[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 63 (Wednesday, May 14, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CRAIG THORN III RECEIVES COLUMBIA COUNTY ASSOCIATION'S DISTINGUISHED 
                             CITIZEN AWARD

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                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 14, 1997

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, on May 15, 1997, the Columbia County 
Association will bestow its Distinguished Citizen Award on Craig Thorn 
III. Anyone who knows him realizes how well-deserved this honor really 
is.
  Mr. Thorn's career is notable for the degree to which he moved on the 
State and national political scene while maintaining his local business 
presence. Since Gov. Nelson Rockefeller's 1966 reelection campaign, Mr. 
Thorn has been actively involved in State politics. In 1968, he served 
as an advance man in Rockefeller's Presidential campaign. Later, he 
served as the upstate director of the Duryea gubernatorial campaign in 
1978 and was the chief of staff for New York State Assembly Republicans 
from 1979 to 1982.
  The creativity, enthusiasm and initiative that Mr. Thorn demonstrated 
in State politics also have been carried over into his civic 
activities. Currently, he serves as a vice chairman of the board of 
trustees of Columbia Memorial Hospital and chairman of the Columbia-
Greene Community Hospital Foundation, which last year kicked off a 
Second Century of Caring Capital Campaign that already has secured $2 
million toward a new emergency wing with surgical facilities.
  Additionally, Mr. Thorn is a trustee of Columbia Economic Development 
Corp. and secretary of Hudson Development Corp. as well as a member of 
the board of managers of the Columbia Hudson Partnership, the umbrella 
economic development organization for the county and city. In this 
role, he has been an enthusiastic proponent of waterfront development 
in the city of Hudson and an active player in the complex negotiations 
that are now resulting in the removal of several longstanding oil tanks 
by the river, making way for a new public park.
  Mr. Thorn also conceived and set in motion a Flag Day parade that 
will take place in Hudson on Saturday, June 14, and honor not only the 
American flag but the entire spectrum of volunteer organizations in 
Columbia County.
  I could go on and list all of Mr. Thorn's other accomplishments, but 
I think I would run out of time and space. Needless to say, I commend 
the Columbia County Association's selection of Craig Thorn as the 
recipient of its Distinguished Citizen Award. His long record of 
serving his community and his State are a model for other citizens to 
follow.

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