[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 175 (Monday, December 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN HONOR OF MIKE CHAPPELL

                                 ______
                                 

                   HON. CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 8, 2003

  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, as we wrap up this year's congressional 
work, I want to take this opportunity to salute and honor Mike 
Chappell, a native of McComb, Mississippi. He has been a trusted 
advisor, wise counselor, and valued assistant to me both during my work 
in service of Mississippi's Third District, and in my campaigns for 
that office.
  Over the past seven years I saw Mike hone his natural political 
instincts and quick grasp of policy into a strong ability to shape and 
influence the debate and outcome of our work. He knows the ``Four Ps'' 
of congressional work: process, politics, policy, and personalities.
  After my first election, he helped me open my congressional office 
and has served diligently each year since. But a few months ago he 
moved on to the private sector to work in the firm Fierce & Isakowitz, 
described by Fortune Magazine this year as ``the most skilled 
practitioners of persuasion in Washington.''
  Mike has been a friend on whose advice I could always trust and whose 
instincts for policy and politics are the best in the business. He 
knows how the Hill game is played, he knows the players, and he has 
memorized the playbook. Fierce & Isakowitz has hired a great asset and 
while I certainly miss him, I am excited for his new opportunity.
  Mike Chappell is an example of the type of political leadership 
Mississippi has to offer our country. His work has been a tribute to 
his parents, his community, his alma mater--the Golden Eagles of the 
University of Southern Mississippi--and his state. I also appreciate 
the sacrifice of his wife Angie as Mike put in long, hard hours in my 
office over the past several years.
  I know while working in the private sector he will continue to 
advance and represent the values we share, those values he learned from 
his parents in McComb, those values he continues to exhibit in his 
advancement of positive policy here in our nation's capital.
  Mike Chappell left a formative mark on the shape and operation of my 
office. We will miss his humor, wit, and passion for his work. But I 
thank him for his service to this office and to Mississippi.

                          ____________________