[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 149 (Friday, September 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S14137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO MR. THOMAS L. AYRES ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF 
                            VETERANS AFFAIRS

 Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, I would like for the Senate to 
recognize the retirement of Thomas L. Ayres from the Department of 
Veterans Affairs after more than 41 years of exemplary service in 
providing health care to the armed service members and veterans of our 
Nation. On September 30, 1995, Mr. Ayres will retire from his position 
as the Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 
Augusta, GA.
  Tom began providing health care during his service with the United 
States Army from 1995 until 1959 at the 279th Station Hospital in 
Berlin. After his service in the Army, he started his career with the 
Veterans' Administration by becoming a nursing assistant at the 
Veterans Administration Hospital in Marion, IN. From 1962 until 1969, 
Tom worked as a supervisory recreation specialist at the Veterans 
Hospital in Brecksville, OH. From 1969 until 1972, he served as a 
voluntary services officer at Veterans Administration Hospitals in both 
Madison, WI and Gainesville, FL. In 1972, Tom Ayres became a medical 
administration assistant at the Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI.
  Since 1972, Tom Ayres has earned appointments to positions of 
increased responsibility within the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 
1976, he became a hospital administration specialist and soon 
thereafter was transferred to the Veterans Affairs central office and 
served as the executive assistant to the Associate Chief Medical 
Director for Operations.
  Tom Ayres received an appointment to the position of Medical Center 
Director of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salisbury, NC in 
1981. Nine years later, he became the director of the two-division 
Veterans Administration Medical Center in Augusta, GA. He also serves 
as the associate administrator for Veterans Affairs at the Medical 
College of Georgia and as a member of the Medical College of Georgia's 
Clinical Enterprise Executive Committee.
  Throughout his long and distinguished career in providing health 
services for U.S. veterans throughout our great Nation, Tom has 
received numerous awards based on the exemplary performance of his 
duties. His awards include the National Daughters of American Veterans 
Commander Award, the Award for Valor from the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs, three Superior Performance Awards, and five consecutive 
Executive Performance awards. In 1990, he received the Presidential 
Rank Award from the President of the United States.
  It is important to note that his compassion and sense of civic 
responsibility does not start and end with his job. Tom is an active 
participant with the local United Way, Kiwanis Club, American Legion, 
Senior Executive Association, and the American College of Hospital 
Administrators. In addition, he serves on the Administrative Board of 
Trinity on the Hill Church and is a life member of the Disabled 
American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
  Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Thomas L. 
Ayres for his outstanding career spent in service to our Nation's 
veterans. He is a model citizen in every sense of the term. We wish 
him, his wife Christa, and their children and grandchildren Godspeed 
and every success for the future.

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