AUSTIN — Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Executive Director David Yoskowitz, Ph.D. recognized Game Wardens Robert “Bobby” Kana, Cynthia Guajardo-Echols and Chaplain Scott McIntosh at Thursday’s Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting.

Kana was named the 2022 Texas Association of Midwest Fish and Game Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, Guajardo-Echols received the Director’s Meritorious Citation and McIntosh garnered the Law Enforcement Director’s Life Saving Award.

“Bobby, Cynthia and Scott encompass a range of values necessary for success in conservation law enforcement” said Colonel Chad Jones, Director of TPWD Law Enforcement. “Working closely with them over many years, I have learned to depend on their quality work as investigators, leaders and advisors. They always find incredible ways to push our agency and work forward while supporting their colleagues.”

Kana has served as a Galveston County Game Warden for 29 years and made hundreds of arrests while confiscating thousands of pounds of illegal fish and game, protecting Texas’s commercial resources such as oysters, shrimp and finfish. He has spent thousands of hours patrolling the public waters of the Upper Texas Coast, including the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to his fish and game law enforcement achievements, Kana was an integral part of TPWD’s search and rescue operations during Hurricane Ike, Rita and Harvey. He was recognized as the Officer of the Year in 2010 by the Coastal Conservation Association for his hard work and dedication to fisheries enforcement and conservation.

Guajardo-Echols has been a Game Warden for 27 years and was recognized for her meritorious services while supporting, coordinating and personally responding to multiple critical incidents over the course of her career. Guajardo-Echols began her career as a Game Warden in Cherokee County before being promoted to the Law Enforcement Division Special Investigations Unit, where she continues to serve with a focus on environmental crimes.

She is a certified master peace officer, certified fraud examiner and a member of the department’s Critical Incident Peer Support Team. Guajardo-Echols is an active member of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, where she supports its mission by providing wellness services to law enforcement officers and their communities following a critical incident.

McIntosh joined the Law Enforcement Division in 2016 to serve as Chaplain for Texas Game Wardens. Assisted by 12 volunteer chaplains that he oversees, Mcintosh expanded the chaplain program to include services to all TPWD employees and their family members. His strong background in philosophy, mission and pastoral work has placed him a position of great value to those TPWD employees in need of Chaplain services.

McIntosh graduated from Howard Payne University with a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Languages and from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity, with concentration in mission and pastoral. Additionally, as a member of the Texas State Guard from 2004 to 2012, he served the Texas Military Forces as their Chaplain in a Captain rank capacity.

For photos of the awards, visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Flickr page.