On Wednesday, October 26, 2022, Greg Stejskal was presented with the RCAA’s Distinguished Service Award.  He was also profiled in the Nebraska Alumni Magazine – Nebraska Quarterly about his illustrious career.

He was presented the award by Special Agent Karen Kerry along with Special Agent Joanne Pierson.  Below is a transcript from the proceedings:

“Agent Pierson (JP):  Agent Kerry, podium is secured. Is the perimeter secured?
Agent Kerry (KK): Perimeter is secure!
JP: Approach the podium, Agent Kerry. Watch for any shenanigans!
As you know, the Distinguished Service Award (aka DSA) is our Club’s highest honor for those who have exemplified the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” in their professional achievements, community involvement, and contributions to local and international Rotary service. Per Club policy, in my immediate past president year, I convened a committee to select
the year’s awardees; committee members were past president Lou Callaway, Barbara Eichmuller, Ken Fischer, and Shelley MacMillan.
JP: Agent Kerry, we need to verify that our DSA recipient is indeed worthy of the award. Please present the facts. Just the facts, ma’am.
KK: Roger that. Our awardee is an Eagle Scout, a distinction he achieved within 2 years of joining the Boy Scouts at the age of 13. He remained active in scouting when his son, Andy, became a scout, and he was a pack master and an assistant scout master. He received the Cliff Dochterman Award as “an Eagle Scout, and member of the National Eagle Scout Organization and Order of the Arrow.” He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska Law School, Class of 1974 and the University of Nebraska Football team- where he learned that ‘N’ is for knowledge. He entered the FBI in March 1975 and was assigned to the Detroit Division, where he spent the majority of his career. According to a trusted source, he was given the moniker ‘Goofy’ by his fellow agents. He served as an FBI agent for over 30 years, retiring in 2006. For further proof of his distinguished FBI credentials, just check out his mustache.
JP: Okay, so clearly our recipient is none other than Greg Stejskal, unless there’s another FBI agent in the room.
KK: You got that right.
JP: Tell us more.
KK: Greg was involved in many high-profile cases throughout his career, although he describes it as “playing cops and robbers and getting paid for it.” In 2021, his book, “FBI Case Files
Michigan: Tales of a G-Man” was published. For 10 years now as a part of the GTO fundraising efforts, we have had the good fortune to be regaled at Paesano’s with his stories from his days
as an agent. That has raised a lot of dough to Help Kids Succeed! And here’s a fun fact — Greg was one of the first of the area FBI agents who, at Bo’s invitation, spoke to the Michigan football team about “Illegal Gambling and Lots of other Stuff.” He continued to talk to the Michigan football team for the next 32 years.
In regard to other community service, Greg was a member of the Northside Presbyterian Church where he taught Sunday School and served as an elder. And now, he is a real Elder…
Oops forgot ‘Statesman!’…And, he was a long-time member of the A2 YMCA, serving on committees, including the annual fundraising campaigns and assisting with the transition from the “old Y” to the ‘new Y’. And, last, and near and dear to Brad’s and my hearts, Greg was involved with us at the beginning of “Stories of Service”; and lobbied for Rotary to support Fisher House Michigan.
JP: So, how did we get him to join Rotary?
KK: At the invitation of the incomparable Ingrid Sheldon and Ian Glassford, Greg joined our club in 2007. And has been very active ever since.
JP: You can say that again.
KK: He’s been very active ever since.
JP: I didn’t mean literally. Greg served as Membership Development Chair. He served on the Board as Director of Community Service in 2014-15 and then as President in 2018-19 when we
were all eating black bean soup together at Weber’s. Greg and I share the distinction of never having chaired a meeting in the Anderson Room during our presidential year.
Greg has been on the Golf and Tennis Outing committee for the past 15 years and was Co-Chair of the GTO for the past 2 years. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and a member of the RCAA
Sustainer Society, clearly giving of his time, talent, and treasure.
KK: So, does Greg have any fun?
JP: Well, 10 days before joining the FBI, he married Pat, his life partner, who is a former flight attendant and career-long kindergarten teacher.
KK: Say no more!! We know Pat, she puts the ‘F’ in fun!
JP: You got that right. So, in addition to having the funnest (not a word, I know, but should be) wife on the planet (except for Karen and me), Greg and Pat have 2 UM graduates – their
daughter, Taryn, has a PhD in psychology and lives in NYC, and their son, Andy, played football for UM for 4 years and is a paramedic/firefighter with the Taylor, MI fire department. Greg and Pat love to travel. In addition to having been to many National Parks, they’ve been to many countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as some groovy islands in the South Pacific. Most
recently, Greg, his brothers, and wives followed their father’s path when he served in WWII through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. Greg and Pat also love to go to movies,
both contemporary and the old classics, and he likes to spend his time reading and writing, like his book and for Tickle-the-Wire, a federal law enforcement blog. And, anyone who has heard
Greg speak – or shout out from the Anderson Room floor – knows that he’s got one of the quickest, driest wits on the planet! In fact, Gene Ward, his partner for over 30 years, said,
“Everybody loved Greg and his Midwestern dry sense of humor. He was professional in everything he did.” Karen and I, and our husbands, also know that he likes a good port, and I’m
not talking about the kind related to water. And, the word is he is retired, but he still loves a good stake-out, most of them at Knight’s on any given weekend.
When Greg received his Eagle Scout award as a teenager, an article in the paper quoted him as saying – “[the Eagle Scout award] builds character if a fellow is serious about it. It teaches you
honesty and fellowship with other people and responsibility.” Clearly, Greg has taken these traits – honesty, fellowship, and responsibility — to heart. It is an honor, on behalf of our club,
for Karen and me to bestow the Distinguished Service Award upon Greg Stejskal.”