[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      A TRIBUTE TO DENNIS BYDASH, CUYAHOGA COUNTY CLERK OF COURTS

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                       HON. STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 9, 1999

  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, Dennis Bydash is proud to note that 
he has risen from the very bottom of the office of Gerald E. Fuerst, 
Clerk of Courts, who nominated him for this award, to the very top. 
Starting in 1972 as a filing clerk, hired for a 90 day period, he has, 
in almost 27 years, been given 6 promotions and now serves in a key 
leadership position as the Office Manager of the Civil Division, where 
he supervises over 100 employees and acts as the liaison between the 
Clerk's office and the 57 judges who depend on the Clerk's office and 
the offices of the County Prosecutor, the County Sheriff and the County 
Auditor.
  To Dennis, the most rewarding aspects of his service in the Clerk's 
office is to see a smile on the face of an individual or to receive a 
thank you directly or through a letter to Mr. Fuerst. He recognizes 
that the Justice Center can be cold and intimidating to the average 
citizen and works hard to see that the Clerk's office helps that 
average citizen when it can or that it directs the individual to the 
appropriate office in the justice system.
  Dennis is also active in his local community. He has participated in 
insuring that the Broadway neighborhood received a new fire station. He 
has served as President of his Ward's Democratic club for 16 of the 
last 18 years. He has volunteered in many political campaigns from the 
Congressional to the local level.
  Beyond that, Dennis is an avid photographer and student of 
railroading, with a large collection of memorabilia, including 
thousands of his own pictures of railroads, some of which have been 
published. He is happy also to grow vegetables in his garden and can 
them.
  Dennis recalls fondly a 1977 inquiry on the filing of a divorce from 
a young lawyer during the midst of accusations by some lawyers that the 
Clerk's office's employees, in helping the public, was practicing law 
without a license. Despite his fear that the question might be part of 
that effort, he helped the lawyer, in his own words ``in a somewhat 
hard way.'' Just over two years later, he and that lawyer, Michaele 
Tyner married, and they recently celebrated their 18th anniversary.

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