[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 137 (Tuesday, October 12, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             TRIBUTE TO GREG MAJORS, A DEDICATED INDIVIDUAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 12, 1999

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I take a moment 
to recognize Greg Majors who has routinely gone above and beyond the 
usual duties to make his business and community a better place. He has 
recently been awarded the 1999 Sam Walton Business Leader Award, which 
honors local business people who best exemplify the principles of Wal 
Mart founder, Sam Walton.
  Greg Majors is a driven man who has many positive ideas for change 
and improvement. He is involved in many organizations which are both 
business and community oriented. For the past nineteen years he has 
been with Norwest Banks. The last eight he has spent in Montrose as 
manager of Business Banking. There he is revered among his employees as 
an honest and likeable man.
  In addition, Greg has served as director of MEDC for the past four 
years, two of which he served as president. He has also been the 
director of the Montrose Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees for the 
past three years. As if the aforementioned activities are not enough 
for one man, Greg also serves on the board of trustees of the Montrose 
United Methodist Church and for the past six years he has been an 
active member of the Rotary Club.
  Mr. Speaker, as you can see, Greg Majors is a valuable asset to the 
community of Montrose. So, it is with this that I say thank you to this 
man on behalf of the people of Western Colorado for his dedicated 
service and I wish him well in all his future endeavors.

              TRIBUTE TO DEPUTY SHERIFF ERIC ANDREW THACH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 12, 1999

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague 
Congresswoman Mary Bono, with a heavy heart to pay tribute to a fallen 
deputy sheriff from Sun City, California. Deputy Sheriff Eric Andrew 
Thach died Friday in the line of duty for his Riverside County 
community. We send our condolences and prayers to his family, neighbors 
and the community.
  Eric Thach was 34 years of age and employed with the Riverside County 
Sheriff's Department for three years, since September 1996. He leaves 
behind his young wife, Evelyn, and daughter, Shana. He also leaves 
behind neighbors and a community that will miss his constant self-
sacrifice, generosity and quiet demeanor. And, now those left behind 
must pull together to support and strengthen each other during the 
coming months and years as they heal.
  ``Deputy Sheriff Eric Thach lived his life with strength and courage. 
He was a good man, taken from us too soon . . . He will live on in our 
memory and in the many respects paid to him by the community,'' stated 
Riverside County Sheriff Larry D. Smith.
  Eric Thach's sacrifice will be further remembered as his name is 
engraved next to the names of three fellow officers, also felled in the 
line of duty. The marker sits outside the Riverside County Sheriff's 
Department as a reminder to us all of the selfless duty for law 
enforcement officers assume as they protect the people or Riverside 
County--a sacrifice that we often take for granted. As Madam de Stael 
once said, ``We understand death for the first time when he puts his 
hand upon the one whom we love.''
  The National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial, though, says it the 
best, that ``it is not how these officers died that made them heroes, 
it is how they lived.'' Many of us can not truly understand the latent 
danger associated with the day to day routines of our law enforcement 
officers. They put themselves in the line of danger everyday as they 
stop a vehicle, respond to an incident or a suspicious circumstances--
like Deputy Thach. The danger and violence they face day in and day out 
is very real and it is times like these--sadly--that make us stop and 
honor our law enforcement officers. We hope that they be given such 
honor, respect and thanks always--not only when life's fragile nature 
is revealed. Deputy Eric Thach lived his life with this constantly in 
the forefront and his memory can be best served by us all doing the 
same.
  Mr. Speaker, we ask that you and our colleagues join us today to 
remember this fine deputy. On behalf of the residents of Riverside 
County, we extend our prayers and most heartfelt sympathy to his family 
and loved ones.

                          ____________________