- April 19, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
The former Secretary of Florida Division of Corrections from 1962 to 1987, Louie Wainwright is now 98 years old. At 11 a.m. on Dec. 16 in Palm Coast, his great niece, Catherine Kippen, returned to the Florida Secretary of State’s office a priceless brass eagle that Wainwright received during his commission.
The award was returned to Secretary Ricky Dixon's office by Col. Justin Alvarez and Lt. Ethan Box of the Florida State Corrections Division. Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin was also in attendance as the statue was handed over.
Wainwright received the bronze statue in 1986; it was awarded for outstanding service for corrections. He worked for seven governors from 1962 to 1987. He was also a lawyer and had three bills passed. Wainwright had nine brothers that also worked for the Corrections Division.
As Wainwright is now in hospice care in Tallahassee, Kippen thought it was time to return to the statue to the State Office.
"The best way to make tribute to him was to let Palm Coast in on the giving back of our heritage of one of our loyal Americans, my Uncle Louie," Kippen wrote in an email to the Observer.
Wainwright also served as president of the Florida Peace Officers Association from 1965 to 1966. He received the American Correctional Associations highest tribute, the E. R. Cass Award, for outstanding service and his efforts in support of accreditation in Florida and Nationwide earned him the 1986 Accreditation Achievement Award from the Commission of Accreditation for Corrections.
