Department of Commerce
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
- Office of Law Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2007

NOAA FISHERIES SERVICE OFFICE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT SPECIAL AGENT MANNY ANTONARAS RECEIVES BRONZE MEDAL AWARD

Special Agent Manny Antonaras has been awarded the prestigious bronze medal from the Department of Commerce. Retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, presented Antonaras with the award at a ceremony held at the Daughters of the American Revolution Hall in Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2007.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) special agent was honored for his contributions to the relief effort in Slidell, La., following Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Antonaras helped provide security and supplies that were required to continue weather and flood reporting from the area's weather forecast office and was one of six OLE agents who made significant contributions toward the protection of National Weather Service employees and their families in Slidell.

"I am honored to have been selected for the award and fortunate to have helped," Antonaras said.

Antonaras holds Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental policy and sociology from Eckerd College in Florida . He began his career with NOAA's OLE as an intern in 2002 and is currently assigned to the OLE's St. Petersburg field office in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation.  From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America 's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Web:

NOAA Fisheries Service: www.nmfs.noaa.gov
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