Elvyn Holt Award

History of the Elvyn Holt Award

On May 26, 1966, John McInerny (after holding the first national conference of extradition officials in 1965 before the NAEO was officially formed), wrote to Evelle J. Younger, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, and invited him to send his “extradition expert” to attend the 2nd annual conference to be held in Chicago.  The chief of the Los Angeles County trials division, J. Miller Leavy, knew exactly to whom John McInerny was extending the invitation.  Elvyn Holt had been a member of the extradition section of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office for 14 years having served as chief of the section for the last seven years.  The invitation had been extended because her section processed more extradition cases annually than perhaps any other prosecutors’ offices in the United States.  Elvyn was recognized by Mr. Leavy as being “knowledgeable on all of the problems of extradition, and in particular, the mechanics involved.”  Unfortunately, as something that happens all-too-frequently, the Chief Deputy DA, to Mr. Leavy’s chagrin, designated one of his deputy district attorneys to attend.

This oversight was promptly corrected the following year. In a letter to the second president of the NAEO, Gilbert Pena, Mr. Leavy stated that Elvyn would be attending and would “make a real contribution to the conference”. She attended her first conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Camelot Inn in September of 1967. (The hotel rates were $10.00!)

At the May 1968 conference, held at the Jack London Inn in Oakland, California, Elvyn was serving with Gil as a panelist on the program. The topic of the panel was “Problem Clinic”, and Elvyn discussed current case developments, executive agreements, post rendition follow-up, and interstate cooperation. Incidentally, Governor Ronald Reagan was the guest speaker at the luncheon, and his extradition assistant, Edwin Meese, moderated one of the other panels. The room rates for the conference had increased to a whopping $12.00! The NAEO constitution was presented for approval at that conference. No doubt because of her recognized expertise in the field of extraditions, Elvyn was one of only two individuals, not associated with either a governor’s or attorney general’s office, who was invited to attend as a member of the NAEO. With her spunky spirit, Elvyn soon became a “one-woman show” and singlehandedly became the stabilizing force behind the NAEO.

2023 Award Recipients

Orange County Sheriff’s Office Extradition Unit
Orange County Sheriff’s Office, FL
58th Annual Conference, St. Petersburg, FL

Past Elvyn Holt Recipients

2022

Cindy Baldwin, Paralegal
Jefferson County District Attorney, CO
57th Conference, Austin, TX


2021

Frances Neithamer, Paralegal
El Paso County District Attorney’s Office
56th Conference, Denver, CO


2020

No award given
Conference canceled
due to COVID


2019

Peter Smith
Sr. Deputy Attorney General, California
55th Conference, Roanoke, VA


2018

Randy Hartnett
Retired IAD Administrator, Minnesota
Department of Corrections
54th Conference, Providence, RI


2017

Jo Lynn Kruse, Extradition Coordinator
Commission on Criminal & Juvenile Justice Utah
53rd Conference, Albuquerque, NM


2016

Ellen Huot, Paralegal, York County District Attorney’s Office
Alfred, Maine
52nd Conference, Cincinnati, OH


2015

Wendy Livermore, Extradition Officer
Carson City, Nevada
51st Conference, Seattle, WA


2014

Margaret Williams, Confinement Status/Extradition Specialist
Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Florida
50th Conference, Tampa, FL


2013

Susan Meier, Extradition Secretary, Division of Criminal Justice
New Jersey
49th Conference, Annapolis, MD


2012

Audrey Blodgett, Extradition Paralegal, Department of Justice,
Concord, New Hampshire
48th Conference, Kansas City, MO


2011

Alix Kucker, Senior Assistant District Attorney
Queens County, New York
47th Conference, Charleston, SC


2010

Jerrold Schrotenboer, Chief Appellate Attorney
Jackson County, Michigan
46th Conference, San Diego, CA


2009

Martin C. “Red” Hendrickson, Sergeant
Jackson County, Missouri
45th Conference, Boston, MA


2008

Connie Elizabeth Robinson Eason, Extradition Secretary
North Carolina
44th Conference, Scottsdale, AZ


2007

Judy Mancil, Detainer/Extradition/Fugitive Coordinator
Department of Criminal Justice, Texas
43rd Conference, Orlando, FL


2006

Frances A. Lushenko, Director of Extradition Services
Oregon
42nd Conference, St. Louis, MO


2005

Beverly J. Saucedo, Extradition Officer
Nevada
41st Conference, Portland, OR


2004

Robert Locke
Deputy District Attorney
San Diego County, CA


2003

Marie Antoinette Bickar, Deputy
Grays Harbor County, Washington
39th Conference, Asheville, NC


2002

Glenn Lockwood, Captain
Martin County, Florida
38th Conference, Lake Tahoe, CA


2001

Barbara Moore, Extradition Secretary
Los Angeles County, California
37th Conference, San Antonio, TX


2000

S. O. “Woody” Woods, Jr., Chairman, State Classification Committee
Department of Criminal Justice, Texas
36th Conference, Williamsburg, VA


1999

Mary Jo Grotenrath, Associate Director/Chief, Office of International Affairs
Washington, D.C.
35th Conference, Minneapolis, MN


1998

Susan L. Smith, Extradition Coordinator
Florida
34th Conference, New Orleans, LA


1997

Jerry L. Smith, Asst. Attorney General
Tennessee
33rd Conference, San Diego, CA


1996

Earl F. Dorius, Asst. Attorney General
Utah
32nd Conference, Philadelphia, PA


1995

Raymond E. Sankey, Supervisor, Special Services Unit,
Department of Corrections, Nebraska
31st Conference, Chicago, Illinois


1994

William Howland, Asst. Attorney General
Nebraska
30th Conference, Jackson Hole, WY


1993

J. Robert Jibson, Deputy Attorney General
California
29th Conference, Nashville, TN


1992

Clare Welch, Extradition Officer
Interstate Agreement on Detainers Administrator, Nevada
28th Conference, Portland, ME


1991

Gilbert J. Pena, Extradition Counsel
Texas
27th Conference, Scottsdale, AZ


1990

Elvyn Holt, Founder of NAEO
Los Angeles, California
26th Conference, St. Petersburg Beach, FL