[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 22 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E239-E240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE HONOREES OF THE 57TH ANNUAL PUBLIC SERVANTS MERIT 
                                 AWARDS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2004

  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the nine 
honorees of the 57th Annual Public Servants Merit Awards Luncheon, held 
Friday, February 13, 2004. This event was hosted by the Cuyahoga County 
Bar Foundation and the Cuyahoga County Bar Association.
  Tim Brennan currently serves as the Civil Division's Assistant 
Personnel Director/Acting Office Manager for the Clerk of Courts, 
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Tim assists with interviewing 
applicants for the Clerk's office, promoting employees, and assisting 
in resolving personnel disputes.
  Tim and his wife, Janene are Lakewood residents and have been married 
almost as long as Tim has worked in the Clerk's office. They met as 
employees of the Clerk's office and have three children, Patrick, 
Megan, and Molly.
  Tim is very active in Lakewood and Cuyahoga County Democratic Party 
activities. He became interested in politics at an early age, as the 
son of Judge Hugh P. Brennan. Also, Tim has been active for many years 
with St. Mark's Church.
  Despite his many accomplishments in work and politics, Tim feels that 
his greatest achievement is securing the love and support of his 
family.
  Since 1974, Tom Bykowski has been an office mainstay for the 
Cleveland Municipal Court. As a supervisor in the office, he is 
responsible for drafting the judgment entries and other pleadings.
  Tom attended St. John Cantius High School and Cuyahoga Community 
College. He is a longtime Old Brooklyn resident and lives with Helen, 
his wife of more than 25 years, and their children Benjamin and Kate. 
Tom is devoted to his family, but still has found time to be active in 
his local community development corporation, his parish school, as well 
as his ward & county Democratic Party activities.
  He often spends his days asking the tide of people passing through 
the Clerk's office, ``How can I help you'' because he enjoys contact 
with the public.
  Richard L. Gray has been employed at the Lakewood Municipal Court 
since 1974. He began his tenure in the Criminal Division and, for more 
than 20 years, has been the Clerk of Court.
  Richard has been honored by many organizations for his work, and is 
particularly proud of his 1991 nomination as the Outstanding Clerk by 
the Ohio Association of Municipal Court Clerks. He is a past President 
of that organization, as well as past President of the Northeastern 
Ohio Municipal Court Clerk's Association. He remains an active member 
in both organizations.
  Richard is also an Army veteran of the Vietnam campaign and a 
graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College. He and his wife of more than three 
decades, Janice, live in Lakewood where they raised their two children, 
Jessica and Alissa.
  Terri Lynn Hudak is a Deputy Clerk/Supervisor in the Cuyahoga County 
Probate Court's Data Entry Department. She began her employment with 
the Court after graduating from Parma's Valley Forge High School, 23 
years ago.
  Terri and her department are responsible for entering new filings on 
the court's docket, organizing files for transmission to the Court of 
Appeals and assisting the public in locating court records.
  She still lives in Parma with her husband Paul and their children 
Matthew and Valerie. She is active in St. Charles school events, parish 
activities, and her neighborhood block committees.
  Terri says that raising her family, supporting her children's 
sporting events, and working full-time are her most outstanding 
accomplishments.
  Dorothy Lawson began her work with the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas 
Court as a typist in the court constable's office. She then went on to 
serve as a scheduler for as many as four judges at one time.
  For the past 15 years, Dorothy has served as the personal bailiff, 
first for Judge William E. Mahon and currently for Judge Brian J. 
Corrigan. She views her 1989 promotion to personal bailiff as one of 
her greatest accomplishments in life.
  A Euclid resident, Dorothy lives with John, her husband of almost a 
quarter century. She spends much of her time evaluating the creativity 
of the excuses given by tardy lawyers. However, she fundamentally 
believes that her three decades of service has allowed her a deeper 
understanding of the judicial system.
  Regina Laura Mandanci has worked for Domestic Relations Court for 24 
years. She is the nominee of Administrative Judge Timothy M. Flanagan. 
For the past two years, Gina serves as Personal Bailiff to Judge James 
P. Celebreeze, after over 20 years in the Central Scheduling 
Department.

  Gina, a Florida native and Brecksville High School graduate, lives in 
Brecksville with her children, Nickolas and Jessica. She is proud of 
her service in the Domestic Relations Court, which she started with 
just out of high school.
  Mary Jo O'Toole is a Judicial Secretary at the Eighth District Court 
of Appeals with 17 years with Judge Ann Dyke. Nominated by Judge 
Kenneth A. Rocco and Presiding Judge Michael J. Corrigan, Mary Jo, 
after a brief detour into the private sector, has worked in the courts 
for over 20 years, shortly after her graduation from Holy Name High 
School.
  Mary Jo and Patrick, her husband of 16 years, live in Avon with their 
two children,

[[Page E240]]

Megan and Brian. The family enjoys weekends at their cottage and spent 
many years renovating their residence, a century home.
  Carolyn Penn, nominated by Juvenille Court Administrative Judge 
Joseph F. Russo, is a Probation Manager at the Court's Bedford Heights 
office, where she manages a staff of probation officers and 
administrative assistants who deal with delinquent, unruly and violent 
children living in the southeast portion of Cuyahoga County.
  A graduate of Central State University with a master's degree from 
Case's School of Applied Social Sciences Administration, Carolyn lives 
in Cleveland Heights. The widow of James E. Penn, Jr., and the mother 
of a grown son, James E. Penn III, Carolyn was also honored by a 
Cleveland Mayoral proclamation for her years of service to at-risk 
children and the community.
  Carolyn volunteers with senior citizens and participates in 
charities, along with actively supporting individual political 
candidates and social service ballot issues. She takes pride in her 
work and protecting her community.
  Pauline Pope is the Assistant Chief of Security in the Bailiffs 
Department of the Cleveland Municipal court, where she has worked since 
1986.
  Presiding and Administrative Judge Larry A. Jone's nominee, Pauline 
previously worked for the City of Cleveland, as part of more than a 
quarter century of public service. She works hard to assure that the 
employees and the public enjoys a safe environment in the Court.
  Pauline came to Cleveland after graduating from high school in South 
Carolina. She is active in ministries, nursing homes and prisons. Early 
in her court employment career, she was assigned to provide security to 
the late Judge Carl B. Stokes.
  On behalf of the people of the 11th Congressional District of Ohio 
and the United States Congress, I pay tribute to the leadership, 
dedication, support, and commitment of the 2004 Annual Public Servants 
Merit Award honorees.

                          ____________________