[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 101 (Friday, July 24, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


TRIBUTE TO E.B. ``SWEDE'' ANTONELL, JOHN E. BOUDREAU, ROBERT F. BOWMAN, 
   ROBERT L. STANFIELD AND HARVEY WILLIAMS FOR THEIR SERVICE TO THE 
           CENTRAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. GEORGE P. RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 24, 1998

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to E.B. 
``Swede'' Antonell, John E. Boudreau, Robert F. Bowman, Robert L. 
Stanfield and Harvey Williams for their service to the central San 
Joaquin Valley agricultural community. Each of these gentlemen has 
distinguished himself as a valued member of the agriculture-water 
industry.
  Mr. E.B. ``Swede'' Antonell was born in Michigan and started his 
career as a chemist for U.S. Industrial Alcohol after studying 
chemistry at Stanford University. His service on the Southern San 
Joaquin Municipal Utility District Board of Directors dates back to the 
earliest days of water service from the Friant-Kern Canal.
  Mr. Antonell came to Kern County in 1938 as a farmer and produce 
packer. He farmed citrus, potatoes, corn and cantaloupe. He saw that 
farmers in the Delano and McFarland areas were faced with the pumping 
of ground water to sustain their agriculture production and were 
depleting the subterranean water supply. Mr. Antonell decided to 
actively support the Friant water project, which would enable modern 
irrigation and use surface water to produce higher yielding crops. Mr. 
Antonell has been a longtime advocate for agriculture and water in the 
valley.
  Long identified with water industry leadership in Kern County, Mr. 
Antonell represented the district as a Friant Water Users Authority 
director since the Authority's formation in October 1985. Beginning in 
January 1955, Mr. Antonell served as the director of the Delano-
McFarland District of the Central Valley Project--Friant Division. Mr. 
Antonell also served as director of the Western Growers' Association, 
the California Potato Growers Association, the United Fresh Fruit and 
Vegetable Association, the Association of California Water Agencies 
Insurance Commission, and Governor Ronald Reagan's Citizens' Commission 
for Agriculture. On June 2, his 96th birthday, Mr. Antonell resigned 
and retired from the Southern San Joaquin Municipal Utility Board of 
Directors.
  John E. Boudreau joined the Terra Bella Irrigation District in 1968. 
He has managed all administrative, engineering, operational and 
maintenance duties for the system which delivers water to agricultural 
and municipal users in this Tulare County community. Recently Mr. 
Boudreau has overseen a project of over $5 million that includes a 
municipal and industrial water treatment plant, a million gallon 
storage tank, pumping facilities and four miles of water lines.
  Mr. Boudreau has managed the Friant Power Authority since its 
inception in 1979 and plans to continue in that role after his 
retirement from the irrigation district. He also manages the San 
Joaquin River Water Power Authority and has served on the Tulare County 
Grand Jury and as Chairman of the Tulare County Flood Control 
Commission. In Terra Bella, he has served as the past director of the 
Terra Bella Chamber of Commerce and the American Cancer Society. With 
the Association of California Water Agencies, he is the past chairman 
of the Thermal Electric Water Supply Committee and Manager-Engineers 
Section, as well as a former Executive Board member.
  Mr. Boudreau earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering 
at the University of Santa Clara. He served in the United States Army 
Reserve for eight years and achieved the rank of captain.
  Robert F. Bowman completed six successful years as Chairman of the 
Board of the Friant Water Users Authority in January. His introduction 
to farming came 62 years ago when his parents moved to Kern County from 
Southern California and bought 40 acres near Buttonwillow. Mr. Bowman 
has farming interests in the Corcoran, Angiola and Tipton areas. His 
crops have included cotton, alfalfa, wheat, safflower and sugar beets.
  Mr. Bowman has served on the Friant Water Users Authority board since 
1988 and was vice chairman for two years. His other board service 
includes the Upper San Joaquin Water and Power Authority, Mid-Valley 
Water Authority, Central Valley Project Authority, Association of 
California Water Agencies, Central Valley Project Water Association and 
California Farm Water Coalition. He also chairs the Friant Water Users 
Political Action Committee. Mr. Bowman has distinguished himself as a 
fighter for Friant water and San Joaquin Valley water rights.
  Robert Bowman is past chairman of the California Ag Council, which is 
made up of the state's major agricultural cooperatives. He has also 
served as director for both the Western Cotton Growers' Association and 
CalCot. Mr. Bowman is a 1950 graduate of Cal Poly--San Luis Obispo and 
served in World War II as an U.S. Army infantry lieutenant.
  Robert L. Stanfield is retiring from a 35-year career with the Madera 
Irrigation District where he has been the district manager for the past 
23 years. Mr. Stanfield's family has nearly 130 years of history in the 
Madera area.
  After earning a degree in civil engineering from Chico State College, 
Robert Stanfield began his career working part time for the Madera 
Irrigation District (M.I.D.). He was then recruited to become an 
engineer for the district. After rising through the ranks he became 
M.I.D.'s general manager/chief engineer in 1975. He has also served as 
the manager of the Chowchilla-Madera Power Authority for M.I.D. and the 
Chowchilla Water District. A Madera Canal hydroelectric power plant was 
named in honor of Robert Stanfield in 1986. He has been involved with 
the Friant Power Authority since its inception and the Upper San 
Joaquin River Water and Power Authority.
  Mr. Stanfield is a Madera County Chamber of Commerce director and San 
Joaquin River Conservancy board member. He has chaired the Association 
of California Water Agencies and the Madera City Planning Commission. 
He also serves on the California Chamber of Commerce Water Resources 
Committee and the Friant Water Users Authority Advisory Committee.
  Harvey Williams served for 26 years in a variety of positions with 
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and has managed the Shafter-Wasco 
Irrigation District for the last decade. Mr. Williams is from the state 
of Washington and earned a degree in agricultural engineering from 
Washington State College. He served two years in the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers in combat engineering.
  In 1961, Harvey Williams joined the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on its 
Columbia Basin Project in the Operation and Maintenance section of the 
newly built irrigation systems which brought farming to that region. In 
1971, Mr. Williams transferred to Fresno as the Bureau's operations 
chief in the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project. He was 
appointed to the district manager's position in the Shafter-Wasco 
Irrigation District in Kern County on March 1, 1987. During his tenure 
with Shafter-Wasco, the district developed a major pumping plant and 
pipeline system that links the several regional water projects. This 
efficient system has increased and enhanced the overall water supply 
management and delivery to its customers. As a result, more than 40,000 
acre feet of water has been banked in lieu of pumping valuable ground 
water.
  Mr. Williams is a director of the Central Valley Project Water 
Association and serves on the Friant Water Users Authority Operation 
and Maintenance Committee. He also serves on the Kern County Water 
Advisory Committee, the Six District Ground Water Committee and is an 
associate director of the Pond-Wasco-Shafter Resource Conservation 
District.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor to pay tribute to these five 
gentlemen. Each of these distinguished citizens has dedicated his life 
to the agriculture and water industries of the San Joaquin Valley and 
to his community. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
these men for their distinguished service to the San Joaquin Valley.

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