[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 97 (Thursday, July 12, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING MR. PAUL MARKLOFF

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                        HON. JAMES C. GREENWOOD

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 12, 2001

  Mr. GREENWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Paul 
Markloff, whose honesty and character have made him a hero to an 
elderly woman in the wake of Hurricane Allison. Mr. Markloff is a 
nineteen-year employee of Nationwide Insurance and a resident of 
Sellersville, Pennsylvania. On June 19 he was assigned to the case of a 
woman whose apartment had been flooded and then burned when the water 
caused a natural gas explosion in the building. She had no family to 
help her recover from the damage. Her apartment was devastated by the 
fire and she told Mr. Markloff that she had lost everything. She 
mentioned that she had $8,000 in cash inside her apartment. When Mr. 
Markloff and a maintenance worker went in and searched the charred 
furniture, they found a total of $420,000 cash in a dresser. Despite 
the fact that the woman had not mentioned this much money--she said, in 
fact, that she didn't even know she had that much--Mr. Markloff 
gathered the money together and drove her immediately to her bank. He 
made sure that all the cash was carefully deposited in a special 
account and then took her to dinner and found her a room for the night.
  Mr. Markloff's actions in assisting this woman in a time of crisis 
would have been commendable even had they not also included such an 
impressive display of honesty. Had he only helped her find housing, he 
would have earned our praise. By returning her savings, about which she 
herself was unaware, he has shown himself to be a man of high moral and 
ethical standards. It is always inspiring to know that there are people 
like Mr. Markloff, who are generous enough to do the right thing 
without thought of personal gain. Mr. Markloff told a local newspaper 
that he didn't expect any reward for his actions because he was ``just 
doing his Job.'' Perhaps he was not rewarded monetarily, but he 
certainly deserves our recognition and thanks. His actions remind us 
how much good is in all of us and I am honored to pay tribute to him 
today.

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