[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING JAMES HUFF

                                 ______
                                 

                   HON. CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 24, 2004

  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, this month James Huff retires--again. A 
mentor, a confidant, a family friend, and a counselor since before I 
ran for Congress, Jim represents the best Mississippi has to offer and 
will be irreplaceable on my staff.
  Jim and Marilyn Huff reared two children and proudly claim 5 
grandchildren. For 32 years he worked at the Masonite Corporation in 
Laurel. As operations manager at Masonite, he was one of the leading 
businessmen in Jones County, where I grew up and first appreciated his 
wisdom, wit, and integrity.
  President George H. W. Bush put Jim's knowledge and expertise to 
work, appointing him Mississippi's state director of the Farmers Home 
Administration. Excelling as administrator and leader, Jim was next 
asked by President Bush to come to Washington DC and serve as the 
national administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration.
  Years later, Jim's political knowledge of Mississippi and Washington 
DC benefited my work both in my first campaign for Congress and then as 
I worked to serve the constituents of Mississippi's Third District. Few 
freshman Congressmen could boast of such unique experience on staff. 
His guidance was exceptional; his advice, outstanding.
  Jim continues to be a servant in his community. He is a leader at the 
Hebron Baptist Church where his abilities as a sunday school teacher 
and work as a deacon are well known and appreciated. Active in the 
Kiwanis Club, people in Jones County know they can come to Jim for 
advice and assistance during life's struggles.
  The pages of Mississippi record a lifetime of public service and 
private engagement from Jim Huff. He will never fully retire. He may 
have more time now to work his cattle farm and relax at his favorite 
fishing hole, and more time to spend with his loving family.
  When I think of Jim Huff, I think of honesty, service, humor, and 
experience. I thank him for his service to this office and to 
Mississippi. I join the rest of my staff in saying we will miss him, 
but I know I will see him often because he is more than a colleague and 
assistant. He is family and will remain near in my heart, constant in 
my thoughts, and always in my prayers.

                          ____________________