[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 103 (Thursday, September 7, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CHARLES SPITALE HONORED FOR 40 YEARS OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2000

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Charles J. 
Spitale, who is retiring this month as the vice president and chief 
executive officer of AAA-Mid Atlantic.
  Charlie has served the members of the AAA for 40 years., He began as 
a service counselor in 1960, worked his way up to the position of 
office manager, and eventually was promoted to the position of 
executive vice president with the former Valley Auto Club. Upon the 
merger with AAA Mid-Atlantic in 1996, he was appointed vice president 
and CEO.
  He has also served for many years on the AAA Board of Directors and 
the Finance Committee of the AAA Federation. Charlie has also received 
numerous awards as a member of several Pennsylvania AAA Federation 
committees, and he has received national recognition from AAA in the 
area of sales production and promotion. He was also instrumental in 
facilitating the merger of the Tourist Promotion Agencies of Luzerne 
and Lackawanna Counties.
  Mr. Speaker, in addition to his accomplishments on the job, Charlie 
has a long and distinguished history with the Kiwanis Club of Wilkes-
Barre, Pennsylvania. He joined the club in 1966, serving as its 56th 
president from 1974 to 1975 and its secretary from 1987 to 1988. During 
his year as president, the club completed several outstanding community 
service projects as well as a variety of activities for Kiwanians and 
their families.
  Under his leadership, the club's primary fundraising project during 
that year was a performance by the world-famous Yugoslavian dance 
ensemble, the Frula, which means ``flute'' in Slovenian. This and other 
fundraising allowed the club to assist not only the Kiwanis Charitable 
Foundation, but also for the Kingston Senior Citizens' Center, Camp 
Acahela of the Penns Mountains Boy Scout Council and the Wyoming Valley 
Cerebral Palsy Association.
  Last but certainly not least, Charlie also founded the club's High-
Rise Tree Trim Project in 1972 and chaired it for 26 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to call to the attention of the House of 
Representatives the numerous accomplishments and good deeds of Charles 
Spitale, and I wish him the best in his retirement.

                          ____________________