[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 3 (Friday, January 25, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E31]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH ``AJ'' MINTON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 25, 2002

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, today we rise to congratulate Milpitas 
Police Department Officer Joseph ``AJ'' Minton, the winner of the 2002 
Gene Schwab Memorial Award. The Gene Schwab Memorial Award recognizes 
those city of Milpitas employees who put ``Service Above Self.''
  Joseph ``AJ'' Minton was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and moved to 
California in 1983 to attend college, first at Montery peninsula 
College and then San Jose State, where he obtained a Bachelor of 
Science degree in Administration of Justice. Mr. Minton began his 
career as a volunteer Police Explorer for the City of Marina, becoming 
a Reserve Police Officer and a volunteer Fire Fighter for that city in 
1984. Upon moving to San Jose, he began working with the Milpitas 
Police Department as an intern and was hired full-time by the 
Department upon his graduation. He became a Police officer in 1989.
  AJ Minton has spent most of his career in Patrol, but has served the 
Milpitas Police Department in innumerable other ways. As a crime 
Analyst, Mr. Minton provided valuable statistics to the community and 
to those looking to purchase a home and raise their families in 
Milpitas. He has also served as a Reserve Field Training Officer, a 
driver instructor, and as the agency representative for the county 
Report Writing Committee. Currently, he is a member of the Milpitas 
community Oriented Policing Task Force.
  Throughout Mr. Minton's career, he has taken an interest in computer 
and information technology. In 1994, he assisted in implementing the 
department's first mobile computer system. Since 1999, he has been on a 
project team that works closely with the Information Services 
Department; additionally, he assisted with the development of the 
Computer Aided Dispatch, the Records Management System, and Mobile 
Computers.
  Joseph ``AJ'' Minton is also an avid ice hockey player and is the 
beloved coach of the Blue Devil Ice hockey team, whose enthusiastic 
members range in age from four to eight. We wish to thank AJ Minton for 
his dedication to both the Milpitas Police Department and to the 
community; he truly embodies the spirit of ``Service Above Self.'' We 
congratulate him on this honor and are grateful for his service.

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