[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       LEGISLATION TO RENAME U.S. POST OFFICE IN MOLINE, ILLINOIS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LANE EVANS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 15, 2003

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to rename 
the U.S. Post Office at 514 17th Street in Moline, Illinois after my 
friend, David Bybee, who passed away unexpectedly last year.
  Dave was a distinguished public servant who was the National Business 
Agent for the Chicago Region of the National Association of Letter 
Carriers. He served his community and union for 33 years within the 
very walls of the building I seek to name after him. It is my hope that 
his name will forever be identified with the institution he cherished 
for so many years as a national union leader for letter carriers.
  Dave Bybee became a letter carrier for the Postal Service in 1967 and 
after only two years on the job was elected President of Letter 
Carriers Local 318. He then became the Regional Administrative 
Assistant and concurrently the Secretary to the Illinois State 
Association of Letter Carriers from 1971 to 1977. In 1980, Mr. Bybee 
was elected the National Business Agent to the National Association of 
Letter Carriers for the 17,000 strong Chicago Region. He held that 
office and concurrently served as a Vice President of the Illinois AFL-
CIO until his death on May 31, 2002.
  Dave Bybee worked tirelessly on behalf of the letter carriers of 
Illinois and traveled thousands of miles in Illinois and across the 
nation representing his members. Dave was also loved by the retirees 
who knew they had a good friend and leader who fought for their 
benefits In 1992, recognizing Dave's hard work and lifetime dedication, 
the local union he first represented as President twenty-three years 
earlier was named the David M. Bybee Branch of the National Association 
of Letter Carriers.
  Dave Bybee was also civically active and had many friends within the 
Illinois Congressional delegation and state legislature on both sides 
of the aisle. He served as a member of the Electoral College in two 
national elections.
  His dedication to his fellow workers did not interfere with his 
devotion to his wife, Judy, and their two sons, Michael and John. In 
addition to a full and rewarding family life, he still found time to 
serve his community as the fire chief of Carbon Cliff and as a school 
board member, and remain active in the Moline Elks Club.
  Dave had a wonderful sense of humor and no matter how tired he was 
from work and travel, he could always manage to make any group he was 
visiting or speaking to laugh and smile. When he passed away, letter 
carriers and postal officials from all over the state and nation 
traveled to Moline to pay their respects. Dave was a national labor 
leader who served not only his fellow workers, but his community and 
family.
  Mr. Speaker, the Post Office in Moline, Illinois, should be named 
after Dave Bybee. The Moline community, postal workers across Illinois 
and the nation owe David Bybee a great deal because of his advocacy for 
working Americans. This is the very least we can do to commend such a 
dedicated and hardworking man.

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