[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO P. STUART THOLAN

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 15, 1996

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, Mr. P. Stuart Tholan was one of the 32 
Americans accompanying Secretary Ron Brown on his mission to contribute 
to the rebuilding of Bosnia. He was aboard the military transport plane 
which crashed, killing all abroad. My most sincere condolences go out 
to his wife, Marilyn, his children, Scott and Carolyn, and all his 
family, as well as to all those whose lives Stuart Tholan touched.
  Mr. Tholan had been invited on the humanitarian mission by Commerce 
Secretary Ron Brown because of his distinguished record of overcoming 
seemingly insurmountable obstacles and succeeding again and again. The 
reconstruction and revival of Bosnia's devastated economy would have 
been Mr. Tholan's most significant challenge. I have the utmost 
confidence, as did Secretary Brown, that he would have succeeded at 
this ultimate challenge.
  Mr. Tholan's outstanding work for the Bechtel group of companies, 
based in San Francisco, CA, earned him a reputation as a demanding 
project director who tackled the most daunting tasks with eternal 
optimism and a can-do attitude. While his focus on the successful 
completion of a project could not be swayed, he never lost sight of the 
importance of the people on the project. Mr. Tholan would always take 
the time to help a co-worker when they had personal or family 
difficulties or to devote his spare time to coaching Little League and 
girl's softball.
  The mission that Stuart Tholan was participating in was perfectly 
suited to his strengths. Throughout his career, he had shown an ability 
to bring together people and motivate them to accomplish the most 
difficult tasks. The strengths of his personality and character shone 
through the overwhelming nature of jobs he took on. His leadership 
propelled an international work force of 16,000 to put out the Kuwaiti 
oil fires in a fraction of the time experts thought possible.
  These are the reasons why Secretary Brown chose Stuart Tholan as the 
perfect candidate to help rebuild the devastated economy of Bosnia. Mr. 
Speaker, Stuart Tholan and the others who perished on that plane 
deserve our gratitude for their commitment and dedication to bring 
peace and stability to Bosnia and for their service to our Nation.

                          ____________________