[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E91]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING MR. ROBERT E. WEST UPON RETIREMENT FROM YEARS OF 
    DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP HOUSING AUTHORITY

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                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2004

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
congratulate Mr. Robert E. West, who has recently retired from the 
position of Executive Director to the Neptune Township Authority.
  Robert E. West was born in New York, and moved to Neptune, NJ at an 
early age. After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class, 
and finishing his education at Monmouth Junior College, he began work 
as an insurance agent in New York, eventually moving to the prestigious 
North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company. In addition to selling 
insurance, Mr. West worked with Haso Maintenance Inc., working to 
dispatch taxis to the city's Bronx borough.
  After 15 years working in the private sector, Mr. West's heart wished 
to stay in the place that he had resided since childhood, and began 
what would be a storied career in the Neptune Township Housing 
Authority. From humble beginnings as a rent collector, Robert West rose 
through the ranks of the Authority to the prestigious position of 
Executive Director.
  Mr. West's distinguished period of public service included 
affiliations to the Neptune Lions Club, Jersey Shore Medical Center and 
stints as the President of the Neptune Board of Education, who's most 
notable contribution was to save the school marching band through 
personal endeavors and vigorous fundraising efforts.
  Under Mr. West's tenure as Executive Director, the Neptune Housing 
Authority has experienced growth unlike anything that it has ever seen. 
Director West implemented programs to improve the quality of life for 
tenants, improve the quality of the residences in which they resided, 
and helped to make the administrative offices of the NTHA handicap 
accessible. For his work, the United States Housing and Urban 
Development Association awarded Mr. West several outstanding 
achievement awards.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my dearest 
gratitude to Mr. West for his indelible service to the community in 
which he lived. A career such as his truly merits praise, and I too 
ask, that my colleagues join me in honoring Mr. Robert E. West for a 
storied career that has touched the lives of all those whom he had 
served.

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