[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 12, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE SMITHVILLE-DeKALB COUNTY RESCUE SQUAD

                                 ______


                            HON. BART GORDON

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 12, 1996

  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I am taking this opportunity to applaud the 
invaluable services provided by the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue 
Squad. These brave, civic-minded people give freely of their time so 
that should disaster strike, we know that our friends and neighbors are 
there to help.
  Few realize the depth of training and hard work that goes into being 
a member of the rescue squad. Rescue squad members undergo a training 
series over a 4- to 6-month period which includes instruction in 
cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR], vehicle extrication, emergency 
driving, and rescue orientation. In addition to this training, rescue 
squad members also meet monthly to address business concerns as well as 
hear guest speakers.
  Rescue squad members are volunteers. They receive no pay for what 
they do. What also makes their service especially outstanding is that 
the organizations themselves receive no funding. They receive no 
funding from the city, the county, or the Federal Government.
  Rescue squads are funded in the same spirit of community voluntarism 
which moves them to serve. Family, friends, and neighbors pitch in at 
bake sales, road blocks, and fish frys to help those who sacrifice 
their time for the benefit of the whole community.
  Committing such an amount of spare time and energy to a job so 
emotionally and physically taxing requires a sense of devotion and duty 
for which we are all grateful.

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