[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 85 (Thursday, June 29, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATIONS TO C.W. ``CHUCK'' PLUNKETT FOR HIS OUTSTANDING SERVICE 
        TO THE CITY OF LEBANON, MO, AND TO FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 28, 2000

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, let me take this means to honor Mr. Chuck 
Plunkett of Lebanon, MO, for his outstanding service to his community.
  Mr. Plunkett has served the Lebanon community as the president of 
both the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Leonard Wood 
Committee of the Chamber. He has indeed been a community leader and an 
ambassador to Fort Leonard Wood. In fact, Chuck has spent nearly twenty 
years of his life working on behalf of better community relations 
between Lebanon and Fort Wood.
  Throughout the years, Chuck, along with his wife Lil, have worked 
tirelessly on behalf of service members and their families who live and 
work at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. They have organized tours of Lebanon and 
the surrounding area to showcase the people of Missouri and the scenic 
Ozark hills that surround the fort. They have regularly attended events 
at Fort Leonard Wood and passed out hundreds of buttons declaring 
``Lebanon Loves Fort Wood.'' In addition, when the U.S. Army was 
considering moving the Army Engineer School to Fort Leonard Wood, Lil 
and Chuck played an instrumental role in promoting the outstanding 
community relations that America's young soldiers would experience in 
Missouri. This good will gesture was important to the Army's decision 
to move the school to Missouri in 1989.
  Chuck Plunkett has received many awards because of his dedication to 
Fort Leonard Wood. He has been given a certificate of appreciation 
while serving as the Chairman of the Fort Leonard Wood Committee, and 
he received the TRADOC Certificate of Appreciation for International 
Student Support. Additionally, Chuck and his wife, Lil, have been 
awarded a certificate of appreciation for their generous contribution 
and support to the soldiers of the 10th Infantry Regiment during the 
1990 holiday season, and in 1991, Chuck was presented an award 
commending his public service during the gulf war. One accolade that 
Mr. Plunkett is especially proud of is from the families of the 55th 
Engineer Company, which included photographs of service members' 
families.
  In addition to the various awards presented to Chuck Plunkett over 
the years, he has been named a Charter Member of the Engineer 
Regimental Association of the United States Army. He has also been 
officially designated as a member of the Army Engineer Association.
  Chuck, who served his nation in the U.S. Air Force from 1943 to 1946 
as a ball turret gunner on a B-17, came to the Lebanon community in 
1972. He owned and operated Commercial Quality Feed Center, Inc., until 
1983 where he engineered and constructed a feed mill and retail store.
  Mr. Speaker, in a time when the gap between civilian America and 
military America is growing, Chuck Plunkett has worked long and hard to 
bridge that gap. A World War II veteran, a small business owner, and a 
community leader, it is right that the Members of the House of 
Representatives join me in honoring this role model for all Americans.

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