[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CONGRATULATIONS TO GARY THOMAS FORSYTH COUNTY CLERK OF COURT

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                           HON. HOWARD COBLE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 22, 1997

  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of the Sixth 
District of North Carolina, we would like to congratulate an 
outstanding public servant for going above and beyond the call of duty. 
Gary Thomas, Forsyth County Clerk of Court, has earned this recognition 
for his work in performing his duties so admirably. Mr. Thomas should 
be congratulated for his extraordinary work.
  Mr. Thomas, using his skills from his days as a detective, tracked 
down a constituent of mine, Mr. Elmer Holt, to give to him a bequest in 
the amount of $18,530.67, which had been left to Mr. Holt by the late 
C.H. Davis. If Mr. Thomas had not found Mr. Holt, the inheritance would 
have been turned over to the State because of the 2-year deadline. 
Knowing this, Mr. Thomas began an exhaustive search that would conclude 
with a Randolph County family receiving an unexpected check for a large 
sum of money.
  The search for Elmer Holt led Mr. Thomas to three Elmers in North 
Carolina. Thomas was looking for the Elmer who previously had a 
friendship with a Mr. C.H. Davis. Mr. Thomas' conservation with a Ms. 
Debbie Hold Smith proved to be the key to the puzzle of which Elmer 
should receive the bequest.
  Debbie Holt Smith turned out to be the daughter of the Elmer Holt for 
whom Mr. Thomas was searching. Thomas declined to tell Ms. Smith why he 
needed to talk with Elmer Holt. She agreed, however, to discuss the 
issue with her father. A confused Ms. Smith spoke with her father and 
discussed with him whether he ever knew a C.H. Davis. Elmer Holt 
recalled that he had befriended a Mr. Davis when he was younger and had 
done business with him. He remembered the late Mr. Davis as a generous 
man had always promised to leave him something in his will when he 
died.
  A letter to Elmer Holt from C.H. Davis was all the evidence that Mr. 
Thomas needed to realize that the Elmer Holt he had found was indeed 
the correct Elmer Holt. With the letter in hand, Debbie Holt Smith and 
her father went to Mr. Thomas' office in Winston-Salem to receive the 
unexpected surprise. Mr. Thomas gave them a check for more than 
$18,000. A check they never would have seen if it had not been for his 
hard work.
  Gary Thomas deserves recognition for his outstanding work in Forsyth 
County on behalf of our constituent. It is not very often that a public 
servant goes so far beyond the call of duty to find a missing 
beneficiary who is about to lose his bequest. We are extremely proud of 
him.

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