[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 15 (Monday, February 5, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E164]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MONROE WOODS

                                 ______


                           HON. BOBBY L. RUSH

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 1, 1996

  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Monroe Woods who is 
retiring as the Midwest Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture's Food and Consumer Service. An event will be held in 
his honor on Thursday, February 1, 1996, in Chicago, IL.
  Mr. Woods joined the Food and Consumer Service in 1966 as a member of 
the Los Angeles Field Office staff. He has held various positions in 
Oakland and the San Francisco Regional Office, the New England Region 
in Boston, MA, and the Mountain Plains Region in Denver, CO, before his 
appointment in July 1978 as Regional Administrator of the Midwest 
Region in Chicago.
  As Regional Administrator of the Midwest Region, Mr. Woods 
administers the agency's food assistance programs in Illinois, Indiana, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin; oversees annual expenditures 
of $5.6 billion; and manages approximately 200 employees.
  His service, and outstanding dedication to his work and to the 
citizenry, have merited him appointments on a number of national and 
local advisory boards, task forces, and councils, including the 
National Advisory Council for the Child Nutrition Programs and the 
Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Illinois. 
Mr. Woods also served as Chairman of the Chicago Federal Executive 
Board in 1987 and 1988, and is an alumni of the Federal Executive 
Institute in Charlottesville, VA.
  Mr. Woods received a Presidential Rank Award at a private White House 
ceremony in 1984, where he was conferred ``distinguished executive 
status''. In 1991, Mr. Woods was named to Who's Who in Government 
Service. In 1992, Mr. Woods was presented with a medallion of the city 
of Detroit by the President of the Detroit City Council.
  In 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Consumer 
Service became the sponsor of, and Mr. Woods was named chairperson of, 
the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Opportunity 
Committee. It is in this capacity that I became most familiar with Mr. 
Woods. Mr. Woods' dedication to the Inclusion of minority and women-
owned businesses in the Federal procurement process have been well 
documented. This dedication led him to willingly take responsibility 
for the continued mission of the Minority Business Opportunity 
Committee to increase the participation of such businesses in the 
marketplace.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Monroe Woods, an 
outstanding community and business leader and role model. I wish him 
the best of luck in his retirement. May he continue to share his talent 
and love of community that he has given to the Federal Government and 
the community at large.

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