[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SALUTE TO DON AND JACKIE PRUNER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 26, 1996

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute two people who have 
probably had a more direct effect on the health and welfare of Ventura 
County residents than anyone else--Don and Jackie Pruner.
  In August of 1963, Don and Jackie scraped together nearly all the 
money they could find and bought an ambulance company that consisted of 
one 1958 Pontiac ambulance. Times were tight, so Don did the driving 
while Jackie handled business operations and dispatched about 15 calls 
a month (to a service population of about 9,000 people in the Thousand 
Oaks area) out of the couple's home.
  Back then, the business was called Conejo Ambulance. Over the course 
of three decades, Pruner Health Services grew to provide 24-hour 
emergency service to a population of more than 345,000 people in an 
area of approximately 650 square miles.
  Obviously, Don and Jackie have come a long way from that 1958 
Pontiac. Like all business success stories, theirs is one of hard work, 
determination and day-to-day achievements that together form an 
extraordinary record of service.
  As we celebrate their retirement, it is entirely appropriate that we 
celebrate all that Don and Jackie have given to all of us--those who 
know them personally as friends, and those who have known them only 
through the essential service they provide.
  Anyone who has ever picked up a phone to summon an ambulance in the 
middle of an emergency knows that those calls are often made in frantic 
desperation. For more than three decades, the people of Ventura County 
and Malibu have found Don and Jackie Pruner on the other end of that 
phone--willing to do anything they could to preserve life.
  Through it all, Don and Jackie have also found the time to raise 
three children, Michelle, Mike and Scott, and to welcome five 
grandchildren into the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to today salute my friends Don and Jackie 
Pruner, and to thank them for everything they have done for our 
community. It is rare to come across someone who has truly dedicated 
their lives to helping preserve the health and welfare of others. Don 
and Jackie Pruner are two such individuals. It is my hope that, in 
retirement, these two good friends can focus on their love of 
traveling, fishing and frequent excursions to Catalina. I think 
everyone who knows Don and Jackie personally would agree, after all the 
years of hard work, they deserve it.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Don and Jackie Pruner to this distinguished 
body and wish them all the best in the future.

                          ____________________