. Wilson, Jr., a priest in the Diocese of South Carolina, and the Vicar of St. John’s Chapel, Charleston, for his work creating and implementing ministries and programs to prevent at-risk youths from engaging in violent activities, spiraling into crime, drug and alcohol use, and incarceration.The Bureau has been presenting its Director’s Community Leadership Awards (DCLA) for more than two decades to ordinary citizens and organizations striving to build stronger, safer, and more cohesive communities
Brother Dallas was one of 57 national recipients recognized by Director James Comey in the ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington DC.
A statement released by the FBI said in part, “This year’s honorees have distinguished themselves in remarkable ways through their hard work, their leadership, and their strength of character. They are ordinary citizens, but what they have accomplished is nothing short of extraordinary. Time and again today’s award recipients have put others before themselves as they strive to protect the innocent and rescue the vulnerable. Today we not only recognize your achievements, but we also offer our sincerest gratitude for dedicating yourselves to your fellow citizens and to the principles of fairness, justice and equality. Public service is about what we can do to help one another. And we all know, we are at our best when we work together. We at the FBI are proud to partner with you.”
Director Comey said that there are two reasons for presenting these awards every year. First, it’s an acknowledgement of the fact that part of the FBI’s work of contributing to the protection of communities around the country is to “build partnerships with other people who are all about the protection of the community.” And second, “the awards enable the Bureau to hold the recipients up as role models of what being a citizen really looks like, what being part of a community really looks like.”
This year’s DCLA honorees, as in past years, were selected by FBI field offices and represent many different sectors—non-profits, business, military, academia, the clergy, behavioral sciences, the media, sports, and civic groups.
The Columbia Division of the FBI, and its Special Agent in Charge, David A. Thomas, selected the Rev. Dr. Dallas H. Wilson, Jr. for the award for creating and implementing programs to prevent at-risk youth from spiraling into crime, drug and alcohol use, and incarceration.
Brother Dallas was the pastor and founder of the Agape Inner-City Christian Assembly and Agape Ministries of Charleston (Agape), a major non-governmental provider in the Eastside community. Through Agape, he created the following programs:
• ELPIS, Inc. – a non-profit corporation that acquired and revitalized property for Agape;
• R.E.S.T.O.R.E – a program where Church members met with homeless men to help re-integrate them into the community as ;
• The Innovative Alternatives of Education program – established in 1994 to educate and train at-risk children through academic studies, interpersonal skills training and athletics;
• PCSmarts – an interactive computer program that trained young people to make the best use of technology through simplified teaching of computer restoration and programming;
• The Charleston “Midnight” Basketball Association – which provided recreational activities for more than 350 at-risk kids annually for 20 years.
The FBI flew Brother Dallas and his wife, Janie D. Wilson, President/COO, Biblical Family Center and the newly established Peninsula Biblical Counseling Center (PBCC) and the Rev. Rob Dewey, founder and Senior Chaplain of the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy, who has served as an FBI Chaplain for over 24 years, to the ceremony.
Wilson said, “I would love to take this opportunity afforded me to honor those who put forth my name as a worthy recipient of such an honor. Mr. William Nettles (FBI Retired), Supervisory Special Agent Brian S. Womble, Charleston FBI, the Honorable J. Al Cannon, Jr. (Charleston County Sheriffs’ Office) and Police Chiefs, Eddie Driggers (North Charleston), Gregory Mullen (City of Charleston) and Carl Ritchie (Town of Mt. Pleasant). It is a truly wonderful experience to work with men of this caliber, who are not just incredible law enforcement personnel; but, the “true representation of our Lord Jesus Christ” as portrayed in Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome (Romans 13:1-5).
“It was a wonderful experience,” said Wilson, of receiving the award. “Director Comey is an extraordinary and very sensitive man. In all honesty no individual deserves an award as prestigious as this type of honor; I think the Eastside community and its residents won this award, and I’m only the “steward”. What I’m truly pleased about is that this award tells some of the positive stories about what’s happening in our community. There’s a lot of good going on. We need to focus on God’s good rather than focusing on the negative.”
Download full-sized image. FBI Director James Comey presents the Rev. Dr. Dallas Wilson with Director's Community Leadership Award.
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