[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 38 (Friday, March 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO VENA G. EDWARDS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 20, 1997

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, after 32 years of civilian service in the 
Department of the Army, Vena G. Edwards is being honored by her friends 
and peers.
  Vena began her long and distinguished career in 1965 in the Officer 
Personnel Management Directorate at the U.S. Army Personnel Command, 
then known as the Military Personnel Command. Once she had established 
herself through other assignments, she advanced to the office of the 
assistant deputy chief of staff for Personnel in February 1977. A 
professional in every sense of the word, she was the mainstay and 
guiding force for the entire agency. She has trained many other agency 
members and has successfully managed the careers of the many general 
officers for whom she worked.
  She always took a genuine interest in people and often went out of 
her way to help. You could say that she was truly one of those people 
who always walked the extra mile. She has been a lifesaver for many a 
general officer and hapless newcomer who found out they could always 
depend on Vena for the right answer or the right place. As the 
institutional memory for the organization, she will be sorely missed as 
it will take all of us much longer to look up what she already knows.
  A master of efficiency, she has worked tirelessly to ensure the 
agency goals are met and that a quality of life is maintained for all 
members of the U.S. Army.
  Vena has earned the admiration and respect from those in the highest 
levels of the Army, of the Department of Defense, Congress, and for the 
genuine caring for the well being of those who make soldiering their 
career.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to extend our 
heartfelt congratulations upon the retirement of Vena Edwards. I know 
Vena will be just as successful in her future endeavors as she was at 
the Department of the Army.

                          ____________________