[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 142 (Saturday, October 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       BUD MANSFIELD TESTIMONIAL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 9, 1998

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, it is often clear in retrospect that an 
individual's lifetime of varied jobs and experiences were but 
preparation for a task that would allow him utilize all the skills and 
wisdom he had accumulated. There is such a man in my Congressional 
District, and as Bud Mansfield retires from his post as Executive 
Director of the Sault Area Chamber of Commerce, I'd like to take this 
opportunity to reflect on his fine career.
  What qualities might we seek in a chamber director? We would look for 
someone with genuine business experience, someone who has deep roots in 
the area and involvement in the community, and someone who knows both 
the upside and downside of business ventures. We would look for someone 
with the salesperson's skills to sell the community to a developer and 
sell a developer to the community, and someone with such a work ethic 
that, as his last day of employment approaches, says that he doesn't 
plan to really retire, ever.
  It's quite clear, Mr. Speaker, that I have been describing Francis 
``Bud'' Mansfield, who has devoted his life to work and to volunteer 
efforts in the Sault Ste. Marie area on the eastern end of Michigan's 
Upper peninsula.
  Bud earned his stripes in the world of business early, delivering 
messages for Western Union on his bicycle at the age of 12, as area 
residents were reminded in a recent article in the Sault Evening News. 
He earned his stripes, literally, in the Michigan National Guard. He 
worked in the men's department of a local department store, started his 
own cleaning business, joined the sales force of a local General Motors 
vehicle dealership, and eventually acquired that dealership. Bud, 
however, soon became one of the economic victims of the closing of 
Kincheloe Air Force, one of two base closings that has devastated my 
district and an event that later presented Bud Mansfield, the chamber 
director, with special challenges.
  Let me take a moment to state, for the record, several of almost 50 
organizations which Bud Mansfield has helped shape, guide or support in 
his role as chamber director. A program like Habitat for Humanity would 
be familiar to you, Mr. Speaker, but there are other programs, such as 
Artrain and Rails to Trails, that are special Michigan success stories.
  Sault St. Marie has a unique location. It is an important border 
crossing into Canada and it is the site of the Soo Locks, which link 
Lake Superior with Lake Huron. These geographical features ensured that 
Bud would have a role to play with the Joint International Committee, 
with the Internal coordinating Committee for Joint Relations, and with 
a Soo Locks operations committee.
  Bud also served on the board of local Catholic schools, and as he 
said in his recent Evening News interview, he weathered the closing of 
that school system in the late 1970s with great sorrow. He later served 
on the board of the Sault Area Public Schools.
  It's clear that Bud won't stop moving, working and traveling after he 
leaves the chamber. He and his wife Mary have eight children, all of 
whom, according to Evening News, have moved back to Michigan. In the 
interview with Bud, he also stated he has considered doing some 
writing.
  So maybe, Mr. Speaker, a life of varied jobs wasn't just shaping Bud 
for his chamber work. Maybe the real adventure for this 71-year-old 
lies just around the corner. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing 
the best for Bud Mansfield, a dedicated community servant.

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