[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 105 (Monday, July 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMENDING MR. DENNIS DEMELLOPINE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 26, 2002

  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Mr. Dennis 
DeMelloPine, and to wish him and his fiancee, Miss Pattie Christman, 
the very best on the occasion of their marriage. A native of Santa 
Clara, California, Mr. DeMelloPine has devoted a tremendous amount of 
time and energy to community leadership, labor leadership, and 
charitable causes. His greatest contribution, however, has been his 
professional career-thirty years of dedicated service to the Bay Area 
as a firefighter.
  Dennis's love for aviation as a young man led him to become a United 
Airlines mechanic, in which capacity he perfected the skills that would 
eventually help him become a licensed pilot. But Dennis decided to make 
aviation an avocation rather than a career, and in 1972, he joined the 
Santa Clara County Fire Department. Over the course of the next decade 
Dennis served in several different communities, and became a Fire 
Captain in 1979. A few years later, he settled in permanently at the 
University Avenue Station in Los Gatos, where he has served for the 
last twenty years. His fellow firefighters could not have been happier 
about that decision: when Dennis is not out on a job he is busy cooking 
his company some of the best meals to be found in town.
  Considering the long hours required of a firefighter, and how 
strenuous those hours can be, it is amazing how much Dennis has 
contributed to our community outside of his firefighting duties. For 
fourteen years, Dennis served as President of the International 
Association of Fire Fighters Local 1165, bringing improved working 
conditions and increased benefits to his peers while working to 
maintain a strong labor-management partnership. He has also helped the 
Department procure governmental relief from budget problems, and has 
played a major role in making the County Fire Department more efficient 
and accessible. He not only understands the needs of the employees in 
his own community, but also works effectively between community fire 
departments by using his managerial savvy to facilitate mergers. From 
every point of view, he has made an invaluable contribution to the fire 
departments of the Bay Area.
  Dennis received a letter of commendation in 1997 for fighting the 
``Cats'' fire in Los Gatos and a Merit Award for outstanding service in 
1999, but Dennis has done much more for the community that goes largely 
unnoticed. He is a coach in the local PONY baseball and softball 
league, and he is an organizer and active participant in local 
fundraisers for charity and labor concerns. Much to my delight, Mr. 
DeMelloPine is also a strong and active supporter of the Democratic 
Party.
  Dennis's commitment to family is every bit as strong as his 
commitment to the community and to his career. He has close 
relationships with his brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles, 
relationships serving as an important balance to the demanding nature 
and stressfulness of his job. Most importantly, Dennis's mother has 
been a good friend and a great parent to her son for his whole life, 
and much of the success Dennis has enjoyed in life can be attributed to 
this wonderful woman.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Mr. Dennis DeMelloPine and wish him and his 
lovely fiancee, Miss Pattie Christman, all the best on the occasion of 
their wedding. They have both brought much happiness and security to 
our community, and may they now do the same for each other.

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