2007-58
PRESS RELEASE:  October 23, 2007
FROM:   The Kansas Highway Patrol
CONTACT: Lieutenant John A. Eichkorn (785) 296-6800
Technical Trooper Edna Buttler (785) 296-6800

Colonel Seck Presented Prestigious Award

The Greater Kansas City Chapter of the of the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS) presented Colonel William R. Seck, Superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol, with the Clarence M. Kelley Award on October 18, 2007, in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission's 58th annual luncheon. The award - named after former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director and Former Kansas City, Missouri Chief of Police Clarence Kelley - is a prestigious award presented each year to a criminal justice executive who is an excellent administrator, proactive in their approach, and dedicated to improving the criminal justice system.

"As a former FBI agent who served under the leadership of Director Kelley, this award is particularly meaningful to me, and I am very humbled to be presented with this high honor," Colonel Seck said.

Director Kelley, a native of Kansas City, Mo., was an FBI agent from 1940 until his retirement in 1961 and was nominated by President Nixon as Director of the FBI from 1973 to 1978. Colonel Seck, a native of Independence, Mo., joined the FBI support staff in Kansas City in 1972, and he became an FBI agent in 1976. He retired from the FBI in 2003 with the rank of Supervisory Senior Resident Agent for the State of Kansas. Governor Kathleen Sebelius appointed Seck as Superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol in 2003.

Lenexa Chief of Police Ellen Hanson, who supported Colonel Seck's nomination, said, "Colonel Seck is a proven leader, not just within the FBI and Kansas Highway Patrol, but to all law enforcement agencies. Under his leadership, the KHP actively collaborates with local, state, and federal agencies to promote the safety and well-being of all those who live and travel in our state. Those partnerships are invaluable to all of us who are committed to serving the public."

The award nomination cited Colonel Seck's commitment to traffic safety, including the Kansas Safe Driving Campaign and other occupant protection initiatives designed to reduce fatalities. The nomination also praised his community involvement, including co-hosting racial profiling forums, KHP Youth Day events, Kansas Mentors, and the Governor's Commission on Healthy and Prepared Schools. In addition, Colonel Seck has led numerous initiatives within the KHP to enhance officer safety and recruitment efforts and to build working relationships with other agencies.

Colonel Seck served the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1972 until 2003. As a member of the FBI, he served in the Foreign Counterintelligence Division in New York City, and he was the Kansas Resident Agent in Garden City and Wichita. From 1996 until 2003, he was the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent for the State of Kansas, which included responsibility for FBI operations in Kansas, supervision of three joint terrorism task force operations after 9/11/01, and supervision of two violent crime task forces in Wichita and Topeka.

He was appointed to the KHP in 2003 and continues to serve in that capacity. As superintendent, Colonel Seck provides leadership to more than 800 civilian and uniformed members of the agency.