[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 18, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING A DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVANT, MR. JOHN WIGGINS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 18, 2003

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, there are many heroes who work night and 
day, week after week, month after month to keep our neighborhoods, 
cities, states and this great nation safe and secure. Mr. John Wiggins 
is one of those heroes. John, at the very young age of 53, is retiring 
in April after almost 33 years of dedicated service with the Mobile 
Fire and Rescue Department.
  John is the oldest firefighter in the department who actually still 
fights fires. For more than three decades, he has been able to live out 
his childhood dream of serving his community as a firefighter. He has 
seen many changes in firefighting, paramedics and in the department and 
has raised, and trained, many new recruits and most of the current fire 
chiefs. John laughs that every time he gets in Ladder Truck 10, which 
operates out of Gus Rehm Fire Station on Moffett Road in Mobile, ``and 
those lights and siren come on, it's like I'm 20 years old again.''
  John has also assumed leadership roles with his fellow firefighters. 
He has been a member of the Mobile Fire Fighters Association Local 1349 
since he first joined the fire department and has served as its 
president for the last four years. He has not only worked for his 
fellow firefighters but has also worked as president of the City 
Workers' Coalition to approach City Hall with city workers' work-
related concerns.
  Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you and my colleagues to join me in 
honoring John Wiggins for his many years of commitment to bring safety 
and security to his community and to his nation through his continued 
service with the Mobile Fire and Rescue Department. The Department and 
the City of Mobile are losing a valuable and dedicated servant and 
leader. However, I am sure that John's wife, Joy, and his children, 
stepchildren and grandchildren will enjoy spending more time with this 
hometown hero. I wish John all the best in his retirement years and 
always.

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