POWERGRAMS

2 Sexton was in the U.S. Secret Service from 1990-2013. He was a member of the Presidential Protection Division from Sept. 14, 1997-May 17, 2003. At top, he was presented the PPD car tag from the vehicle driven in President George W. Bush's first inauguration parade. At left, Sexton (at far left) is in front of Marine 1 with fellow members of the Secret Service tactical unit during a training mission. Below, Sexton leads his U.S. Naval Academy company during his senior year on the parade grounds at Annapolis, Maryland. Inset is Sexton with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, who Sexton escorted on Ridge's first day on the job and then protected for two years. SALUTING OUR VETERANS the years, he said. Sexton's appreciation for the Navy also applies to his superior officers on the South Carolina, who had the confidence to place him in charge of teams operating millions of dollars of sophisticated onboard technology while he was barely out of college. And it applies to those who took a chance and accepted a young man from the landlocked state of Kentucky, and from a family of limited means, into the Naval Academy. "I was always one of those USA kids. I think my first bicycle was red, white and blue," Sexton said. And yet, he wasn't seriously considering Annapolis among his college choices until he received an unsolicited recruitment letter from the academy. He applied, although he wasn't sure he would get in. "To be a young person and to be given that kind of opportunity, that kind of experience, it was truly amazing," Sexton said. "I am truly grateful." By Michael Sznajderman PHOTO BY PHIL FREE

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